> General Discussions
My answer to your questions and other ramblings
AwesomeSavior:
With knowledge, add temperance. The more knowledge God gives us, the more thorns in the flesh will be coming our way. As someone has pointed out, Paul was taken to the third heaven and shown things that he could not repeat. As a result of such revelation knowledge, God gave Paul a thorn in the flesh. Paul begged to have it taken away, but God told him that His chastening (grace) was sufficient for him. We can't be given knowledge by itself because we would become extremely arrogant. So we constantly have to deal with the evil God sends our way to humble us. I was listening to an astronomer describe the universe. He said that if it was intelligently designed, which he believes it is, the IQ required to build this universe would be something to the effect of 10 to the trillioneth, trillioneth, trillioneth, trillioneth, trillioneth, trillioneth power. My IQ is around 120. The most intelligent people on the planet are somewhere around 200. Does that give perspective?
space.ace.jase:
I crash-landed into the BT site a few years ago but I almost feel that I have unlearnt what little basics that I used to have a small understanding of. I just can't deal with all the misery of this life and feel myself breaking apart and falling to pieces. I used to have joy reading Ray's articles and his teaching but I can't even open a bible to read a verse, I just get so frustrated/disheartened.
Do what you want God I don't care any more and I don't understand any of it.
Kat:
Hi space.ace.jase,
Do not be too disheartened, that is a necessary part of overcoming the world, all of our false understanding must be "ground to powder." Don't give up things can only get better and they will. Here is a section where Ray had spoke about this.
http://bible-truths.com/lake14.html --------
TURNING OUR IDOLS OF THE HEART INTO POWDER
In Ezekiel 14:7 we read:
"For every one of the house of Israel [WE {Gentiles} are now the circumcision of God, Phil. 3:3. WE {Gentile believers} are the true Jew, Romans 2:28-29. WE {Gentiles & a remnant of racial Israel} are the spiritual Israel of God, Gal. 6:16] or of the stranger that sojourns in Israel, which separates himself from Me, and sets up HIS IDOLS IN HIS HEART…"
We all have "idols of the heart." Whenever we disobey God, we are giving allegiance to and manifesting idols in our heart.
When ancient Israel turned from God, they too manifested the idols in their hearts by building a literal golden calf idol with which to worship. And what did God do through Moses?
"And he [Moses] took the calf which they had made, and burnt it in the fire [don’t forget I Cor. 3:15], and GROUND IT TO POWDER, and scattered it upon the water, and made the children of Israel drink of it" (Exodus 32:20).
How many understand our Lord’s statements in Luke 20:17-18?
"And He beheld them, and said, What is this then that is written, The Stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the Head of the corner? Whomsoever shall fall upon that stone shall be broken; but on whomsoever It shall fall, It will GRIND HIM TO POWDER."
When we fall on the Stone (Jesus), we are broken. Or as John tells us in Revelation,
"And I saw one of his heads as it were WOUNDED TO DEATH…" (Rev. 13:3).
Yes, when we fall on Christ we are broken, we are wounded (by the "sword" of God—Rev. 13:14 vs. Heb. 4:12). This is our human attempt at salvation. But then we fall, and our "deadly wound [which we received by the Word of God] was healed" (Rev. 13:3), we went back into the world, back into Babylon, thus leaving our first love. When the wound of the Sword of God’s Word that had slain us, is healed, we fall from the love of God, and we again turn our love to the world from which we came.
But here’s the good news concerning this stone. If we are among the chosen that overcome, then the Stone falls ON US, and our spiritual house built upon the sand comes crashing down. And when Jesus falls on us, He GRINDS US [along with all of our idols of the heart] TO POWDER!
Remember we are but "clay" in the hands of the Master Potter, and clay consists of particles of sedimentary silicates of aluminum less than two-thousandth of a millimeter in diameter—in other words, very fine powder. In Ancient Israel, the sin offering, the peace offering, the meat offering, and thank offering all had to be made with fine flour. All of the universe is composed of very fine things.
All of the instructions on what was to be offered to God in the service of the Tabernacle in the wilderness, who was to offer it, and how it was to be offered is not just quaint little stories of history:
"Now ALL THESE THINGS HAPPENED unto them for ensamples: and they are written FOR OUR ADMONITION, upon whom the ends of the world [ages] are come." (I Cor. 10:11).
Christ is representative of all and every one of these sacrifices. And
"Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as He [Jesus Christ] IS, SO ARE WE in this world" (I John 4:17).
So, when we read of the fine flour, oil, salt, and frankincense in the Old Testament offerings, we must understand that WE TOO are to be like fine flour—spiritually humbled and ground fine like powder, oil—having the Spirit of God in us, salt—we are to BE the "salt of the earth," and frankincense—our very lives becoming a sweet smelling incense to our God.
Some of the things we must go through seem bad on the surface. But as in all of God’s dealings, what appears at first to be something horribly bad, is in reality, only a necessary stage in the process of overcoming sin and self so as to be qualified to reign with Christ in bringing the rest of humanity into a knowledge of the Truth, redemption, salvation, and finally, glory.
----------------------------------------------------
mercy, peace and love
Kat
Gina:
--- Quote from: space.ace.jase on December 14, 2012, 06:03:53 AM ---I crash-landed into the BT site a few years ago but I almost feel that I have unlearnt what little basics that I used to have a small understanding of. I just can't deal with all the misery of this life and feel myself breaking apart and falling to pieces. I used to have joy reading Ray's articles and his teaching but I can't even open a bible to read a verse, I just get so frustrated/disheartened.
Do what you want God I don't care any more and I don't understand any of it.
--- End quote ---
Wow space. I for one am praying for you. I can totally identify with what you've said. I promise it will make sense to you, maybe not today or tomorrow and I don't really know what you're going through (if it's someone you know personally or if the matters involve you personally or if you're just speaking in general terms), but that can only be Satan getting a hold of your mind and taking away the seeds that were planted there. Been there.
Once I wrote Ray with a boatload of (really stupid by comparison) problems I was personally experiencing, and I was so angry with God. Then I started to say how angry I was that God had caused Ray to be sick. He wrote me back and you know what he said? He told me that he and his wife experienced many, many troubles and he gave me a few examples of things that I would never repeat, and then he said, And they are difficult for us, but we are not overwhelmed by any of them!
Why weren't they overwhelmed? Because God gave them the gift of belief in God's word. It's that simple. I pray you and I and the others who experience this humbling evil will be given the ability to really and truly believe God's word.
And then he said to me, "Tell ya what, you pray for me and I'll pray for you and we'll get through this thing called life."
( I have to say, those words of Ray's put me back on my feet. He was not about to listen to me whine about things and let me sink down in the mire of self-pity because he knew that would do me no good. He set me right back on my feet. God, what a blessing that was hearing his straight talk to me. )
Love,
Gina
chav:
--- Quote ---"Tell ya what, you pray for me and I'll pray for you and we'll get through this thing called life."
--- End quote ---
Sums it up beautifully. Thanks for the reminder Craig. I think there is more than a lifetime of learning on this site to get through, and more importantly to live out daily in our own lives. But I won't deny it's a struggle for me a lot of the time.
Dave
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