> General Discussions
Getting Exicited About The Kingdom
se7en:
Rhys,
I know exactly what you mean. and Heyley, you are so right. I remember getting caught under my waterbed looking for a toy one time... I wiggled under the headboard and then couldn't wiggle myself back out. It's frightening to be stuck with no logical way out. My body started to pump adrenaline though my system, my heart was racing and I could have flipped out and really hurt myself. I know the Lord was with me even at that young age, He gave me the wisdom to stop what I was thinking (hopelessness, i'll never get out) and to change what I thought about the situation. Instead of going into a panic, my body began to slow itself down again and I started to think clearer and wiggled my way out. It's amazing that what we think about effects everything around us!
I think that's what we are talking about... our focus. I'm still fairly new to BT (9 months now?) so I still get extremely excited about the messages I hear Ray speak about or the articles I read over and over just so I can try and understand everything. It's still currently taking me this long to re-train my thoughts to accept and live out truth instead of the other garbage that I had believed for 15 plus years.
I was also reading this book from a psychologist the other day and he was talking about the different studies that have been done about the feeling of "happyness". What caught my attention was the "frog in hot water" syndrome when it comes to being "happy". We get used to things, and we no longer have a sense of happyness in our once new house we moved into. Rich or poor, as long as basic living needs are met, studies have shown that everyone succumbs to the "frog in hot water" syndrome. To combat it.... once a day for a minute write a couple of sentences about a time that made you feel "happy" or an amazing moment in your life that filled you with wonder or amazement. The psychologist was saying that there is some type of connection with writing thoughts out on paper instead of just thinking about it. Basically he's saying the same thing we are talking about in this thread.... What do we choose to focus on? If we stop for a minute a day and write about some of the cool things that our awesome heavenly Father has in store for us.... we may get excited and happy about it :)
Thought I would share this as a practical approach, I hope it helps?
se7en:
Oh, guys I have to add this footnote.....
There is this presentation on tedtalks that this guy speaks about for 15 minutes on "the magic washing machine". Talk about feeling "happy". You will feel so very blessed just to have a washing machine!!!! There are around 7 billion people on the planet and 5 billion people have NO WASHING MACHINE! They still go down by the creek or washpan to wash their clothes. It's time consuming and hard labourous work. Now I don't think... "Oh, man I have to wash clothes, I hate doing the laundry".... instead, lately, I think "THANK GOD I HAVE A WASHING MACHINE!!! THANK YOU LORD!!!"
John from Kentucky:
--- Quote from: se7en on February 13, 2013, 08:42:42 AM ---Oh, guys I have to add this footnote.....
There is this presentation on tedtalks that this guy speaks about for 15 minutes on "the magic washing machine". Talk about feeling "happy". You will feel so very blessed just to have a washing machine!!!! There are around 7 billion people on the planet and 5 billion people have NO WASHING MACHINE! They still go down by the creek or washpan to wash their clothes. It's time consuming and hard labourous work. Now I don't think... "Oh, man I have to wash clothes, I hate doing the laundry".... instead, lately, I think "THANK GOD I HAVE A WASHING MACHINE!!! THANK YOU LORD!!!"
--- End quote ---
;D Now you're making me feel guilty. I have all the appliances, but I'm too lazy to use them. So I've decided to hire a housekeeper. Which gives me more time to outline the Book of Deuteronomy; which makes being lazy O.K. ? God just didn't design men to do housework. Much easier to kill something and drag it back to the cave, and let the little lady clean it up. 8)
GaryK:
--- Quote from: John from Kentucky on February 13, 2013, 12:45:41 PM ---
which makes being lazy O.K. ? God just didn't design men to do housework. Much easier to kill something and drag it back to the cave, and let the little lady clean it up. 8)
--- End quote ---
You are absolutely correct John. Don't you feel a bit of guilt. Lookey>> I found this handy little, but not very often used, verse. It's paraphrased a bit, but hey, I'm pretty sure I used the correct paraphrasing technique.
Proverbs 12:27 A man of laziness who does not cook his meat shall have a diligent woman perform the roasting.
As a bonus, if you paraphrase this verse enough I'm pretty sure you can get a (your) woman to paint your house, cut the grass, change the oil, trim large trees and general heating and air conditioning repairs.
;) 8) ;D
GaryK:
--- Quote from: Rhys on February 02, 2013, 01:26:00 AM ---I just wonder how you get to this place. I think it would wash away so many other concerns of this life. Rhys
--- End quote ---
Rhys, I was attempting some light humor with the above posting but now I'll take a stab at being a bit serious.
Mankind is spiritually broken and a complete mess of the heart. Ray has talked about this much. Ray says: 'we (mankind) have no integrity'. In my own heart and mind I believe that is true. That is, I do now after spending a serious amount of time the last 5 years thinking on it. So if that is true how can we, as spiritualy degenerate as we are, think on these things of Php 4:8?...this 'pure-ness' that it speaks of?
My own grandmother was as godly a person and as close to saint as anyone could possibly be on this earth but even she loved that front-porch-swing gossip with the girls.
So to what can we compare? We know nothing about pure, save one. We can try at it, but we'll fall short.
Ray has said:
"we don’t think about these things. Because they’re not real to you."
I'll add that if heavenly things are true and pure, then, we can't know it in it's pureness now or in it's 'real-ness'. Not while we're on this earth. To add, did Paul go to the 3rd heaven in spirit? He didn't know, how can we? Ray says in order to experience the knowledge of heat we must know of cold, of light, dark, and on and on comparisons. Tell me of anything on this earth that we can know that is 'pure'? Nothing. Save one. The one christ.
The book of Proverbs repeats numerous times, many many verses, 'trust in the Lord'.
But theres's a problem. Ray also says....and scripture says....
John 6:65
65 And He was saying, “For this reason I have said to you, that no one can come to Me unless it has been granted him from the Father.”
I'm beginning to believe that we'll never 'think on these things' unless and until he gives us the ability to.........think on these things. We can try but we'll never really succeed. We of ourselves can do nothing.
I'm not trying to be purposely negative but in a way there's no way around it and I believe these somewhat negative words actually re-inforce the positive and that is 'trust the Lord'.
Of all the stuff we think on, of all the stuff we write, of all the stuff we can discuss and debate we are left with something I've personally come to really, really beleive and take to heart within these last five years and that is this:
"Much dreaming and many words are meaningless. Therefore fear God."
I've (we've) dreamed, I've (we've) spoken, I've (we've) discussed and I've (we've) debated and it's all meaningless. What I don't do enough of is 'fear God'. I have lost respect for him and Ray talks of that too, but I'm coming around to seeing Ray's words about scripture about 'every event under the sun'. Everything is part of the plan. I won't gain back that respect and I won't fear until he gives me that respect and fear.
Bottom line: when he gives it to know him, we'll know pure. Not a second of time sooner.
I look forward to knowing and understanding the real fear of God because I've come to believe when you have it, the rest will flow like living water.
My simple thoughts have turned into a wall of words which I really didn't want so I'll close with a quote from what I consider to be the most honest thread in all of BT Forum since I've been around (and I've been here for awhile), a real masterpeice of a thread:
"my answers to your questions and other ramblings"
"There have been a lot of questions lately about what is going to happen in the future, what’s next in scripture, what does a word mean, etc. etc
I am going to answer with an answer I can be sure of…..I don't know.
We can speculate, we can glean some ideas from Ray's teaching and study of scripture but we just don't know. How can we know?"
and:
"If today God gave us all the knowledge we search for, will it make us more Christ like? A better human? Parent? Friend? Does knowledge cause a display of love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control in us? Or would full knowledge grow our already overbearing egos to gigantic proportions?"
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