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Slaves to Sin
orion77:
(Mat 18:2 LITV) And having called forward a little child, Jesus set him in their midst.
(Mat 18:3 LITV) And He said, Truly I say to you, Unless you convert and become as the little children, not at all can you enter into the kingdom of Heaven.
(Mat 18:4 LITV) Then whoever will humble himself as this little child, this one is the greater in the kingdom of Heaven.
(Mat 18:5 LITV) And whoever will receive one such little child in My name receives Me.
(Mat 19:14 LITV) But Jesus said, Allow the little children and do not prevent them to come to Me, for of such is the kingdom of Heaven.
(Luk 1:17 LITV) And he will go out before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah "to turn the hearts of fathers to their children," and disobedient ones to the wisdom of the just, to make ready a people having been prepared for the Lord. Mal. 4:5, 6
Walking in faith as a child brings new discoveries, with the thrill of exploring new places, seeing things not heard of before.
(Jer 31:31 LITV) 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 LITV) 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 LITV) 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.
(Isa 52:15 LITV) So He sprinkles from many nations. At Him kings shall shut their mouths; for they will see that which was not told to them; yea, what they had not heard, they will understand.
I thank God for this forum and its members. I have learned much here. Thanks.
God bless,
Gary
hillsbororiver:
--- Quote from: orion77 on October 22, 2006, 09:30:18 AM ---
I thank God for this forum and its members. I have learned much here. Thanks.
God bless,
Gary
--- End quote ---
A big AMEN to that Gary,
His Peace to you,
Joe
Andy_MI:
--- Quote from: Marie on October 21, 2006, 07:47:38 PM ---<To quote from Andy>
...As simple as these verses appear, I still am struggling with understanding exactally how this is done....
<end quote>
Luk 9:23 Then Jesus said to all the people: If any of you want to be my followers, you must forget about yourself. You must take up your cross each day and follow me.
and
Mat 10:38 And unless you are willing to take up your cross and come with me, you are not fit to be my disciples.
We are to forget about ourselves. This entails a lot.
Someone buds in front of me in a busy store. Smile and let them in.
Someone yells at me and embarrases me in front of my family and friends. Bite your tongue.
Your boss treats you unfairly. Do your job to the best of your ability and aim to please your boss's wishes, even if unfair.
Your kids are fighting, driving you up the wall, and you're ready to jump off the nearest bridge (this happened to me before ;) ). With patience and love, discipline them.
These are but a few things that fight against us on a daily basis. (I'm sure others can come up with an even "better" list, but I'm sure you get my drift.
Eph 6:12 We are not fighting against humans. We are fighting against forces and authorities and against rulers of darkness and powers in the spiritual world. When we realize this and counter-act the way Jesus wants us to, we deny ourselves, and start to grow for Him.
To deny ourselves, we must forget about our fleshly desires, our wants, our selfishness. It is not about what we want, it is about what Jesus wants for us.
This brings us joy.
J - Jesus
O - others
Y - you.
Jesus always first.
To do this, we need to ask God's help DAILY. It becomes easier as Jesus works in us daily to do His will.
My prayer for the forum is we would all work for this, we all face the same challenges each day, let's pray for God's help in this, and really make a difference for Him.
Typing this has helped me. I hope it helps you.
With love in meekness,
Marie
--- End quote ---
Thank you Marie for the encouraging words.
Truly the cost of being a disciple for Christ is dying to self. That is not easy or pleasant for me. I do, however want to be Christ's disciple and indeed die to myself. I desire to let Him have all of me. To be a living sacrafice. It is painfull for me and God is throwing down every idol of my heart. I'm humbled before Him and am waiting on Him. I desire for Christ to be living His life in me. This process has been going on most of my life since He started dragging me to Him when I was quite young. But oh what messes I've made of things through the years. I thank God that He's faithfull and never gives up, even when I do.
Peace,
Andy
hillsbororiver:
Hello Andy,
Your experience is written about here and all through the OT and NT;
Psa 51:17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.
Rom 12:1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable3050 service.
G3050
λογικός
logikos
log-ik-os'
From G3056; rational (“logical”): - reasonable, of the word.
It appears that what the Lord desires is that we sacrifice our carnal beastly nature not that we compare ourselves to others that we see as being more "heroic" or more "selfless" such as being flogged for your faith or giving away everything, to live as a hermit, He knows the temptations, guilt, helplessness that is felt when one denies the flesh, when it is done with a contrite heart, this dying to self so He can increase is the sacrifice that pleases Him.
If it is our destiny to be heroic or give up everything, He will make it happen but He will prepare us, and give us the strength to perservere. I don't recall Paul asking or praying for struggles or trials but neither did he complain or indulge in self pity when they confronted him, no, just the opposite.
As Marie stated (I am paraphrasing) it is a bumpy enough road to deny our baser nature in everyday life, if we can deal (through Him) with the things constantly being thrown in our way with a cheerful spirit we truly have His Spirit in us and we will grow in Him, to be more like Him day by day.
His Peace and Wisdom to you,
Joe
ned:
Just when I thought this thread was off to the back burner...God brings it back!
I was going to start another thread with the subject "Faith without works is dead", but I feel now it fits right in here.
No doubt faith is a gift from God, and those who are blessed to receive it do so with no choice of their own. Once we have been given this faith, there are expectations.
Luke 12:47 (YLT) And that servant, who having known his lord's will, and not having prepared, nor having gone according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes,
Jam 2:26 (CEV) Anyone who doesn't breathe is dead, and faith that doesn't do anything is just as dead!
Paul writes these very clear instructions on how to live our life:
Eph 4:1 (CEV) As a prisoner of the Lord, I beg you to live in a way that is worthy of the people God has chosen to be his own.
(The CEV transation is great!)
Eph 4:17-28 As a follower of the Lord, I order you to stop living like stupid, godless people. Their minds are in the dark, and they are stubborn and ignorant and have missed out on the life that comes from God. They no longer have any feelings about what is right, and they are so greedy that they do all kinds of indecent things.
But that isn't what you were taught about Jesus Christ. He is the truth, and you heard about him and learned about him.
You were told that your foolish desires will destroy you and that you must give up your old way of life with all its bad habits.
Let the Spirit change your way of thinking and make you into a new person. You were created to be like God, and so you must please him and be truly holy.
We are part of the same body. Stop lying and start telling each other the truth.
Don't get so angry that you sin. Don't go to bed angry and don't give the devil a chance.
If you are a thief, quit stealing. Be honest and work hard, so you will have something to give to people in need.
Stop all your dirty talk. Say the right thing at the right time and help others by what you say.
Don't make God's Spirit sad. The Spirit makes you sure that someday you will be free from your sins.
Stop being bitter and angry and mad at others. Don't yell at one another or curse each other or ever be rude.
Instead, be kind and merciful, and forgive others, just as God forgave you because of Christ.
Peter also is a witness to how we are to live for Christ because we are chosen:
2Pe 1:3 We have everything we need to live a life that pleases God. It was all given to us by God's own power, when we learned that he had invited us to share in his wonderful goodness (how awesome!).
God made great and marvelous promises, so that His nature would become part of us. Then we could escape our evil desires and the corrupt influences of this world.
Do your best to improve your faith. You can do this by adding goodness, understanding, self-control, patience, devotion to God, concern for others, and love.
If you keep growing in this way, it will show that what you know about our Lord Jesus Christ has made your lives useful and meaningful.
But if you don't grow, you are like someone who is nearsighted or blind, and you have forgotten that your past sins are forgiven.
My friends, you must do all you can to show that God has really chosen and selected you. If you keep on doing this, you won't stumble and fall.
Heb 2:1 (CEV) We must give our full attention to what we were told, so that we won't drift away.
There are so many other scriptures that tell us how to live for Christ. God has called us and provided His Word for our benefit.
2Tim 3:17 The Scriptures train God's servants to do all kinds of good deeds.
I don't think it wise to assume that because we were given such a gift of faith and called to truth and love by God Almighty, that we can now just sit and ignore the instructions on how to live because we think we have no free will. ??!! (I know God is in control of everything :) !!)
2Pe 2:21 (CEV) They would have been better off if they had never known about the right way. Even after they knew what was right, they turned their backs on the holy commandments that they were given.
James 2:24 (KJV) Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only.
2Tim 2:22-26 Run from temptations that capture young people. Always do the right thing. Be faithful, loving, and easy to get along with. Worship with people whose hearts are pure.
Stay away from stupid and senseless arguments. These only lead to trouble, and God's servants must not be troublemakers. They must be kind to everyone, and they must be good teachers and very patient.
Be humble when you correct people who oppose you. Maybe God will lead them to turn to him and learn the truth.
They have been trapped by the devil, and he makes them obey him, but God may help them escape.
God gives us everything we need to live a life that is pleasing to Him. We need to realize this and run the race set before us.
Would love some responses.
In fellowship & peace,
Marie
btw;
Andy, you're welcome. You are so right in saying God never gives up even when we do. He doesn't change. We do. To remember this each time we're going through an up-hill battle will do us wonders.
Sorin, you're right - the Ethiopian can surely not change his skin - if God hasn't called him to first. ;)
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