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another free-will topic
chuckt:
--- Quote ---Now, nothing could be further from the truth as to what has happened. In fact, if anything, it feels as though I have gone exactly opposite of what I intended.
I’m actually not feeling close to God, or feel that God is close to me and mine. At all.
Again, it’s very frustrating to understand what is happening. So again, any advice and views are appreciated.
--- End quote ---
Greetings, oh boy you are not alone in this, i have found and im sure all here and you will to these are the times that seem to strengthen our faith the most.
Act 17:28 For in him we live, and move, and have our being;
Eph 4:6 One God and Father of all, who [is] above all, and through all, and in you all.
yes as we grow we stop trusting our feelings take comfort, someone said you are in the middle of a chapter, then the end of that chapter comes and you SEE, then the next chapter starts and so does the cycle, this is for YOUR benifit!!!
Rom 8:24 For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for?
2Cr 5:7 (For we walk by faith, not by sight:)
When god seems the farthest he is actually the closest!!!
be at peace and good cheer!!
God bless
euty
Samson:
Hello Everyone,
All very good comments,every choice has a prior cause, as most of us already know. However, we all have desires, some are good and some not so good. If God wills to, he can remove any desire. In some cases, as Ray has pointed, he chooses not to as expresses at Romans.1:24-32, the point emphasized is that " GOD GAVE THEM UP TO THESE DESIRES", He could have removed them if he wanted to. I cite as a good example, the case of the Apostle Paul, he desired to persecute and murder the followers of Christ, their is no evidence that he was planning on any other course, but while on the road to Damsascus, meeting the risen Christ, he changed his entire course and the desire to persecute and murder Christians was removed. Consequently, through his entire life HE received the persecution and trials as expressed at 1Timothy. 1:12-16 & 2 Corinthians. 11:23-28. Even though God planned out everything and is responsibe, we are still accountable for our actions and are trained, disiplined, chastised and corrected from these experiences and trials. Hebrews Chapter 12 regarding disipline likening a Human Father disiplining his children adds insight to this discussion. How would we know good if we never experienced evil, Hot without Cold, Well Fed without Hunger, Darkness without Light. We need the opposites in order to appreciate and understand everything.
Samson
Robin:
Hi Amrhrasach,
When I read your post the first thing I thought of was hindsight. It all makes perfect sense when I look behind me. The things I'm going through now don't make a lot of sense yet.
I thought of something Ray wrote and went and found it.
http://forums.bible-truths.com/index.php?topic=3849.0
When came around Pentecost time though, a whole bunch of them were converted. About 120 of them. But Christ was leading them up to that. And He’s probably leading some of us up to that…
All these things take a lifetime. We’re going to live “the seals”. A third part of the men died: that’s a third part of the man in us that is going to die. A third part of the carnality. God works in increments, you see. He wipes out some of the trees, and then He burns the grass…what is the trees and the grass? These are all things in us. We have islands, and mountains, and trees, and grass. All of these are belief systems and ideas and doctrines and philosophies of life and all these things. And they are all going to be burned out and broken down and destroyed. All of those seven seals, seven trumpets, seven plagues: they are all things that must happen in our lives.
You say, “Well I don’t remember any trees being burned down…” First of all, you won’t even know some of it is happening until it’s over. Some of you will remember, I have this in my Lake of Fire Series: “And I was in the spirit on the Lord’s Day and I heard a voice BEHIND me as the voice of a trumpet and I turned to see the voice that spoke to me and being turned I saw…” You won’t see some of these things until they are behind you. You’re going to have to look behind you to see where you came from, to see where God has been taking you. Some of us wouldn’t want to live tomorrow if we knew what was coming, you know. Be thankful that you don’t know everything that’s coming. Be thankful that you only have to take one day at a time. You don’t want to know what every day has to hold. Take it one day at a time as God presents it to you.
roundbellygroove:
Amrhrasach, Here's something to think about.
--- Quote ---Here’s a tidbit of information I forgot to offer in the first post. It helps me to write it and it may help explain things a bit further. Originally when I was enthused about this move, I had hundreds of pages of printed material of “Christian” teachings from another site. And I do mean “hundreds of pages”. My enthusiasm in the move was to have ample time to read this material in a quiet setting and become more engrossed with the teachings of God, grow in God, and focus my life to God rather than being “too busy” with life for such things as before the move. I was very excited for this to happen.
Now, nothing could be further from the truth as to what has happened. In fact, if anything, it feels as though I have gone exactly opposite of what I intended.
I’m actually not feeling close to God, or feel that God is close to me and mine. At all.
Again, it’s very frustrating to understand what is happening. So again, any advice and views are appreciated.
--- End quote ---
First thing I wanted to point out in your statement above is that you felt enthusiastic about moving for the purpose of "get closer to God". You even went as far as to collect study material to study. The thing I see is that God is calling you for a closer relationship and you responded to that calling. However God willed you to prepare yourself for this plight based on how YOU thought you could get close to him. All of a sudden nothing is going right!!! But, 6 months ago you came across Ray's teachings.
What you may have not noticed yet, is that God has willed for you to know his truths through Ray's website and not neccesarly all the stuff you thought you were going to use. In other words God bated you to make choices that would bring you closer to his truths by the circumstances of this move. Think of it this way...If you had not made this "move" what are the odds that you would have came across Ray's teachings? If you were in another "environment" how else could you have found this website? It took this move to put you in the right path so that you would come across these truths. I can personally testify that there is no way I could have come across these truths other than working at the place I was working and surfing the internet when the boss was out at that particular time when I stumbled across Ray's teachings. God willed it that way. Many here can probably relate to how weird or odd their life situation was when God reveled his truths to them.
All I'm saying is you have been on the right track, its just that God is working with you to understand his timing of things. The freewill/God's will thing is a tough one to "get". It took me about a year and half of doing silly experiments to determine whether or not I had free will or not. And guess what? God PROVED it to me in his timing.
Hang in there, keep reading, praying and meditating on God's good word.
roundbelly
rjsurfs:
Amrhrasach,
You said:
--- Quote ---I came across something yesterday in Ray’s material and it really struck me in an odd way but seemed to fit, and I found solace:
“But what about the last one-"prison?" Does Jesus put us in prison? Yes, He certainly does. I can personally vouch for this one, and maybe you can too. Sometimes we are put into a position where we just can't get out. There IS NO WAY OUT. We will physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually struggle for a way out, but there is no way out. You are in spiritual prison! And Jesus ONLY has the keys.”
http://bible-truths.com/lake16-D3.htm
I’m waiting for the “click” of the door, and I’ll put my trust that it’s coming. And even the “trust” part is only when he gives it.
--- End quote ---
Wow, thank you for that... that is timely for me as well... and very moving is the faith God is giving you presently.
Thank you,
Bobby
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