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Tribulation Right Here

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CEO:
Hi Joe

Good observation.

It is still a shocker to me that we can hear the truth, the real truth, and not be astounded and elated and feeling the earthquake and hungry and thirsty for more more more.

But the parable of the seeds and the sower prove we can hear it , embrace it , and then reject it.  Members come on the forum and last only a short time, taking offense.  The early church which had the apostles and the true truth, lost it as soon as the apostles died, replacing it with traditions of man, prove we can have it and lose it.  That still amazes me.

askseeknock

Charles

Heidi:
Joe, I am so glad that you posted this topic...I have not been posting heaps, but read the forum on a daily basis to keep up with the subject matter.  I have noticed some friction and it made me feel me bit disheartened....having read your post....not any more!  I pray I never take offence...we should all live in unity, just as Jesus prayed in John 17  :D

Love
Heidi

hillsbororiver:
Thank you everyone for all the positive feedback.

You know this striving for the spiritual while we are imprisoned in this flesh is the hardest thing we will ever have to go through but the reward will be better than anything we could ever imagine. One of the things that make our journey so difficult is how we naturally seek a comfort zone whether it be with people or even doctrine/spiritual truth/beliefs. When this "comfort" is shaken we can be prone to that beastly old man taking control once again.

I wish I could remember the member who stated "being likeminded is not everyone thinking the same, but everyone seeking the same goal, Christ." As true a statement as I ever have read here, keeping this is mind we are all in a slightly different place along this journey and as we would not expect to see the same exact things if we were miles apart in a physical journey the same holds true in our spiritual journey.

Learning patience and giving benefit of the doubt (of ulterior motives) doesn't mean naively accepting anything and everything that comes our way but rather to slow things down, pray for spiritual discernment and for edifying words not knee jerk responses coming off the top of our (carnal) heads.

This has certainly been a struggle for me but thank God He is working on it and as I look back (which sometimes is the only way to see it) at how often I was guilty of this I really can see improvement, not all the way there but further along.

Again, thank you all very much for the thoughtful posts.

Peace,

Joe

Kent:

--- Quote --- I am writing this because I too have stumbled in this regard, many of you are far ahead of me in patience and empathy for our brethren.
--- End quote ---


I dont see that. But I am not here everyday ;)
But seriously, like you said, where will you not find friction? Most, if not all of us are mature enough to know that other people have different opinions. There can be unity with conflict. If I disagree with you on something, do you really think I wont risk life and limb to help you?

If it is a conflict of opinion, what is the harm? If it is a conflict of egos, then trouble brews, imo.

Not all conflict is bad. IIRC, Christ had some rather heated conflicts with the "rulers". If we are to be Christ-like, then we need to be able to face conflict, imo. Christ didnt back down, so why should we? If we are wrong in our opinions, we learn. Right? It teaches humility, imo.

What doesnt kill us, makes us stronger. Conflict is good, imo.

What I personally see is people taking the easy way out and avoiding conflicts to keep some kind of pseudo peace where resentment festers. I am not talking about here at this forum, I am talking about what happens in real life.

Or, Gods' will is going to be done, so I'll just go along for the ride. It gives a person some kind of justification to do nothing. I'd like to know what scripture tells us to just do nothing, and let God do everything. Seems He has something to say about cowardice and slothfulness.

Fish or cut bait. Lead, follow, or get out of the way. Lots of cliches I can come up with here... But I am far from perfect. I am lazy too, so dont think for 1 microsecond that I dont include myself in this too. It's strange how sometimes I can pick my own battles, and let other battles slide. I am not consistent.

Dave in Tenn:
Might have been the Gosepl according to Shakespeare, but it isn't usually a good idea to take up somebody else's offence. 

Brenda hit the points I would have made.  Not only are we 'different' in the natural (temperment, nationality, history and life experience) but in our developing body-of-Christ parts. 

As a newbie, all I can say is God bless this forum.  I'm so thankful that it is here as an adjunct to the website.  But forums are forums. We have smilies and emoticons instead of facial expressions.  We have complete thoughts laid down in text rather than feeling our way through conversation.  They CAN turn into manifestos. 

Anyway.  Great points raised by all.  Thanks Joe.

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