Digging for Pearls

[quietthinker]

I don't think I'm in a wheelchair.
Not quite yet.. "literally"
I'm draggin my feet though.
I put wheels on my heels and go for a spin
Maybe I'm still learning how to crawl.
I know the proper thing to do is to be mature, and serious, and adult.
I hear people thinking, grow up, stop being so childish.
I hear it..
And I think.. I been there. It's not happy and fun and smiley.
And I don't want to be the ho hum glum.. ..
I want to be a kid.. again..
And I can't do it in the body I'm in.
But I can in my mind.
If I can make somebody smile..
That's what matters to me.

You see me in a wheelchair?
I feel like:

Ohhh, I'm sorry, my mistake. I assumed when you said you were disabled you meant being in a wheelchair. Whats the nature of your disability?

 

[Ziggy]

Ohhh, I'm sorry, my mistake. I assumed when you said you were disabled you meant being in a wheelchair. Whats the nature of your disability?

I have a blockage in my main artery the aorta, between the belly button and the pelvic area.
The blockage stops the blood from getting to my legs.
So I can walk a little but it's difficult.
Seems my body is pretty smart and grew some peripheral tiny veins and they are what's supplying the blood.
aka:
Abdominal Aortic Branch Occlusion

I started a thread somewhere called How sweet it is.
About how using too much Sugar got me into this predicament.

No sorry's needed
I thought you was saying.. my mind needed to get up and walk lol.
That I was just letting my ideas roll around like being in a wheelchair LOL
Or I was just getting old LOL

The last one is right on

 

[quietthinker]

I have a blockage in my main artery the aorta, between the belly button and the pelvic area.
The blockage stops the blood from getting to my legs.
So I can walk a little but it's difficult.
Seems my body is pretty smart and grew some peripheral tiny veins and they are what's supplying the blood.
aka:
Abdominal Aortic Branch Occlusion

I started a thread somewhere called How sweet it is.
About how using too much Sugar got me into this predicament.

No sorry's needed
I thought you was saying.. my mind needed to get up and walk lol.
That I was just letting my ideas roll around like being in a wheelchair LOL
Or I was just getting old LOL

The last one is right on

Old!!...you haven't started dancing yet!

 

[charity]

quiethinker wrote: "The gates into the New Jerusalem I read are made of a single pearl. I think that might be the same gate whereby one enters the sheepfold. The sheepfolds I'm familiar with have lots of poo which needs mucking out. I know a good mucker outerer. We can look for pearls together; what do you think?"

I think it's a great idea!
Get your shovel
Hugs

Hello @Ziggy,

Pearls are formed through suffering.

'And there came unto me one of the seven angels
which had the seven vials full of the seven last plagues,
and talked with me, saying, "Come hither, I will shew thee the bride, the Lamb's wife."
And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain,
and shewed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem,
descending out of heaven from God, having the glory of God:
and her light was like unto a stone most precious, even like a jasper stone, clear as crystal;
And had a wall great and high, and had twelve gates,
and at the gates twelve angels, and names written thereon,
which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel:

On the east three gates; on the north three gates;
on the south three gates; and on the west three gates.
And the wall of the city had twelve foundations,
and in them the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.
And he that talked with me had a golden reed to measure the city,
and the gates thereof, and the wall thereof.

And the city lieth foursquare, and the length is as large as the breadth:
and he measured the city with the reed, twelve thousand furlongs.
The length and the breadth and the height of it are equal.
And he measured the wall thereof, an hundred and forty and four cubits,
according to the measure of a man, that is, of the angel.

And the building of the wall of it was of jasper:
and the city was pure gold, like unto clear glass.
And the foundations of the wall of the city were garnished with all manner of precious stones.
The first foundation was jasper; the second, sapphire; the third, a chalcedony; the fourth, an emerald;
The fifth, sardonyx; the sixth, sardius; the seventh, chrysolite; the eighth, beryl; the ninth, a topaz;
the tenth, a chrysoprasus; the eleventh, a jacinth; the twelfth, an amethyst.

And the twelve gates were twelve pearls; every several gate was of one pearl:
and the street of the city was pure gold, as it were transparent glass.
And I saw no temple therein: for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it.
And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it:
for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof.
And the nations of them which are saved shall walk in the light of it:
and the kings of the earth do bring their glory and honour into it.'
(Revelation 21:16-24)

* How beautiful this is, isn't it?

Praise God!

Thank you, Ziggy
With love in Christ Jesus
our risen and glorified
Saviour, Lord and Head.
Chris

 

[charity]

quiethinker wrote: "The gates into the New Jerusalem I read are made of a single pearl. I think that might be the same gate whereby one enters the sheepfold. The sheepfolds I'm familiar with have lots of poo which needs mucking out. I know a good mucker outerer. We can look for pearls together; what do you think?"

I think it's a great idea!
Get your shovel
Hugs

Hello again, @Ziggy,

Living in Wales, where sheep roam the hills, I am familiar with sheep. They have a place in my memories. Memories of sheep dancing on the metal roof of the outhouse in their attempt to negotiate a path off the mountain whose slopes our house was attached to. Of my Father wrestling with one of those sheep in an attempt to get the garden gate open to set him free. Of being stuck on the mountain in the fog in my then boyfriend's car, the boot full of home made cakes and goodies intended for a children's party which we couldn't get to, because of the fog, when all we could see of the road were the sheep's eyes surrounding us in the light of the headlights.

Yes, happy memories of sheep. But God uses them figuratively of the children of Israel in Isaiah 53, and we can identify with the words of verse six:- "All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on Him the iniquity of us all."

* What a beautiful chapter that is, isn't it? - What a wonderful Saviour we have! - How great is God's love!

Praise God!

Thank you, Ziggy
In Christ Jesus
Chris

 

[Ziggy]

Hello @Ziggy,

Pearls are formed through suffering.

'And there came unto me one of the seven angels
which had the seven vials full of the seven last plagues,
and talked with me, saying, "Come hither, I will shew thee the bride, the Lamb's wife."
And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain,
and shewed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem,
descending out of heaven from God, having the glory of God:
and her light was like unto a stone most precious, even like a jasper stone, clear as crystal;
And had a wall great and high, and had twelve gates,
and at the gates twelve angels, and names written thereon,
which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel:

On the east three gates; on the north three gates;
on the south three gates; and on the west three gates.
And the wall of the city had twelve foundations,
and in them the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.
And he that talked with me had a golden reed to measure the city,
and the gates thereof, and the wall thereof.

And the city lieth foursquare, and the length is as large as the breadth:
and he measured the city with the reed, twelve thousand furlongs.
The length and the breadth and the height of it are equal.
And he measured the wall thereof, an hundred and forty and four cubits,
according to the measure of a man, that is, of the angel.

And the building of the wall of it was of jasper:
and the city was pure gold, like unto clear glass.
And the foundations of the wall of the city were garnished with all manner of precious stones.
The first foundation was jasper; the second, sapphire; the third, a chalcedony; the fourth, an emerald;
The fifth, sardonyx; the sixth, sardius; the seventh, chrysolite; the eighth, beryl; the ninth, a topaz;
the tenth, a chrysoprasus; the eleventh, a jacinth; the twelfth, an amethyst.

And the twelve gates were twelve pearls; every several gate was of one pearl:
and the street of the city was pure gold, as it were transparent glass.
And I saw no temple therein: for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it.
And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it:
for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof.
And the nations of them which are saved shall walk in the light of it:
and the kings of the earth do bring their glory and honour into it.'
(Revelation 21:16-24)

* How beautiful this is, isn't it?

Praise God!

Thank you, Ziggy
With love in Christ Jesus
our risen and glorified
Saviour, Lord and Head.
Chris

It's kind of like being 7 years old and watching Cinderella for the first time.
Wow..
It's the stuff dreams are made of. Magical, Wonderful, Splendour.

And the City is adorned as a Bride.
Hello Son,
I have found the perfect bride for you.
Come and See.

Satan brought Jesus to the top of the world and said,
Look what I will give you.
Jesus said, no thanks, my Dad's working on it

That's patience.

He don't go out looking for some easy loving, nope
He knew the perfect girl was waiting at home.

And we are invited to the wedding!!!

And I just had a strange thought..
not strange, kinda hopeful and sad.. so many mixed emotions.. hold on..

We are His body.
What does that mean???
Are His body or his bride?
yea..
Think before God removed Adam's rib.
I never thought of it that way.
It's the Marriage.. the two become one.

It's really early
I'm still working on my first cup of coffee.
But it looks like from here,
It's going to be a BEAUTIFUL DAY!!

THANK YOU, Charity!
What a gift
HUGS

 

[Ziggy]

Hello again, @Ziggy,

Living in Wales, where sheep roam the hills, I am familiar with sheep. They have a place in my memories. Memories of sheep dancing on the metal roof of the outhouse in their attempt to negotiate a path off the mountain whose slopes our house was attached to. Of my Father wrestling with one of those sheep in an attempt to get the garden gate open to set him free. Of being stuck on the mountain in the fog in my then boyfriend's car, the boot full of home made cakes and goodies intended for a children's party which we couldn't get to, because of the fog, when all we could see of the road were the sheep's eyes surrounding us in the light of the headlights.

Yes, happy memories of sheep. But God uses them figuratively of the children of Israel in Isaiah 53, and we can identify with the words of verse six:- "All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on Him the iniquity of us all."

* What a beautiful chapter that is, isn't it? - What a wonderful Saviour we have! - How great is God's love!

Praise God!

Thank you, Ziggy
In Christ Jesus
Chris

You just opened the sheep gate, and I'm walking through.
And I feel sadness and happiness and everything inbetween.
From Genesis to Moses to the Prophets to the Gospels to the end,
We are there.
I will never leave you, nor forsake you.

Praise God indeed!
Thank you, Chris
In Christ Jesus
Lynda

HUGS

 

[Nancy]

The disciples wanted pearls also. They had their eye on a particular 'pearl'....one which embarrassed them when Jesus called them on it. There was contention between them on the road and they figured Jesus was unaware but he knew, so when he was in the house he showed them where the pearl was. 'He sat down'....he did the same thing in the boat after he asked the disciples to push out a little way so the crowd wouldn't trample him...he sat down. I'll come back to it.

Now back in the house he said 'if anyone wants to be first they've gotta be last'....What!! A little child was handy....no status Sambo....he set him in the middle and put his arms around him.....Heyyyy, we're on important business....we're gonna give those Romans a hiding so solidly they're gonna get their cotton picking' tails out here and guess who's gonna run the show....and what's with the kid?

Righty! ....he sat down!....it happened in the boat as well. The water was the lowest point; the people were on the land...higher....he sat down! How many preachers do you know out the front who sit down??.....they stand up on a raised platform don't they? ....have I got your attention is what they're saying isn't it?....but Jesus sat down...unassuming. The Creator of the Universe, the one who holds our breath in his hands and ensures the planets keep to their orbits throughout the limitless realms of space, sits down and allows his audience to look down on him.....he does exactly the reverse of what men who have something to say do. Men want elevation.....Jesus takes the low place. As I think on the scene it makes me love him all the more.

Real pearls come in sitting and little children.....in taking the lower position and embracing the least of these.

Awesome Q.T.
Never realized this little pearl, T Yeah, why DO preachers stand up?? They have a mike, so it isn't that people couldn't hear him. Are they afraid that if they don't stand up taller than all else, that he won't get the attention of the congregation? I would think that if his words are Truth...then shouldn't it be the Holy Spirit who convicts of sin, righteousness and judgement, not a hail and brimstone "man"? God's Word should be getting the attention. The preacher doesn't even have to be in sight for others to hear his words and teachings.
And so many love to put on a show to...keep their attention rather than letting the Word of God do it's job. Just some thoughts.
Good post bro,
In Him,
Nancy

 

[Ziggy]

Awesome Q.T.
Never realized this little pearl, T Yeah, why DO preachers stand up?? They have a mike, so it isn't that people couldn't hear him. Are they afraid that if they don't stand up taller than all else, that he won't get the attention of the congregation? I would think that if his words are Truth...then shouldn't it be the Holy Spirit who convicts of sin, righteousness and judgement, not a hail and brimstone "man"? God's Word should be getting the attention. The preacher doesn't even have to be in sight for others to hear his words and teachings.
And so many love to put on a show to...keep their attention rather than letting the Word of God do it's job. Just some thoughts.
Good post bro,
In Him,
Nancy

I see Jesus sitting on the floor surrounded by many children and he is telling them stories.
Once upon a time...
But some stories are scary too like the Brother's Grim and the trolls under the bridge.
And the moral of the story is...
They used to ask us that.
What does the story mean to you?
And children always seem to come the closest to the truth.

Mat 19:14
But Jesus said, Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me: for of such is the kingdom of heaven.

His parables always opened like .. ready for another one? Hear another parable...
And closed with.. what do you think? Who do you think?

I always used to sit in the back of the classroom
I was/am very self conscious.
But when I listen to the Teacher
He always puts me in the front row

It's raining outside
and all I see is sunshine


HUGS

 

[Nancy]

I see Jesus sitting on the floor surrounded by many children and he is telling them stories.
Once upon a time...
But some stories are scary too like the Brother's Grim and the trolls under the bridge.
And the moral of the story is...
They used to ask us that.
What does the story mean to you?
And children always seem to come the closest to the truth.

Mat 19:14
But Jesus said, Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me: for of such is the kingdom of heaven.

His parables always opened like .. ready for another one? Hear another parable...
And closed with.. what do you think? Who do you think?

I always used to sit in the back of the classroom
I was/am very self conscious.
But when I listen to the Teacher
He always puts me in the front row

It's raining outside
and all I see is sunshine


HUGS

Well, that's an awesome likelihood that is exactly what happened when Christ spoke to children! And, like yourself, I too am and have my whole life been...self conscious. I WANT to be more and more Christ conscious and it IS happening more and more
I shall keep you in mind when praying against "self" consciousness!

 

[Ziggy]

Well, that's an awesome likelihood that is exactly what happened when Christ spoke to children! And, like yourself, I too am and have my whole life been...self conscious. I WANT to be more and more Christ conscious and it IS happening more and more
I shall keep you in mind when praying against "self" consciousness!

I don't seem to have that problem when I'm here though.. lol
I tend to speak right up in class and sometimes make an idiot of myself.
And the other kids either laugh or boooo...
but it's all good,
we're all learning.
And we have an AWESOME Teacher
It's the physical appearance ..
ugh..
Never been one to run in a beauty contest, that's for sure.. LOL

HUGS

 

[charity]

Ziggy said:-
We are His body.
What does that mean???
Are His body or his bride?

Hi @Ziggy,

Thank you for responding my two posts.

The Church which is His Body consists of individual believers, joined together in perfect unity in Christ Jesus their Head. They may never meet while in this life, perhaps, but God knows who they are. They are joined together in love (Ephesians 4:1-6), through the unity of the Spirit, in the bond of peace, which the Lord Himself created. when He made the both (Jew and Gentile believer) one-in-Him.

* The Body is not The Bride - that is another company of God's people.

'Cease not to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers;
That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory,
may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him:
The eyes of your understanding being enlightened;
that ye may know what is the hope of His calling,
and what the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, (set apart ones)
And what is the exceeding greatness of His power to us-ward who believe,
according to the working of His mighty power,
Which He wrought in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead,
and set Him at His own right hand in the heavenly places,
Far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named,
not only in this world, but also in that which is to come:
And hath put all things under His feet,
and gave Him to be the head over all things to the church,
Which is His body, the fulness of Him that filleth all in all.
(Ephesians 1:16-23)

Praise His Holy Name!

In Christ Jesus
Chris

 

[Ziggy]

Hi @Ziggy,

Thank you for responding my two posts.

The Church which is His Body consists of individual believers, joined together in perfect unity in Christ Jesus their Head. They may never meet while in this life, perhaps, but God knows who they are. They are joined together in love (Ephesians 4:1-6), through the unity of the Spirit, in the bond of peace, which the Lord Himself created. when He made the both (Jew and Gentile believer) one-in-Him.

* The Body is not The Bride - that is another company of God's people.

'Cease not to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers;
That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory,
may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him:
The eyes of your understanding being enlightened;
that ye may know what is the hope of His calling,
and what the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, (set apart ones)
And what is the exceeding greatness of His power to us-ward who believe,
according to the working of His mighty power,
Which He wrought in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead,
and set Him at His own right hand in the heavenly places,
Far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named,
not only in this world, but also in that which is to come:
And hath put all things under His feet,
and gave Him to be the head over all things to the church,
Which is His body, the fulness of Him that filleth all in all.
(Ephesians 1:16-23)

Praise His Holy Name!

In Christ Jesus
Chris

Thank You,
The first verse that came to mind is about the hand saying to the foot, what are you here for?
I could copy paste the entire 12th chapter of Corinthians 1.. but I think this is enough:

1Co 12:15
If the foot shall say, Because I am not the hand, I am not of the body; is it therefore not of the body?
1Co 12:16
And if the ear shall say, Because I am not the eye, I am not of the body; is it therefore not of the body?
1Co 12:17
If the whole body were an eye, where were the hearing? If the whole were hearing, where were the smelling?
1Co 12:18
But now hath God set the members every one of them in the body, as it hath pleased him.

I think everyone is going to look SPLENDID!
As many threads in this forum is like as many rooms in a mansion.
And some rooms have good lighting and others are kind of dark.
I have a hard time sometimes walking from room to room and letting my eyes adjust to either
the dark or the light.
But it's still the same mansion.
And I try to keep a handy supply of candles available

HUGS

 

[charity]

1Co 12:15
If the foot shall say, Because I am not the hand, I am not of the body; is it therefore not of the body?
1Co 12:16
And if the ear shall say, Because I am not the eye, I am not of the body; is it therefore not of the body?
1Co 12:17
If the whole body were an eye, where were the hearing? If the whole were hearing, where were the smelling?
1Co 12:18
But now hath God set the members every one of them in the body, as it hath pleased him.

Hi @Ziggy,

Thank you for replying. I can understand your choice of these verses, but in actual fact the truth of the Church which is the Body of Christ, was not made known until after Paul wrote 1&2 Corinthians, 1&2 Thessalonians, Galatians, Romans and Hebrews. It was made known by revelation to Paul while he was in prison in Rome at the end of the period covered by 'The Acts of The Apostles'. Paul was chosen by God to receive this revelation and to administer it, which he did in his subsequent epistles, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, 1 &2 Timothy, Titus and Philemon.

* This revelation had been hidden in God from before the foundation of the world (Ephesians 3:9; Colossians 1:26), when He had prepared and provisioned for it's necessity, following the rejection of the Lord Jesus Christ as their Messiah by the nation of Israel, and their refusal to repent during the Acts period (approx. 40 yrs). In the last chapter of Acts we read that salvation was sent to the Gentiles, (it had formerly been, 'of the Jew' - John 4:22) and that they would hear it. This new administration united both Jew and Gentile believers as a joint body, in a partnership of equality which they had never before experienced, independent of Israel. They were made One in Christ Jesus their glorified Head.

Praise God!

* What you have in 1 Corinthians is an illustration of the human body with it's many parts to explain the distribution of spiritual gifts among the members of an assembly.

I hope this makes sense.
With love in Christ Jesus
Chris

 

[Nancy]

I don't seem to have that problem when I'm here though.. lol
I tend to speak right up in class and sometimes make an idiot of myself.
And the other kids either laugh or boooo...
but it's all good,
we're all learning.
And we have an AWESOME Teacher
It's the physical appearance ..
ugh..
Never been one to run in a beauty contest, that's for sure.. LOL

HUGS

"I don't seem to have that problem when I'm here though.. lol"

Same here my sister! We should be fellowshipping in The Spirit anyhow right?

"I tend to speak right up in class and sometimes make an idiot of myself. "<--- Ahaha...yes...the old "foot in mouth" thing
And the other kids either laugh or boooo...
but it's all good,
we're all learning." <--- Amen my sister.

 

[quietthinker]

His parables always opened like .. ready for another one? Hear another parable...
And closed with.. what do you think? Who do you think?

Think....thats what he wanted us to do....think!

But some stories are scary too like the Brother's Grim and the trolls under the bridge.
And the moral of the story is...
They used to ask us that.
What does the story mean to you?
And children always seem to come the closest to the truth.

Every story had an embedded message. Whether the story was factual or not was irrelevant......what mattered was the message.
The stories where drawn from everyday life....the sower, the fisherman, the widow. Some stories were drawn from well known myths just like the Brothers Grim and trolls under the bridge.

When I tell you a joke (a story)....there was an Irishman, an Eglishman and an American....... straight away we know it is the punch line that matters......we never think in terms of the story being factual.

Imagine the the problem we would have seeing it as factual.......annnnnd worst, we would miss the point!

 

[quietthinker]

Well, that's an awesome likelihood that is exactly what happened when Christ spoke to children! And, like yourself, I too am and have my whole life been...self conscious. I WANT to be more and more Christ conscious and it IS happening more and more
I shall keep you in mind when praying against "self" consciousness!

ahhhhhhh, 'self' conscious........what a crippler! ......oh Father, keep me from my good intentions!

 

[farouk]

Thank You,
The first verse that came to mind is about the hand saying to the foot, what are you here for?
I could copy paste the entire 12th chapter of Corinthians 1.. but I think this is enough:

1Co 12:15
If the foot shall say, Because I am not the hand, I am not of the body; is it therefore not of the body?
1Co 12:16
And if the ear shall say, Because I am not the eye, I am not of the body; is it therefore not of the body?
1Co 12:17
If the whole body were an eye, where were the hearing? If the whole were hearing, where were the smelling?
1Co 12:18
But now hath God set the members every one of them in the body, as it hath pleased him.

I think everyone is going to look SPLENDID!
As many threads in this forum is like as many rooms in a mansion.
And some rooms have good lighting and others are kind of dark.
I have a hard time sometimes walking from room to room and letting my eyes adjust to either
the dark or the light.
But it's still the same mansion.
And I try to keep a handy supply of candles available

HUGS

@Ziggy Good verses there, quoted...

 

[Ziggy]

I just thought about something crazy...
I decided to wonder over this other forum. Says it's got lots of members but noby's really talking.
So I want around town, checked out a couple rooms,
and oh boy are they cold and stuffy.
I don't think some of those rooms have had a window opened of a warm cozy fire for a long time.
I mean people are there but they all sitting around, moping and groping, and ho hum,
other rooms they throwing hammers at each other, I tell ya it's scary.
And so I figured I stop in maybe say hi, drop a note, I only been there one day,
so nobody knew me yet.. I say yet because I'm thinking about going back again.

And the crazy thing that came to my mind as I was closing the door..


stone soup.

Yup, stone soup.. I got the stone, but who's got the kettle? hmm
and maybe just maybe someone will offer some potatoes and carrots.

When I came here, most the windows already letting in the sunshine and it it's comfortable here,
just right as Goldilocks would say, not too hard and not too soft. Not too hot and not too cold.
I wouldn't call it lukewarm either.. I would call it just right.

And somebody had already been stirring the pot before I got here. And maybe it was those yummy smells wafting down the halls
of time that brought me here.
I dunno, all I know is
this feels like HOME to me.
And maybe I got to travel different places and show them what you showed me.
How to make Stone Soup.
Maybe that's what the mission is all about..

crazy...