Helen
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- Oct 22, 2011
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Agree..they are very grounding books and give a good overview of our relationship with the Lord.
How to debate the Bible: for beginners
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Agree..they are very grounding books and give a good overview of our relationship with the Lord.
jshiii
Well-Known Member
First and Foremost, Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18)
*Pray Without Ceasing--Pray to Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, Pray to His Father, Pray with Groans through the Holy Spirit. Pray every 5 minutes or even less, even every 1 minute if you can, of your entire 24 hr day! Pray before you fall asleep, pray as soon as you wake up! Prayer, Trust and Faith in Your Creator is the Greatest Gift God has given Believers! Seriously it is AWESOME!
*Give Thanks In All Circumstances--In sadness, in weakness, in disease, in poverty, even when you are betrayed, even in imminent death...give thanks to the Lord Jesus Christ (like Steven who was stoned) and realize that even this will pass, the troubles of this life are a VAPOR compared to Eternity with Our Lord and Savior! When you are blessed with Riches, with Love, with Love from a Spouse, Brother, Sister, Mother or Father, with Health, with Knowledge and Wisdom, be humble, be thankful and praise the name of Jesus Christ...FOR HE IS LORD!
*The Will Of God In Christ Jesus For You--"There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love." - 1 John 4:18 ESV
The Lord Jesus Christ ONLY, is Worthy of all our Praise and Worship!
Eternity is a Very long Time!
Satan Loves Distractions and Wants Christians To Just Die!!
jshiii
Well-Known Member
I find there are only a small group of those I call ' God Chasers' on here. ..and,so many 'good people' have come on here , and then gone again
So Helen, why don't we try to change that? When we give our opposed opinions, let's try to do it with more Christ likeness, in a more loving way. Not CHASE off the "good people." If "good people", hang out long enough, just maybe they will become permanent members/stronger believers and help evangelize unbelievers in this Forum. Maybe we can just make the Christianity Boards into a magnet for new believers in Christ and the best Christianity site on the Internet. Work with me now.
The Lord Jesus Christ ONLY, is Worthy of all our Praise and Worship!
Eternity is a Very long Time!
Satan Loves Distractions and Wants Christians To Just Die!!
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Thank you very much....your suggestions for prayer and thanks are well received.
My suggestions can wait. I started the thread to call upon the Senior Custodians of Christianity
(as I call them) to offer up their wisdom on the matter. We are responsible to Christ...to say the least we owe Him....Free gift....Ask Christ if it was free. I get free gifts at Christmas and I return the sentiment. The old timers use to say, "You are a knot on a log!" We don't want to be that. We want to be prepared for those times that we are confronted with the question. What greater gift to Christ. I have ideas but I do not have all the good ideas or suggestions. What better place to ask this question? Obviously there are people here that are knowledgeable and there are people here that are lead by the Spirit. This is the call, will they answer the call?
To me it means many different things. Like, not to return evil for evil. If someone were nasty to me, my knee jerk reaction USED to be, give it right back and more so. Now, I see that we are not to do that because it could blemish our walk in front of un- believers and most likely push them further away from the Truth of Jesus. Then of course, there is the fruit of the Spirit listed in Galatians 5:22,23.
If explaining to a new Christian, I would first off tell them how God has come through for me time and time again when I am faithful. Then I would tell them that surrendering ALL things to Him will bring about wonderful revelations in their lives.
And, that it is all about trust and faith, and that He means what He says! And of course, repentance, turning the other way when temptation rears it's ugly head and to lean on Him when this happens. So basically, repentance, trust and faith
You kind of blew me away with this answer...
Nancy
Well-Known Member
Because you answered so well. You answered as one who has wrestled with God and wrestled to trust rather than someone who is just posturing religiously with no experience of suffering or wrestling to learn the obedience of trust.
Nancy
Well-Known Member
Oh, thanks
Seems we wrestle allot with God! I don't think there are many days that go by where I do NOT wrestle with Him...thinking I'm not enough, not nearly as I should be. I got so angry with myself the other day that I actually took His name in vain. And, of course that only made everything much worse! Seems like such a roller coaster and, my mind is so full of stuff I can hardly hear Him sometimes but...He is faithful even though we might not be, and that alone gives me hope. How is your business coming along?
We don't. Through the new birth, He takes up residence in our lives and starts 'house-cleaning'.
Forgive her, Lord Jesus! (1 John 5:16).Oh, thanks
Thank you. (1 John 1:9).
Well, you aren't enough. You aren't nearly as you should be. And if you clearly see that and accept it, I think you are pretty far ahead of a lot of people in honesty and humility.
Surely it's better to be not enough with honesty than to be not enough while deceiving yourself. Better a dry crust, alone in the peace of truthfulness, than to feast on steak with a contentious woman.
Prayer Warrior
Well-Known Member
For some reason, I've had a hard time jumping into this discussion, but it's a good one--one very worth having.
I would tell these new believers to spend time reading and studying their Bibles everyday, and I would emphasize the importance of prayer. I would also tell them to be sure and have regular fellowship with mature Christians.
In addition to these things, I would teach them the importance of walking by the Spirit. This means living in submission and obedience to the guidance of the Spirit 24/7/365. This is one of the main things that sets Christianity apart from all of the religions of the world. As believers in Jesus Christ, we have God Himself indwelling us and guiding us through the Spirit, which is amazing! In Galatians, we see the benefits of walking by the Spirit by God's grace through faith in Him.
Galatian 5:16-25-- But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh. For the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another, so that you may not do the things that you please. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the Law. Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are: immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions, envying, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these, of which I forewarn you, just as I have forewarned you, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit. Let us not become boastful, challenging one another, envying one another.
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For some reason, I've had a hard time jumping into this discussion, but it's a good one--one very worth having.
I would tell these new believers to spend time reading and studying their Bibles everyday, and I would emphasize the importance of prayer. I would also tell them to be sure and have regular fellowship with mature Christians.
In addition to these things, I would teach them the importance of walking by the Spirit. This means living in submission and obedience to the guidance of the Spirit 24/7/365. This is one of the main things that sets Christianity apart from all of the religions of the world. As believers in Jesus Christ, we have God Himself indwelling us and guiding us through the Spirit, which is amazing! In Galatians, we see the benefits of walking by the Spirit by God's grace through faith in Him.
Galatian 5:16-25-- But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh. For the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another, so that you may not do the things that you please. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the Law. Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are: immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions, envying, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these, of which I forewarn you, just as I have forewarned you, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit. Let us not become boastful, challenging one another, envying one another.
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Thanks Deb and well put. The belief, concept, and visualization of walking with Christ in our daily life is in my wheelhouse. Real good input.
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That Galatians verse has always sounded absolutely wonderful to me. It might also be the verse that has frustrated me worse than any.
In keeping with the op, how is walking in the Spirit done and what would you suggest to someone who asks you: how do you walk in the Spirit and how do you know when you are walking in the Spirit?
In keeping with the op, how is walking in the Spirit done and what would you suggest to someone who asks you: how do you walk in the Spirit and how do you know when you are walking in the Spirit?
Prayer Warrior
Well-Known Member
Good questions!
I would say that the first step is something that @Nancy touched on. We need to submit ourselves to God by His grace. That means giving Him everything--our lives, our dreams and desires, our selves.... This is not a onetime event. It's daily taking up our cross and following Jesus. I've done this throughout my Christian walk, and the Lord always meets me when I ask Him to, and He gives me the strength to submit to Him.
It's really pretty simple. You can do this by getting alone with Him and telling Him that you give Him everything. Ask the Holy Spirit to show you if there's anything you're holding back. The Spirit will show you and give you the grace to give all to the Lord. Even though it's simple, it's not always easy, but He makes it possible. Submission shows our trust in Him, in His goodness and love.
There's more to this that I will share, but right now I have to get going with my day.
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Good morning pw!
So then, that sounds like a perfectly fine first step. It actually sounds like something to aim for. I would really like to talk more about it.
So then, we are talking about first steps here. I don't think any of us can say anything about walking in the Spirit with any experiential knowledge, but first steps are good, right?
So then, we are acknowledging that our wish, our goal, is to walk in the Spirit so we will not keep being brought down by our flesh?
So then, we are acknowledging that we think we discern that we are in a sort of...process? And that there is something ahead of us that we are grabbing for or going towards and it is "walking in the Spirit?" Is that the same as abiding in Christ? I think it might be...walking in the Spirit so we don't do the deeds of the flesh in that ugly list from Galatians but instead the second list. It sounds like to: if we abide in Him, we do not sin.
Nancy
Well-Known Member
Agreed!!! I too liken abiding in Him to walking in the Spirit. To me, it's a surrendering each day and, when we continually do it, one day we will see that many of our sins and years long habits have been shed like, for instance...I used to be a crazy driver, getting hot under the collar when someone is driving under the limit, in the passing lane to boot. I'd flip the bird, curse like a sailor lay on the horn only ....to make it to the red light before them and of course, I would feel foolish at that point but, I went even further at times (pride) and would run the red light so as NOT to look foolish. Rightly, I should have been given so many traffic violations but, rarely did. I no longer do this, it's like maybe God is making you stop at yet another red light to avoid an accident up ahead? Or maybe someone would be walking across the street and not see me so God was saving them from me! It started to convict me deeply, especially once I noticed an old lady or man in front of the wheel, white knuckling it because of people like me
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Nancy
Well-Known Member
Amen my sister! This can be comforting because human nature always expects "more" than enough...it is of course, impossible to meet His standard which is perfection. But, through Christ, we are redeemed! And, we must come to grips with the fact that this spiritual fight between the flesh and the Spirit will be a constant, every moment by moment thing.
Nancy flipping the bird and curse like a sailor.....lol...belly laugh!
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