Hi there,
So there is a simple test, to whether you are over-cooking your faith: are you doing it, together with others? In Heaven, you don't do anything, that is without friendship. Even if all you do is participate in Spirit, you wait till you are together in Spirit. There is no "reading the Bible this way and that, quoting this or that scripture" you are asked (politely) to attend to the Word proceeding from the Mouth of God. This is a daily activity: feeding on the Word that proceeds from the Mouth of God. What is the verse for today? That is something you can ask, in Heaven or on Earth - but as I am trying to point out in this thread: in Heaven you feed together (on Earth you do what you do, because of what was done for you, beforehand). This is actually a powerful way to live!
So then, if we do what we do together, we need the conviction of the Holy Spirit, to make sense (give order) of what we need to do, to unite. Sin, tells us that we are relying too much on ourselves; righteousness, tells us that we must prolong what we do for the sake of others; judgment, tells us that our unity will be tested for its 'unitedness'. If we can grasp this, then we will serve in strength, as our brothers serve in strength. It (our faith) becomes something we can understand, whether from our perspective or another's, because we all do it together. If we did not do it together, we would grow confused and be blown about, losing our standing - this is the experience of people who have NDEs (Near Death Experiences), they can see that there will be peace, but they are not caught up in the reason there is peace, viz., that no one is ever alone in Heaven.
The reality is: this should be something we are trying to master, in this life. It doesn't matter if we fall short, and need to dust ourselves off again - our brothers will be there to help. They may not have predicted that we would fall, but they didn't leave us without a way to come together again (us and them, as us). When we do things together, it pleases God - because He has prepared a great many things, that we can do together in His Love, for Him, and in His Strength and so on. This is part of the Power of God, that no-one who knows what power is, needs to face it alone: if someone (remember Jesus) is able to stand in the Presence of God, we are all able to stand in the Presence of God, the way He does. Glory upon Glory results!
What do we remember then, to ensure that our testimony is as close to the testimony of others as it can be? The Holy Spirit will remind us. That is the power of the Holy Spirit: He doesn't need to hear everything we have to say, to know what part of it agrees with the Heaven that is waiting for us, and what part of it, needs further instruction, so that we function effectively together. This is our ticket out of here, baby! We are guaranteed that Heaven won't move on without us, because we have found working with others hard. Like when people post scripture after scripture, without distilling their own wisdom, in one sense they will be like all the others that do this, but on the other hand, they will be given harder instruction - not because they deserve it or ought to be punished, but because there is a way to work more effectively with others.
So do we race to be together, with others? No, we sit and we wait and we consider our steps, whether they have been found in the Lord. The fire has to go out, before it is time to rekindle it. Jesus taught this, when the Disciples were wondering what they would do after the crucifixion - saying "wait in Jerusalem, until the Holy Spirit has been poured out" (from memory). Essentially this is God's timing, that we wait until we can do what we do, together! The Lord is able to lavish those in agreement with each other, with all things - there is no mistaking that God is more and more pleased, the more united in worship (in spirit and in truth) that we become. In a sense opens up a door, to a place, where everyone is waiting to do something together with the Lord. Death will mean nothing to us; Hell will not get in the way.
I hope this has been of some encouragement to you, that you are starting to get a sense of participation, from these words.
God bless.
So there is a simple test, to whether you are over-cooking your faith: are you doing it, together with others? In Heaven, you don't do anything, that is without friendship. Even if all you do is participate in Spirit, you wait till you are together in Spirit. There is no "reading the Bible this way and that, quoting this or that scripture" you are asked (politely) to attend to the Word proceeding from the Mouth of God. This is a daily activity: feeding on the Word that proceeds from the Mouth of God. What is the verse for today? That is something you can ask, in Heaven or on Earth - but as I am trying to point out in this thread: in Heaven you feed together (on Earth you do what you do, because of what was done for you, beforehand). This is actually a powerful way to live!
So then, if we do what we do together, we need the conviction of the Holy Spirit, to make sense (give order) of what we need to do, to unite. Sin, tells us that we are relying too much on ourselves; righteousness, tells us that we must prolong what we do for the sake of others; judgment, tells us that our unity will be tested for its 'unitedness'. If we can grasp this, then we will serve in strength, as our brothers serve in strength. It (our faith) becomes something we can understand, whether from our perspective or another's, because we all do it together. If we did not do it together, we would grow confused and be blown about, losing our standing - this is the experience of people who have NDEs (Near Death Experiences), they can see that there will be peace, but they are not caught up in the reason there is peace, viz., that no one is ever alone in Heaven.
The reality is: this should be something we are trying to master, in this life. It doesn't matter if we fall short, and need to dust ourselves off again - our brothers will be there to help. They may not have predicted that we would fall, but they didn't leave us without a way to come together again (us and them, as us). When we do things together, it pleases God - because He has prepared a great many things, that we can do together in His Love, for Him, and in His Strength and so on. This is part of the Power of God, that no-one who knows what power is, needs to face it alone: if someone (remember Jesus) is able to stand in the Presence of God, we are all able to stand in the Presence of God, the way He does. Glory upon Glory results!
What do we remember then, to ensure that our testimony is as close to the testimony of others as it can be? The Holy Spirit will remind us. That is the power of the Holy Spirit: He doesn't need to hear everything we have to say, to know what part of it agrees with the Heaven that is waiting for us, and what part of it, needs further instruction, so that we function effectively together. This is our ticket out of here, baby! We are guaranteed that Heaven won't move on without us, because we have found working with others hard. Like when people post scripture after scripture, without distilling their own wisdom, in one sense they will be like all the others that do this, but on the other hand, they will be given harder instruction - not because they deserve it or ought to be punished, but because there is a way to work more effectively with others.
So do we race to be together, with others? No, we sit and we wait and we consider our steps, whether they have been found in the Lord. The fire has to go out, before it is time to rekindle it. Jesus taught this, when the Disciples were wondering what they would do after the crucifixion - saying "wait in Jerusalem, until the Holy Spirit has been poured out" (from memory). Essentially this is God's timing, that we wait until we can do what we do, together! The Lord is able to lavish those in agreement with each other, with all things - there is no mistaking that God is more and more pleased, the more united in worship (in spirit and in truth) that we become. In a sense opens up a door, to a place, where everyone is waiting to do something together with the Lord. Death will mean nothing to us; Hell will not get in the way.
I hope this has been of some encouragement to you, that you are starting to get a sense of participation, from these words.
God bless.
