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| For years, I had tried to earn my share of God's love. |
| 06.16.04 (1:04 am) [edit] |
I had just turned 14. As a new member of the youth group, I was nervously excited to go on my first church retreat for the weekend. It was February in Texas, and that meant perfect weather: warm sun, cool air and not much rain. I could not wait.
My parents just joined the church and being a younger member of the 100+ youths in the church should have made me afraid that I would be picked upon. But, my brother was two years older and he was going also. So, bursting with curiosity, and bridled by the shyness that comes with unfamiliar territory, I headed off for the weekend.
I thought that retreats were about fun, but I soon learned that our minister would have an intense lesson in store. The theme of the retreat was "Asking God for Forgiveness." Sounded fine to me. Well, at least it was a teaching about something to do, which meant that we weren't being given a bunch of stuff that we ought not do. (I was a typical youth that had very little interest in learning what I should not do.)
I was told that sin separates me from God, and that as long as I have unconfessed sin, I would be separated. I was told that if I want to be near to God, then I should endeavor to remember each and every sin that is in my life. Sins of commission and sins of omission. Sin, sin, everywhere a sin-sin. I took it very seriously, and when it was time to pray, I would pause and recollect all of the sins of the day, and ask for forgiveness for each one.
Well, the retreat ended on Sunday, and that Sunday night I decided to practice what I was taught. I started off, with a few sins that I could remember, and then a few more for good measure. By now, I had been praying for about 10 minuets. I wanted to stop, but I keep thinking about the sin separating me from God, so I thought harder. I wanted to make sure that I remembered all of them, and asked for forgiveness for all of them so that I would not be separated from God. In a panic I said, "Lord, please forgive me for everything that I did that was sin."
Suddenly, I heard what I was saying as something very familiar. This is what I prayed when I became a Christian. Had I lost my salvation? Had each unconfessed sin moved me closer to hell? If I sinned and forgot to confess, would that sin separate me from God forever? According to what I had learned: YES.
I became angry and began to lash out at God. "What kind of salvation is this? What a joke! If it is up to me to maintain it, then count me out!" I shook my fist toward heaven, "I don't even want your 'salvation' it is a ridiculous curse."
"I am through with you, God. You can deal with me when I die, but not here on Earth."
Yes, I cursed the Gospel. I slammed Jesus and what He did on the cross. I rebelled and told God to shove it. I did all of this, serious as a heart attack.
By mentioning death and after I die, I thought it best to continue. "If you want me in Heaven then fine, but I don't want you in my life."
At this point I was upset, and I cried and clutched my pillow, saying all of this in my heart so I would not disturb my brother sleeping in the same room. A darkness flooded my heart.
I felt empty and shattered. Giving up on the religion that was so important to my upbringing and family was tough, and I wondered if I had made a mistake. And yet I knew that I wanted nothing to do with asking for forgiveness. I am not going back, and that is what made me despair all the more.
I sat wondering if my weakness is what kept me from God. Why could I not be as strong as I thought others were? My creator can never forgive me and it is because if my inability. So, were the thoughts of a burned out 14 year old.
In desperation, I wept even more bitterly. With the same ferocious nature as my curse, but now with more passion and stubbornness, I lifted my eyes once more to heaven. I cannot say what flooded my mind as I sobbed, but I can only remember begging God to show me the Truth. "God! WHAT! IS! I T !?!?!?"
"What is it?" … have you ever asked God that question? What is the point, what is meaning, why am I here, and where did I go wrong … rolled up into one.
No sooner had I asked and the reply came. So loud and pure that a thousand trains could not drown it out … in a voice as brilliant as the white light of the sun. In clarity that four-stories of speakers could not represent … the answer came from the mouth of God, and shook my soul, as it had never quaked before. Deafened in the sound of …
"TRENT, I LOVE YOU!"
That is all that He said and that is all that needed to be said. It echoed for hours in my mind, and made such a lasting impression on my soul that I cry at the drop of the hat, and 14 years later, I cannot even bless the food without weeping like a baby. "I love you, thought you curse me," "I love you, though you shake your fist at heaven." "I love you, though you want nothing to do with me." I love you and there is nothing, nothing, nothing that you can do to stop me!" "You can forsake me, but TRENT, I LOVE YOU!" It plastered me to my bed, and I curled up into the fetal position, exposed and unafraid - basking in the radical love of God.
How do you perceive the love of God? Is it stubborn or fickle? Does it have anything to do with your behavior, or does it spring spontaneously from our Creator? Can you impeach the love of God by what you do? Can you invoke the love of God by what you do?
What was revealed to me is tugging at your heart, you want to believe it and rely upon it. Believe it. Rely upon it. Let God love you.
For years, I had tried to earn my share of God's love. But, trying to do that only pushed away the understanding of it. God's is love. It is not about how lovely I am, it is about what He is. God is love … the most concise and profound words ever uttered. God does not have love, He does not offer love, He does not fall in love, but God IS love.
The love of God will always spring spontaneously from Who He is.
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| "... If I marry again ,Am I an adulterer and doomed to hell?" |
| 06.14.04 (5:27 pm) [edit] |
Subject: Remarriage
Question: I divorced my wife (we both are Christians) a few years ago(I was unfaithful, she forgave me but I still wanted out), and now found a new love. We want to marry (she too is Christian), but I am worried that our marriage would be wrong in God's eyes. If I marry again ,Am I an adulterer and doomed to hell?
That is what I was asked: Look below for my answer. How would you have answered?
MY ANSWER
I spent the last couple of days thinking about what to tell you. I have a lot of opinions about this topic. So hold on to your seat.
:-)
I want you to be imbued with the notion that there is not a monolithic viewpoint on the subject of marriage and divorce and remarriage. Even scholars find it difficult to find common ground on the Biblical interpretation of the topic. You should search your heart and find the Truth that sets you free. Do not be satisfied with confusion. Trust that the Holy Spirit will lead you to the Truth. My part, is not to replace the faculty of the Spirit, but organize thoughts toward the truth so that as your thoughts approach it, you can be touched with a revelation. Spiritual revelation belongs to you, don’t ever say that “Trent says that …” because Truth does not belong to me. If it touches you, then own it for yourself as a gift from God, OK?
;-)
I hope to render two things that must be carefully brought together, so that there is no overlapping. Hopefully, you will be able to see how these things work together, and yet remain separate. I want to help you understand: 1) The Biblical revelation of God’s will concerning the keeping of vows, AND 2) The way a Christian should think, and decide complicated issues of life. And through this discussion I hope to impart liberal portions of deep understanding of God’s unlimited grace, and His unconditional love.
The thought occurred to me, that your questions might be better answered in reverse order. So, I will start by commenting on the last part of your question:
You wrote:
[name], you are an adulterer. Yes. Even if you do not remarry, you are STILL a deprived sinner in need of mercy and grace. So am I. Jesus said that lust is the same as adultery, and who among men can claim innocence? Nobody. That is why Jesus said it, only the sick need a physician, and many are deceived about their alleged spiritual health and therefore have pushed away God’s miraculous salvation. Among those, that are doomed to hell, is the self-righteous person that says that they are innocent and sinless. Do not be illusioned about your wickedness, [name]. Your righteousness is as filthy mistral rags. Though our sins be as scarlet, they will be as white as snow, for anyone that stands before God trusting fully upon what Jesus did, rather then what they did. Have you any confidence in the flesh? Will you stand before God depending on your works, or the works of Jesus?
If you make the faith-choice to depend on God, rather then self, then your reward will be great. You will have the very life of God imparted and intermingled within your innermost being. As a partaker of the divine nature, you will stand in Christ’s righteousness, His perfection, His holiness, His godliness, and His sinlessness. If you would give Jesus a perfect 10 in those categories, then it would be disbelief to give yourself a lower score. Let that soak in. If it is true for you, then you have much reason to give thanks! It takes faith to say “Thank You.” Have you said “Thank You?”
You also wrote:
Do you remember you vows to your first wife? I know that God does. I bet it went something like this: “ … for better or worse, for richer and for poorer, in sickness and in health, until death do we part.” Is that correct? Notice the last part “until death do we part.” That is the way out, is it not? You did not say “until my taste changes do we part.” You did not say “until you dump me.” You did not say “ until you divorce and remarry someone else.” You made a vow, promise, oath, contract, and solemn sober covenant until death. *gulp* So did I when I married.
The scary thing about making that promise is that you don’t know all there is to know about the person that you are making the vow to. They may have deceived you, and really be something evil and mean. They may embarrass, and harm you, but that was not the way out either. It is until death. So, we may want to change them and control them and make them a factor of non-disturbance in our life. We want them to be the same as us, or at least always on our side. We might merely see them as a possession and unruly subjects of our kingdom on earth. But, Oneness is never accomplished as the result of forced sameness. Committing to someone that may harm or hurt you reveals deeply how God loves us and seeks our oneness.
There is an interesting custom in Jewish weddings. Before the ceremony, the groom visits the bride and covers her head with a veil. Then he leaves her to wait for her to come forward. Traditionally this is explained as the groom "making sure who the bride is." Why? Because Jacob was tricked by his father-in-law, who traded Rachel (who Jacob was fond of) for Leah, his other daughter. Jacob consummated with Leah in the dark before he realized the deception. Jacob accepted his fate, and later also married the woman of his choice, Rachel.
The "traditional explanation" is weak. The tradition of the groom and veil is NOT a way of making sure of whom the bride is. If that were the case then there would not be a veil and the groom could examine her during the ceremony. No, the veil is a way to describe love. The groom may not know whom he is marrying and indeed will not know everything about her. But, he will commit to love and learn to make room for all that he does not know about her. That is the meaning of the veil, for we read that Jacob made room for Leah in his life and later was buried with her, instead of the bride of his choice.
The point is that many people have not learned the love of God. His love always makes room for others and commits to do so. Indeed I want to know His love fully and pass it on to others. To do so, I must commit to accept others, even though I do not know all there is to know about them. As a man and woman commit in marriage. I must make room for their differences and achieve oneness apart from taking on a conquest of sameness. Marriage is the commitment of that love, and God intends to fulfill the commitment through anyone yielded to Him.
You also wrote:
[name], you are conflicted and worried that you might be making a mistake. And you might be making a big one. The thing is, that you are looking to man (me) for approval, rather then asking God for direction. Without a firm conviction, you are on shaky ground.
Here is the advice that I usually give with regard to marriage: Marry the person that you have in mind, if and ONLY IF, to not marry them would be an abominable rebellious sin against the clear and direct command of God as LORD of your life. * double gulp *
I know that hit you hard, but do you think that you would be in this stressful position if you applied that principle in your life with regard to your first spouse?
If you are not sure that God can give a clear and direct command, then trust me … HE CAN! Wait for Him, be honest about your doubt. Doubt is the natural state of a mind has not been impressed with the spiritual instruction. If you agree that He can do it, then demand that He does it. He can give you the grace to wait, and He will instruct anyone that is still and listens.
And while you are waiting, please think about this:
I personally know three people, that have trusted God and been given the grace to keep their vows, even though their spouse has long ago broken their vows. That is to say that they wear their wedding ring and forsake all others until God brings about the end of their oath, on the day that the other dies. I have spoken to each of them about this, and each have said that it has been more then hard, But God has been more then sufficient, and that they have only the regret of making the vow, but no regrets that they kept their end of it.
Are these people cursed or blessed? What charge can be made against these that illustrate God's character as they abide in Him for the strength to be true? Hasn’t He been more longsuffering in keeping His promises to us?
God will not bring you to a problem that He cannot bring you through. I dare you to prove me wrong.
:-)
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| "... I want to Be DELIVERED OF ALL SEXUAL THINGS ...." |
| 06.14.04 (5:57 am) [edit] |
On occation, one of the questions that I am asked is permitted to be reposted for the benefit of others.
The following question and answer are one of those occations
Reference this one if you want an example of how temptation does not infer desire.
Question:
I'm a proud Christian who is struggling with sexual immorality. I have learned that by watching different things that it allows those demons to transfer into your spirit. I have never been attracted to woman and now when I give a girl compliment on clothes then satan starts talking to me and I rebuke him every time but it gets on my nerves because I think is so stupid for him to try to influence me and something that I have never thought about before. Secondly, recently a close friend of mines let me know about her being Lesbian. I am very scared and know that the devil is trying to attact me through her. Now I feel I can't talk to her because I'm afraid of what might jump off in my spirit. I want to minister to her but also do want to be around her. She thinks I'm neglecting her but I'm not I'm trying to save myself and just talk to her over e-mail. I don't want curiousity to take over my mind. I think that what its all about with her. I want to Be DELIVERED OF ALL SEXUAL THINGS. I'M A FIGHTER AND WON'T GIVE UP! I PRAY THAT GOD HEARS MY CRY. I ALSO learned that this nasty spirits can be transfered from someone you had sex with in the pass and those are his or her spirits in you now and you have to get rid of them. I slept with 3 people in my life and I want to be delivered from their soul ties. I feel so disgusting when sexual thoughts come to my mind. I'm asking your opinion of whats going on and how what can I do as a fighting Christian trying to save my life from destruction. Please left me up in your prayers and I will also pray and fast for myself. I really need someone to talk to me about this. Help!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! "Courage is not just the strength to go on, but to go on without strength" AMEN :)
I got this one on a message board. I'll go ahead and post my answere here.
Did you know that because of this trial you may never have to wonder if you are a Christian ever again. Think about it. - You are not acting as an unbeliever. An unbeliever would not care to about sinning as you do. Remember this trial.
I have better news though. Ready? (drum-roll) God made you weak! Isn't it marvelous! What you are feeling is your weakness responding to the temptaion. You will always feel that pull. There is nothing wrong with being tempted and there is nothing wrong with being weak! Here is a scripture: 2 Corinthians 3:5 "Not that we are adequate in ourselves to consider anything as coming from ourselves, but our adequacy is from God" But wait....
I have better news even still. Are you sitting down. God has given you everything that you need for life and godliness. Here is a verse: 2 Peter 1:3 "seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence." Did you know that Christ lives in you and He is not afraid of temptation? He has fulfilled the law. All of God was in Him and He now lives in you! Col 1:19 "For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in Him," verse 27 "... the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory." You have a hope of glory! It is Christ in you! But you will never beat temptation in your own strength. Let me show you a more excellent way!
If I asked you how you are responding to the temptaion. you would say "How do you think I am responding? I say NO! No, I must not do this!" But did you know that this lonely life of you against temptaion is exactly what God saved you from. You were a slave to sin becasue Christ did not live in you before. Now, your hope of glory is not yourself anymore. You are not alone. You can rest and stop saying "NO" to temptation. You have already lost the battle when you rely on your self. Try saying "YES" to Jesus instead. It takes more that courage. It takes faith. Can you rely on God enough to let Him overcome the temptation in you? Is He reliable? Read for yourself : James 4:7 "Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you."
You have been "resisting the devil", but have you been submitting? That is my advise. From someone who has been there, Christ will have to win this battle. He is the commander let Him live through you.
READ THIS UNTIL YOU UNDERSTAND IT!
Galatians 2:20 "I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me."
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| Where have I erred? |
| 06.13.04 (12:22 pm) [edit] |
Where have I erred?
The Christ is in the creation, but not of it. When the being of God penetrated the envelope/membrane of the creation, then rather then mingle with the creation the membrane is stretched around the being of God so that thet creation forms around Him ... and this is the Son - begotton of the Father. The same Being/Spirit of which created this cosmos and the heavens, is truely beyond the cosmos, except that of which penetrates the cosmos and is wrapped by it, called the "Son." The Son was born of a virgin and dwelt among us within a human temple for 33 years. Within the man we call Jesus is that Being/Spirit that created all. He is the Christ - the only begotton of the Father.
But to us He is the VINE ... and we can be braches grafted into Him. So, there is an umbilical cord that connects the Eternal Life of God with the Son, and that Son can attach Himself unto others like braches being grafted into a vine. We (the grafted braches) are part of the divine organism that is the body of Christ, and His life-sap or "Blood" is flowing into us making us alive and positiing to us all of the divine attributes. Where we once were "dead" or detached from this Eternal Life of the Spirit/Being of God, we are now "alive" as His blood is flowing through us. Indeed we have Eternal life.
So the picture is one of God, the Father - beyond the cosmos - then below (but attached) is the Son, whose Spirit flows constantly into Him as God among us - the advent of God into the cosmos - Jesus. Below Jesus are the Seeds of the Kingdom who, are grafted into Him and are nourished by the same Life that is beyond the cosmos and comes to the cosmos through the Son. This is the Spirit of God - the Holy Spirit that quickens us, and quickens the Son - but belongs with the Father.
We are attached to the Christ, not to the Father. The Christ is attached to the Father, so we share in the ministry of the life giving Spirit of God.
On the last day, all that is holy will be revealed by the Fire. And all that is unholy will perish. The Fire will reveal all things and that which is ETERNAL will remain, and this Life that is within us will travel to the Source to be ONE with God the Father, and the Son and the Holy Spirit - in perfect unity. This Holy Spirit that is within us is a long way from Home and it calls out for a return. We belong in the City of God - the uncreated realm of God's being ... and in the consumation of all things - this is where we will be found - just as this was before the world began.
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| " in my head but not my heart ... I just feel like quitting!" |
| 06.13.04 (12:11 pm) [edit] |
On occation, one of the questions that I am asked is permitted to be reposted for the benefit of others.
The following question and answer are one of those occations
Question:
I first became a christian when I was 16 (12 years ago) and then I was baptised at 21 and then when I was 22 I turned my back on God big time! Last July I made a recommittment to God, I gave my life back to him. Since then I have been really struggling. My question is How can I make my personal relationship with God become a reality? Its like I have it in my head but not my heart and at the moment I just feel like quitting! Help!
Well, Here is how I answered it. I think that God really used me. For the words that I spoke to her, are still speaking to me.
Please read it.
_____--
I know what you mean by feeling like quitting. I have been there and I know what you are going through. After coming to the end of myself, I have one bit of advise for you: I strongly recommend that you do yourself a favor and GIVE UP. QUIT. SURRENDER. EMPTY YOURSELF.
If you are at the end of your religious rope, THEN grease it! Let go!
Now before you think that I am steering you wrong, let me explain what I mean. When the Christian life is characterized by struggle, then something is desperately wrong. The Christian life is victorious life in which Jesus Christ empowers and fulfills you. When you taste of Him “you will thirst no more!” As He saturates your heart with joy and peace insomuch as it spills over to others around you giving glory to God and joy unspeakable, then you will know true meaning and purpose and fulfillment in your Christian walk. However, there are many obstacles that the enemy will use to prevent you and others from finding out the Real Living Water. The number one obstacle is a slight perversion of the Gospel. It may seem right, but something is missing. You may feel guilty and frustrated that you cannot be acceptable because your end of the bargain is compromised by your weaknesses. Sound familiar?
I live in Texas and there is a true story about a farmer in west Texas who made a fortune in oil. However, most of his life was lived in destitute poverty. Mr. Bates (I think was his name) was a pig rancher. He couldn’t make ends meet and struggled to survive. One day an investor asked if Mr. Bates would allow him to drill for oil on his ranch. At a very shallow depth, the largest oil reservoir in America was discovered under Mr. Bates ranch! He was rich all along, but he did not know it. When the oil was discovered, he realized all of the wealth that was his for all of the years that he was struggling.
Guess what? He quit farming pigs.
This story mirrors many other people who for years struggled to make the Christian life work. In my case (as well as theirs), God was frustrating my enjoyment of pig farming because He wanted me to search for something deeper. He wanted to introduce me to the fullness of life and the limitless resource of spiritual blessing. He wanted me to KNOW that He loves me.
His love was a key ingredient. During my years of wandering in the wasteland of religious practice, I knew nothing of God’s love. My warped understanding of devotion was pushing understanding of His love further and further away. I thought that I could influence God’s love for me. If I jumped through the hoops that my church put before me, then I thought that God would favorably appraise my acts of devotion and reward me by making His love evident in my life. Conversely, I also thought that if I failed in any way, God would be disappointed in me and find that my weaknesses would prove to make me unworthy of His love.
the best kept secret in modern Christianity is that God’s love for us is never based on us! It is based on Him! We cannot extinguish His love nor can we inspire or manipulate it. He loves us, because He IS love. “God is love.”
For the longest time, I thought that I had to be lovely. Get it? It was based on me. I was pig farming. Would God be doing me any favors if He rewarded pig farming? No, He loves you and me too much to encourage SECOND best. He wants OUR HIGHEST good, not some cheap imitation. His love for me during those lean years was to never let me see His love as something that I could inspire by my own acts of devotion. Only when I gave up on all of those mirages of merit, did I come face to face with God’s wonderful and unconditional love.
Maybe the love thing is key for you too. If so, I think that I can help. I would love to share more with you about what the Bible has to say about God’s love and encourage you with some resources from ministries devoted to helping burned-out Christians. I want you to find the treasure that you have in Christ! This will happen as you loose faith in what doesn’t work and determine for yourself that you don’t want the pig ranch anymore.
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| "...there is no god that would let that happen." |
| 06.12.04 (8:08 am) [edit] |
On occation, one of the questions that I am asked is permitted to be reposted for the benefit of others.
The following question and answer are one of those occations
BEGINNING O QUESTON_____________
I've heard that you can do no wrong in God's eyes. That he loves you no matter what. I've never understood that. If I always have god's love, Why cant i do what i want? or can I? Why are the things that i want to do the most always so looked down upon by the church?
Mostly i live my life doing things i like to do. I dont really worry about if its right or wrong. I figure if i wanna do it then its gotta be ok atleast for me.
I want to know the mind of god. Is that so wrong? When people die young i want to know why. When some thing really #### happens for no reason, I want to know why god did that OR i want to believe there is no god that would let that happen. Does he really have a some master plan? If so why cant i know what it is?
ok i jump around a bit. Please let me know what your thoughts are. Thanks.
END O QUESTION______________
Here is what I wrote to him.
-----------------------10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Actually, this is only true from a certain point of view. Let me try to explain.
Consider this truth: "We can do nothing right in God's eyes." This is also true from a certain point of view. Think about that. It may be hard to imagine that both could be true from certain points of view, but the Bible agrees with both statements.
First, lets look into the statement that I brought up: "We can do nothing right in God's eyes." ***NAME***, we were intended to present a representation or image of God in this world. That is our design. Our creator wanted to make a creature in His image; so that, if anything observed us behave then they would observe what God is like by what we do and do not do. Man (Adam) was to rely on God to abidingly instruct him on HOW to live, so that God was the origin of His own image and the dynamic of His own demands. So, Adam could not reflect God's image with out God. We were designed to be reliant on Him.
An illustration of this is the moon. The moon has no light of it's own. The moon reflects the glory of the sun. Man was designed to reflect or bear (not produce) God's glory. But we cannot do this by ourselves any more than the moon can produce light by itself.
Another illustration of this would be a light bulb. The light bulb glorifies electricity by design. It brings an image to the invisible force of electricity. That is what we are designed to do. But, what would happen if the bulb were disconnected from the electricity? Would it cease to function? Yes! The creature that God created (man) has ceased to function as designed. Like dirt that interrupts the flow of electricity to the bulb, SIN has interrupted our reliance upon God to fulfill our function.
You might remember what happened to Adam in the Garden of Eden. Adam and Eve decided to reject their design and fell for the lie that they could be like God all by themselves and they would not have to rely on God to function. This would be like the moon saying that it could shine as bright as the sun or the bulb saying that it could glow without electricity. Impossible.
So the statement that we can do nothing RIGHT is true from if viewed as us doing it with out dependence upon God. Jesus tried to explain this to people. However, they did not understand how the moon worked anymore than they understood how a light bulb works. He used a different illustration:
John 15 "Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. "I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me YOU CAN DO NOTHING. If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned.
The most comprehensive definition of sin is "falling short of God's glory." However, it doesn't matter how noble or otherwise commendable or pious our attempt to not sin is, all we can do is sin. All we can do by ourselves is nothing. All that the moon can do by itself is fail to glorify the sun. All the bulb can do apart from the electricity is fail to glorify the power. All that a branch can do apart from abiding in the vine is whither. Without a vital abiding relationship with God, NO MAN will ever know how to live as the creator intended. They will never function and will always seek for meaning and purpose in life because there is none without God.
Now lets look again at your statement: "I've heard that you can do no wrong in God's eyes."
This is true too from a certain vantage point. God has taken away the sin of the world. It is not that the sin was "OK." It was due to the fact that we could do nothing to rid ourselves of it. Even our best efforts still fell short of God's image. So God fixed that particular problem. He came in the flesh without sin to eliminate all of the world's sins all at once for all eternity. All of your sins all of mine were taken away 2000 years ago as Jesus Christ sacrificially laid down His life for us to do away with sin. Hebrews 9 "But now he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to do away with sin by the sacrifice of himself."
So now that all of your sins God has promised to remember no more, what could you do that would be wrong in God's eyes? NOTHING. Why? Because, your sins are behind the back of God and they are separated from you as far as the east is from the west if you are willing to believe your reconciliation. If you stand before God to be judged by what you did on Earth, He will judge you according to that. If on the other hand you appropriate through faith that the Gospel is the only means to be out of the wrath of God and to be restored to functionality by Christ indwelling your heart teaching you how to abide and rely upon Him, THEN you will have a new birth into a new life that God will not ever judge. Never will you have to worry about how God perceives your actions because neither of you will ever have a need to bring it up. He won't keep record of your wrongs and you will never tell God that you are good enough on your own to be judged by your actions. You will then stand in the imparted righteousness of God through Jesus living in you and you will know that you are AS acceptable to God as Jesus Christ Himself!! I hope that you choose to stand in His righteousness and not your own. I hope you taste and see that the Lord is GOOD. And that the deep abiding relationship with a living God can restore your life and give you meaning a purpose. He can give you a peace that passes all understanding so that when the same "####" things happen to you, your response will be different. You will be at peace and know that God belongs to you and you belong to God. You will know that He will supply everything that you need for life and godliness. You will never be alone again.
1 John 4 "In this way, love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment, because in this world we are like him. There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love. We love because he first loved us.
I know that you think that you can do anything that you want right now. But, let me ask you if you can love your enemies? Can you seek their highest good without out worrying about revenge? When you have Jesus living inside of you could seek revenge on your enemies. That wouldn't shock me. But, it is the miracle of regeneration that truly frees you to do anything that you want to do. That is right, you will be able to say "no" to ungodliness. That is impossible for you to do now. Christianity is not coming under rules of do's and don't do's. Christianity is Jesus living inside of you and showing you life more abundant. Life in Him. He can empower you do the miraculous things such as love your enemies and turning your other cheek. You will be so fulfilled inside as you fulfill you function as the Creator designed that you will never want any other life.
I want you to really do what you want to do. But Christianity is the only way. Until, you let Jesus live inside of you and make Him lord of you life. You will be a slave. You will not be able to even know what you want to do; you will be a slave to sin. You will have no ability to fulfill you design as a vessel of God's love.
I want you to know that He can fill you up with his love so that you thirst no more. Rivers of living water can overflow your soul and even quench those around you. Until then, you will never be able to "do what you want."
_________END O ANSWER_____
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| "Why does God love us? We are imperfect..." |
| 06.10.04 (8:50 am) [edit] |
On occation, one of the questions that I am asked is permitted to be reposted for the benefit of others.
The following question and answer are one of those occations
Subject:
Question -
Why does God love us? We are imperfect so why does a perfect love love a
mortal man?
END O QUESTION***
I just got this one the other day. How would you answer it?
HERE IS WHAT I WROTE
God's love is not like our love. The highest human love is a selfish love to aquire the object of our affection. It is the result of our appreciation for something that qualifies as lovely to us. It is generated by the object and how lovely the object of our love seems to us
at the time.
In order for me to love in the human way, something must first be lovely to me. For me to continue to love it, it must remain lovely to me. God's love is not like this at all. He loves based on [Who He is] not based on [who we are]. *let that soak in* God IS love. His love is not based on who we are. God IS love. His love is based on Who He is. The closest that we can get to that kind of love is the love that a mother has for a baby. Does the mother quit loving a baby, if it cries, or if it messes it's diaper, or if it pulls mommy's hair? No, the baby can not make the mother stop loving it. But, even that is a mere shadow of God's love. Take a mother's love and multiply it by 10000000 times and you might get
close to God's love for us. Here is a verse about that:
Isaiah 49:15 "Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne? Though she may forget, I will not forget you!
some parts deleted---------------
Do not settle for less than knowing God's love for you. Let God love you.
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| "My faith is dead which is probably enough to doom me anyway." |
| 06.09.04 (8:03 am) [edit] |
On occation, one of the questions that I am asked is permitted to be reposted for the benefit of others.
The following question and answer are one of those occations.
Subject: Faith
Question -
I doubt you will have an answer that will work for me as I have read well
over 250 books by great Christian authors (Billy Graham, Phillip Yancey,
Max Lucado, James Dobson, C.S. Lewis, etc. etc.)and I am still as stuck as
ever.
I will be as candid as possible. I accepted Christ as my Savior 21 years
ago while searching for answers to lifelong severe depression and anxiety
and have done my best to live the Christian life of prayer and acceptance.
I have failed miserably. At 38 I am a miserable, nervous, workaholic,
hopeless unmarried virgin. I feel constant torment and want in the worst
way for my life to end. I was diagnosed as bi-polar depressive and
Avoidant Personality Disorder which is characterized by the inability to
connect with people (or God) even though a connection is strongly desired.
Medication has never helped me and I am told there is no cure for APD.
Four years ago I saw a pastor with a healing ministry.He prayed over me
for hours and annointed me with oil on several occasions but I believe my
faith was too weak for healing to take place.
It is impossible for me to pray anymore. I have put everything that is in
me into prayer for so many years that I absolutely cannot do it any more.
God can say "no" to my prayers until the day I die...He does it to others
all the time. My faith is dead which is probably enough to doom me anyway.
I am working 80 to 100 hours a week on a family dairy farm and am
overwhelmed by it all.
I have tried to surrender all to God but don't think I have succeeded.
Life holds no meaning for me and I'm tired of holding on to the very
slight hope that God will rescue me.
I don't know what you can say to me that I haven't already heard but I
will wait for an answer.
END O question***
Let me know what you think about this one. I was asked on 8/21/01.
Here is how I answered it:
****beginning of answer****
HERE WAS MY ANSWER_______
So, Jim, you have failed miserably, eh? You are in good company. Your
story of defeat reminds me of so many Old Testament charaters. Right off
the bat, I am reminded of Moses. But, Moses’ failure seems a bit more
traumatic then yours.
You know the story. Moses was rescued from death as an infant, and raised
as royalty in Egypt. He had it all, and as a young man he knew that God
had a huge purpose for his life. He was the only person, he taught that
could deliver Israel out of Egypt. He saw the need and felt like that was
the call.
On day he saw a Jew being mistreated by a guard and began his blind
ambition to free the slaves. He killed the guard and did a poor job of
concealing the corpse in a shallow grave. He ruined his life. As you
know he became fearful and was on the run from both Israel and Egypt for
forty years.
Moses’ problem was that he thought that the need was the call. Surely,
Moses considered himself adequate to fulfill the obvious need. That was
part of his folly. Moses with otherwise good intentions, exercised his
BEST efforts to a noble cause and within hours destroyed all of the
potential and all of the ability that was afforded by his miraculous
upbringing. Talk about failure!!
You might wonder what drew Moses to that burning bush forty years later.
I don’t wonder at all. I have failed like Moses and you, so I know
exactly what intrigued Moses in the wilderness to this bush that burned
without being consumed. I am sure Moses was depressed and frustrated that
his life was wasted in the wilderness when it was obvious that God saved
him for much more. So, when he saw the bush that did not burn out, he
must have thought about how quickly he was burnt out. I am sure that
those memories hung over him like a curse. … “With all that God gave you
and the potential and influence that you had in Egypt, just look at you
now Moses. What a chance wasted. What an ambition denied. You, Moses,
burned out and wasted your life in a matter of hours. How is it that a
bush can go on burning and not be consumed as you did Moses? If that bush
was you, Moses, it would have been reduced to dust almost
instantaneously.”
Moses was about to come face to face with a truth that would make him
useful to God for the first time in his life. I don’t think that Moses
would have ever opened his mind to this truth had he not first made such a
pathetic failure of his life. What was the truth?
“THERE WAS NOTHING SPECIAL ABOUT THE BUSH.”
That’s right. The bush was like any other. Any bush could do the same.
Any bush could burn without being consumed. The ONLY reason that this one
did not burn away and flame out as it exhausted it’s own resource was
simple – GOD WAS IN THE BUSH. Moses had never considered this alternative
resource to his own foliage, that was the reason that Moses’ life was a
horrible case-study in futility. Moses never RELIED on God to cause him
to burn. Moses always depended on his best efforts rather then God.
Moses used his own resource to keep the flame lit and his resources were
like a flash in the pan.
Well you know the rest of the story … Remember that one Egyptian guard
that Moses killed? Well, how do you like God’s solution when He buried
the entire army at the bottom of the Sea?
Maybe you are on the verge of realizing how to be useful to God, Jim. I
hope so. It is obvious that you don’t have what it takes (on your own) to
draw meaning and purpose out of life. You feel stuck like you have
already given your best and it wasn’t enough. (It never is.) Well, if
you are at the end of your rope, then may I encourage you to put enough
grease on the rope so that it slips out of your hands completely. Go on,
GIVE UP. Say right now that you are ready to become useful to God as a
vessel, not as a “success.” Say that you are not willing to have any
blind ambition. Say that you will ignore all needs and rely completely on
the inner call of the Spirit. Maybe you will soon take that step and find
out what it is like to burn without burning out.
I can teach you some ways to embrace your failure so that it will take you
to the very very end of yourself, and the beginning of being useful to
God. I would love to show you some authors and ministries that are
devoted to the same cause.
One of the first things that you will have to abandon is the idea that you
can doom yourself. You cannot. Your works may be what justifies your
faith before men, but God doesn’t need to see your works to know the faith
that you have. God sees your heart and you are justified before God by
your faith alone.
Next you will have to abandon the idea that you can cause God to either
love or dispise you. You cannot fear God alone while fearing that you can
manipulate and influence God’s attitude toward you. That mingled
self-fear make nobody draw near to God and can never make you perfect in
Him. To fear only God, is to realize that God can crush you or love you,
but you will have no influence over Him. You cannot sway Him one way or
the other. God is love. His love arises out of Who He is, not out of the
object of His love. He will never love you because you are lovely.
Never. God doesn’t look at you to decide whether to love you or not. His
love arises spontaneously out of Who He is, and has nothing to do with
you. Drop the silly prideful notion that you can manipulate God’s
perception of yourself or even his actions toward you by your deeds. That
is the folly of Job’s friends (I encourage you to read Job, if you don’t
believe me. The whole book echoes my statements.)
If you are in Christ then you are completely forgiven. God remembers your
sins no more. Your sins are behind the back of God. Your sins are
separated from you as far as the east is to the west. God will never
bring up your wrongdoings to you. He has chosen to forget them. You have
no right to remember what God has promised to forget. Be on guard that
Satan is the accuser and will bring up your sins to create an illusion
that they matter to God. However, your sins are already dealt with. God
will never bring them up again to you. And if Satan brings them up before
God, Christ will come to your defense. It is a promise. (1John 2).
Christianity is not to make you, Jim, or me fit for heaven. It is to make
us fit for earth. Christianity is not to get us out of earth and into
heaven. Christianity is to get God out of heaven and into us. Will we go
to heaven? Sure, but that is not the point. Salvation is here.
Salvation is God’s living in us and through us to fulfill and give us
meaning and purpose as he sheds His love abroad in our hearts and our
hearts overflow with his life.
I hope that I haven’t rambled too long. I want to discuss this more.
Perhaps a follow-up from you would keep it going. I want to know if any
of this makes sense to you. I know that I wasn’t Scripture reference
crazy, so maybe we could steer the conversation closer to the Word of God.
What do you think?
God bless you, fellow failure. Look forward to hearing from you.
----end
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| Suicide - the unpardonable sin? |
| 06.08.04 (8:12 am) [edit] |
On occation, one of the questions that I am asked is permitted to be reposted for the benefit of others.
The following question and answer are one of those occations.
Subject: Suicide
Question -
I am not even thinking about this, i am a very strong christian but i am
asked this a lot, if u commit suicide, is that an unforgivable sin....can
u still go to heaven???
I got this one on 8/4/2001. What do you say?
Here is my reply:
***Beginning of reply***
I am pleased to help you with this one, however you should know that there is a bit of controversy about the unforgivable sin and therefore there is not a monolithic belief amongst even the most learned scholars. But, since you asked me, I will give you my opinion. I hope it helps guide you in your studies on the subject, so that you may come to a conclusion that is special to you because God reveals it in a very special way.
Sometimes, this can come soon, and sometimes we remain uncertain. I hope that whatever God shows you as you learn the truth concerning the unforgivable sin that it always sets you free.
Now, on to my opinion.
The unmistakable passage about the unforgivable sin comes from a quote of Jesus Christ found in the gospels: Matthew 12 "He who is not with me is against me, and he who does not gather with me scatters. And so I tell you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven. Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but anyone who speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come."
I think that one of the pitfalls in this passage is when the words "AND SO I TELL YOU" are overlooked. The reason that I draw your attention to those words is because they point to a crucial part of the context. When you or I use those words we are saying that whatever I say next has everything to do with whatever I said before. For example, if I say "I ate a gallon of ice-cream AND SO I TELL YOU I feel sick" Then the last part "I feel sick" has everything to do with eating all of that ice-cream.
Make sense?
The logical conclusion that I have come to (and later I will show you where other passages echo my conclusion) is that Jesus is NOT talking about suicide at all. He is talking about if you are "with Him" or "against Him" and if you are "gathering with Him" or "scattering from Him." The specific sin called "blasphemy against the Spirit" is THE sin that cannot be forgiven? Christ "took away the sins of the world." He forgave not only our sins, but also all of the sins of the entire world (1 John 2) HOWEVER, He did not forgive being against Him, or as He called it speaking against the Spirit. So why did He not forgive this sin???
Well, It is simple really. He did not forgive this sin because it is up to us to CORRECT it. In other words the world needs to correct the fact that we are scattering and instead gather with our Lord. The world needs to quit being against Him and instead be WITH Him. The world needs to quit speaking against the Holy Spirit and instead agree with the Holy Spirit and make Jesus our Lord and Savior. At that conversion we then have Christ living in us, and we live in Him. We are "sealed with the Holy Spirit." That change cannot be broken or reversed. And in Him we have forgiveness. No only do we have forgiveness, but we have corrected the unforgivable sin in our own lives. And are fully cleansed. If you are interested in the full picture of the change that occurs upon our conversion, here is an exhaustive study on it:
http://www.christinyou.net/scrptcont.html" title="http://www.christinyou.net/scrptcont.html" target="_blank"http://www.christinyou.net/sc...
Another mention of the unforgivable sin by Jesus is just before He ascends and shortly after our forgiveness has been accomplished by His death on the cross. Here are the part of His last words concerning the unforgivable sin:
John 16 "But I tell you the truth: It is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Counselor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. When he comes, he will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment: in regard to sin, because men do not believe in me"
See it? The "because" part is the key!
Anyway, I’ll let you find the other mentions of it in the New Testament.
You may find some that I never considered. I hope this helps.
Now about the possible effect that our death can have on forgiveness: Consider, this passage that rules out suicide or any other manner of death as a way to separate us from God:
Romans 8:38-39 "For I am convinced that neither DEATH nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord."
I don’t see any exceptions, do you?
***End of reply***
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