|
Users viewing this topic:
none
|
|
Login  | |
|
RE: Did I just think that out loud?... - 4/16/2010 1:54:39 PM
|
|
|
selahgirl
Posts: 630
Joined: 5/20/2005
From: God is with you, never forget that <3
Status: offline
|
I wish I could write the other comments made, but I don't know how copyright stuff works since this discussion is on a secular News forum. I pray that something I've said in the discussion will help others to stand firm in their faith in love...
-----------
"It's only a sin if you believe what your bible says.." You are exactly right. That's exactly what I just said. I believe the Bible is the true and factual instruction that God spoke to ppl and had them record for our benefit. A handbook of sorts for what God expects of us in this life. Not all answers to all questions but answers for all that is necessary to make the choice whether to believe or not. You don't. Again, that's a matter of choice, no one is forcing you to believe anything. No one can, not even God.
I never said Matthew was going to hell... I said no one knows cuz only God knows what was in his heart in those final moments.
As for your friend, we live in a world that was never God's plan to be cursed with death and sickness. Man's refusal to trust that God's way is the best way is what opened the floodgate for all that is evil in this world. Even the earth groans and is sick waiting for Christ to return and set all things in order. I see her condition as sickness just like the Hep C that I contracted when I was 13 from a blood transfusion. I work toward physical health as best as can be attained (since it is incurable) and I work toward internal/spiritual health as well. I encourage your friend to do the same. I think if she truly wants what God wants, she can pray and seek wise counsel and make a choice. Then she needs to stick to it. Otherwise, if she has no desire to seek God in the matter as her Lord and Savior and Friend, then she needs to keep doing what she's doing... whatever is best in her own eyes. That's her concern, unless she is causing harm to someone standing next to me, I won't interfere. She is free to make her choices what she believes and who she wants to be. God loves her enough to let her walk away and reject him. He doesn't want to force ppl to love and appreciate a relationship with him, he doesn't want a bunch of robots to serve him. He just wants ppl to obey him so EVERYONE can know peace and joy and health -- wholeness -- in every way.
Here's what is factual and true...
Homosexuality is not a sin in your belief system.
But it is in mine.
Choose and then live with the consequences of your choices... but if you ever change your mind. God is as close as a breath away to answer any questions and to show you another way <3
_____________________________
|
|
|
|
|
RE: Did I just think that out loud?... - 4/16/2010 11:25:00 PM
|
|
|
selahgirl
Posts: 630
Joined: 5/20/2005
From: God is with you, never forget that <3
Status: offline
|
And the dialog continues...
---------
I have nothing against your friend, but she is not the one that God has put in my path. You are. I fear that there is nothing I can possibly say that will matter much to you. Whether you believe it or not I genuinely care that you know the God that I love and serve. Because it is my belief that you will never know peace and purpose until you do. He loves you, there's nothing more I can say to you. It's up to you to want to know him and have a relationship with him. I pray he reveals himself to you and answers your many questions about who he is and why he allows what he does. All I know is that he loves you and that he is in that room with you this very moment waiting for you to confront him with what's really in your heart about him. I just hope you allow him the same courtesy to tell you what is in his heart about you. I think it's not as negative as you have been led to believe by ppl calling themselves Christians... I am certain it will surprise you <3
_____________________________
|
|
|
|
|
RE: Did I just think that out loud?... - 5/1/2010 2:57:42 PM
|
|
|
selahgirl
Posts: 630
Joined: 5/20/2005
From: God is with you, never forget that <3
Status: offline
|
sooo bummed that this season has ended already... our family LOVES HUMAN TARGET. Cannot wait for another season of the show to start. Cast is incredible, story line is intriguing, very cool comedic twists keep things entertaining, kind of like 007 meets Iron Man meets 24... Jack Bauer would be proud. LOVE LOVE LOVE IT!!!
_____________________________
|
|
|
|
|
RE: Did I just think that out loud?... - 5/1/2010 3:33:11 PM
|
|
|
selahgirl
Posts: 630
Joined: 5/20/2005
From: God is with you, never forget that <3
Status: offline
|
You can watch entire episodes online for free on the FOX site:
http://www.fox.com/watch/humantarget
Never realized that the show was based on a DC comic book... Christopher Chance is a name made up by a mentor and his student as the person you call on when there's no one else that can help you. He is like a Jack Baur character that protects the life of clients that someone is trying to kill. His team/cohorts/friends specialize in cases that help good ppl that some bad group has targeted for some reason. They are a group of guys that once worked for the bad guys cuz they were duped into believing they were loved as family and that they were fighting for good causes. They grew tired of killing and not being told why, except that the father figure ordered the kill. It's kind of a twist on the Le Femme Nikita series. Ppl who want to know why they are being sent on a mission and who want to have a heart investment in what they are fighting for.
Hired killers and secret specialized agencies seem to be very popular these days. Le Femme Nikita started the craze, where she was sent on missions to kill with no explanation by a secret agency that controlled every area of her life... she was basically a slave killer with a heart that hated it but couldn't get free.
24 was a similar killer agency... but now Jack Bauer broke the rules and wasn't afraid to go against the agency when it violated what was right. He was helped by powerful allies within the system... such as the PRESIDENT OF THE US. But he still suffered consequences for doing the right thing in many episodes.
HUMAN TARGET is finally the Robin Hood of the killer for hire era. Killers with a heart that fight to protect the innocent and victimized. Finally being able to choose who they work for, finally aware that not all that call themselves good guys are. They have become the agency, come of age novices, on a team of others who have been seasoned by the heartache of seeing the sheep skin ripped off of mentors that they loved like fathers.
Very appealing progression for this generation, young and old, college age and parents. A frustration of the abuse of power, and the rise of ppl who are willing to be nobody... to give up comfort and popularity to do what's right at all costs. The HUMBLE HERO GENERATION.
There is a heart rising in this generation that wants to be Christopher Chance... all the dots just haven't been connected yet ^_^
_____________________________
|
|
|
|
|
RE: Did I just think that out loud?... - 5/1/2010 4:10:22 PM
|
|
|
selahgirl
Posts: 630
Joined: 5/20/2005
From: God is with you, never forget that <3
Status: offline
|
k, so while I'm rambling on about all this on this rainy afternoon, here's some additional thoughts on the matter. haha.
It all kinda echoes the HALO era as well. Master Chief is well... Christopher Chance on steroids... symbolically anyway, imo. Which brings to mind a movie my teens made me watch a while back called DISTRICT 9... loved it! But it is understandably not a movie for everyone. Slow moving storyline but with a purpose... it is a precursor for a rumored HALO movie, which -- HUGE ANNOUNCEMENT -- is to be directed by Peter Jackon (director of THE LORD OF THE RINGS TRILOGY).
Here is what I understand about it all, The HALO writers wouldn't allow a movie to be made because they didn't want to crowd or reveal too much of the storyline before each evolution of the game was released. However, the game series is drawing to a close... HALO REACH is rumored to be the final game. Which clears the way for the GREATLY HUGELY FREAK-UR-SOCKS-OFF anticipated HALO movie.
DISTRICT 9 was a practice run for creating characters and design and production for a HALO movie. They even allude to it in the commentary on the disk after the movie. If that all gels together and the timing is right for PETER JACKSON to create a HALO movie for release in the near future... an absolute frenzy is going to erupt.
so all that to say...
If HUMAN TARGET releases a season 2, it will be a step ahead of the game. A realistic HUMBLE HERO character, in the midst of a MASTER CHIEF era. I love Christopher Chance and I see so many symbolic and heart similarities between the two. Altho... MASTER CHIEF will never be matched or even approached by any other hero, not even IRON MAN, which I realize is arguable. Now that would be a good thread to start... haha.
yeah, so such is a glimpse into the rambling thoughts of a girl who thinks out loud too much =)
_____________________________
|
|
|
|
|
RE: Did I just think that out loud?... - 6/1/2010 10:16:47 PM
|
|
|
selahgirl
Posts: 630
Joined: 5/20/2005
From: God is with you, never forget that <3
Status: offline
|
BRAVE HEARTS IN TRAINING
I found myself wondering today at the chance encounters in my life and asking God why he always seems to be whispering in my thoughts to pay attention to life lessons in each and every one. It is not a conscious thing, rather something that I often find myself saying after the fact, without even realizing that I was pondering it at all, “Oh yeah God, that’s pretty cool…” and then a dialogue enfolds between us as the light not only goes on for me but brightens to a divine intensity. I wish it was something that I could take credit for, but it is solely a loving and merciful God that chooses to walk beside me for whatever reason. I know me, and if you knew me, you would wonder at the same thing. But the beauty of it is that if God takes the time to whisper such things to someone stumbling in the darkness like me… he will do the same for you. If you choose to genuinely believe him.
That sounds so simple, so empty, so words on a page from a holy right reverend type… but one thing I know, and that is that in this world where deception rules the hearts of men… to believe someone, truly believe… is the real challenge. Someone told me all men cheat… which is simply another phrase for all men lie, and women. At some point, when their back is against the wall or they want what they want, or they convince themselves to deny deny deny what is truth… all ppl lie.
But God never lies. Test him. I have. Watch him. I have. Measure him to anything in this world and you will see a stark contrast. He is honest. He is Truth. The only Truth. The only Faithful person, being, or God. There is no one like him, he is the only one that will never lie to you.
So I was trying to find a certain road and could make no sense of the map that was given me. When suddenly, lo and behold, there was a military convoy on the side of the road in a little gravel cove. A number of trucks all lined up, and some of America’s finest sitting around in the trucks and standing around behind them. So I pulled over hoping that they were familiar with the area. Unbelievably they were. I spoke to a male and female soldier sitting in one of the trucks and showed them the map. He said that it was not really a map of the area, rather a neighboring area. I told him the place I was looking for and he said that they had just come from there. He actually had it programmed in his gps, so he gave me the streets to follow to get there.
We chatted a bit, and I found myself so humbled in their presence. These were the troops in training. They were in a convoy and had pulled over waiting on commands to proceed. It was 90 plus degrees and they were in full fatigues, boots and all. Sweat dripped from their faces and literally rained down the entire time we spoke. I hurt for them in the heat, as they explained with such patience, genuine, absolute patience, that they were waiting on orders to proceed. They were so polite, so helpful, so personable. I was so proud to even be considered one of them, an American.
As I drove away, God began to whisper to me. He began to compare the training of those troops with his desire to train the hearts of his ppl, the building of those soldiers into pillars of strength…. Pillars not of heartless stone, but of brave hearts. Set on their orders, on all things necessary without grumblings and complaint. I felt so small in their presence. I was truly awed at their diligence and commitment. It was not just a moment for them, it was a long agonizing afternoon in the heat, doing nothing, waiting and waiting and waiting some more in seemingly unbearable circumstances. Not a grueling, action packed moment in combat training… but testing of their inner strength, a working of patience in the little things, in the boring things, in the pointless things, that still require the utmost patience and obedience. And here were our men and women, the next wave of freedom fighters, proving to be up for the challenge. Faithful in the little things, with so much heart and admirable character… worthy of our trust in the big things without doubt.
Bless them Lord I pray, every area of their lives, with every good thing that you have lavishly planned for them, bless their families and their friends, the ppl they work with and all that they encounter, every life that their lives will touch. Just as the sweat rained down from their bodies and their hearts remained so steadfast, let your blessings rain down upon our troops in every way, each and every one of them. In the name of Jesus. Amen <3
.
< Message edited by selahgirl -- 6/1/2010 10:39:10 PM >
_____________________________
|
|
|
|
|
RE: Did I just think that out loud?... - 6/9/2010 11:34:05 AM
|
|
|
selahgirl
Posts: 630
Joined: 5/20/2005
From: God is with you, never forget that <3
Status: offline
|
WE ALL LOSE IT...
I wonder at what makes a man, a soldier, a woman so committed to something that they would endure the utmost discomfort to bring the greatest good. What is it in a person that causes them to draw from the deepest places of their character in ways that surprises even them?
At first I thought it was because they believe so strongly in what they are doing or representing, there is so much to be said for having faith in something, fully trusting no matter the appearance of things. But then I wondered how love factors into a person's motivation concerning such things, it is afterall the greatest.
Considering these two, of course causes me to also see that Hope would have to be the pillar for some ppl as well. It must be a mix of all of these to some degree, not just one. So often we say that love conquers all... leaving the impression that nothing else matters in the big scheme of things, but is that Truth or not? When we look at the big scheme of things wouldn't all the lesser things still matter in the final tapestry? Yes, that red line, that single thread running thru the center remains the foundation to it all, carrying the greatest beauty. To cut it would divide all things and cause it to completely unravel in the shortest time. But cutting any thread, that smallest one, would still leave a great hole, a wound, robbing a measure of the beauty, unraveling the lives of every thread that touches it and eventually those that were even at a distance. Wow, so much that that could be symbolic of...
The weaver, repairer, would have to cut that portion off and sew the edge anew, or he would have to replace the broken thread with one that is strong and whole... or... he would have to remove the thread, rework it, test it's strength, wind it with other cords, and then weave it all back together... restoring it's integrity, restoring the beauty of the one as well as the whole. What a tedious task, seemingly impossible. But the master weaver who created the original beauty of it's design, knows it, he saw it with his heart before his hands touched each thread, he saw it in his mind and was awed by it before he beheld it with his eyes. For such a One who weaves with passion and depth of spirit... even in the reworking and repair, it remains a joy rather than a chore. For one who overflows with creativity and life-giving beauty, it drips from his hands and fills the air with the sweetest fragrance, his fingertips touch the threads like strings on an instrument and the senses are stirred in those deep places, those unreachable places, in the hearts of all who are privileged to witness it and fully grasp the miracle of what they are seeing.
It all matters, the big and the small, the lowest and the most popular, ppl matter, relationships with God and Man matter, every one. Some times there is a brokenness that requires a cutting away, sometimes the wounds can be repaired tho much is required. How complicated we are, what intricate creatures, so full of filth and beauty all in one, and yet so full of possibility and providence. I have no answers to any of it but one... and that is where the simplicity of it all comes in... that is the one thing that ties together all loose ends and restores clarity in the midst of chaos... that one thing is CHRIST.
He is the vessel that all blood flows thru and then branches out into the body to bring health and nourishment and growth. He is the answer, the key, the center, the order, the peace.... do you see it... do you hear the simplicity of all that complicates this life, of all that wrestles within us, of our own failures and successes and questions and doubts... of our Faith and our Hope and our Love.
This life is painful, it is messy, our walk thru it is the same... some times it seems so unbearable and impassable, and so we resort to trial and error and going our own way in the big and the small. And we manage to rip the hole larger and larger, increasing the wound, breaking the threads that we are connected to, scarring the beauty that all of us once wore and were.
If only....
If only he were our first effort in such instances, getting to him, looking to him, asking him to take the tattered threads that we have frayed with our vain attempts to save face... if only we put him first even when we are covered with the dirt from our own attempts to force our will upon the threads and the tapestry. If only... but none of us do. We take the reigns and we sink our lives deeper and deeper into the mire. I am ashamed of my weaknesses, of my failures, of all that is in me that goes against his will, that slaps the hand of the weaver away each time he gently offers to help.
What is man that HE is so mindful of us?!
We all lose hope at some point in our lives, we all hit bottom in a very dark place... and up just doesn't exist for us any more. And then suddenly those faint rays begin to shine like the rays of the morning that drive away the darkest midnight... and there he is once again shining in the darkness that is the yuck of this world, the mess of our lives, all that wants to harm and hurt us... and there is his hand reaching out to us, his voice warm and loving, his eyes, full of understanding, humble and real so that there is no condemnation.
We all lose faith in the things and ppl and relationships that we so strongly believe in. We are betrayed or slashed across the face or stabbed in the heart and suddenly deception rips off it's mask and we stagger from the shock of it all. Trust and Truth turn to ash before our eyes and crumble to the ground at our feet. We all lose faith at some point in this wretched life ruled by sinners... sinners like each of us. And yet, he never walks away, he never forsakes us, he never repays evil with evil, he never gives up, he never stops having faith in us and believing for all that is good in our lives... he has prepared it all and made a way to get it into our hands... and he will not quit as long as there is breath in our bodies to encourage us to claim it, to hold onto it, to defend it, to believe again, to trust again, to have faith restored to our hearts and our character and our being.
And what of love... love lost?...
It is the greatest, the weightiest, the foundation, the thread that holds the tapestry together with one single red line down the center of all things. But love dies so violently when it dies... it is the one thing that seems unbearable.
When love dies, all things lose their foundation and fall into the abyss... hope is destroyed and faith with it. Nothing to stand on and believe and trust in... nothing to dream about, to propel us forward or to reach for and fight for and move toward. And yet, so often.... love is lost, it dies.
But the love of Christ has conquered such death, he suffered violence so that love could live again. Not an earthy, superficial love... but an eternal love that never dies. One that has conquered death and violence and the grave (separation). Thru Christ love lives again. When you have known the death of love, when you have been shattered by the violence of it, when you lie crushed and bleeding and helpless, searching the dirt for the fragments that once beat so strongly in your chest... to love again seems so impossible, love itself becomes foreign as grief and brokenness become your reality. When you lose love, your spiritual eyes are blinded and seared. It is difficult to even see love when it finds you once again.
But in your darkness he remains... that one that you don't know. That stranger that found you and carried you to a place to lay your head. Those hands that you felt checking your wounds, those hands that appeared from seemingly no where, carried by feet that you thought had stumbled upon you. The kindness in their touch, the diligence as they changed the bandages regularly and washed away the filth to restore healing and sight to you. No words spoken, just care and compassion and presence. No violence, rather the strangest gentleness and skill... completely set on nurturing you back to health and wholeness and joy... determined to restore and increase the beauty of every thing that was once smeared across your face as ash and death.
When the final bandages are removed... once again you will see love. You will see Christ, who nursed you back to health because he never stopped loving you and refused to stop following you. He was addicted to you, connected, committed and devoted... as brother, lover, friend, Savior and Lord. He loves because you are precious to him, you are family, you are beautiful, you are his responsibility as his child and subject. So many reasons that he loves you... so many reasons to love him.
So what is it that can cause you to reach into the deepest places of your character? that will cause you to find who you are again? that will motivate you to find your feet again and to stand against the darkness that has tried so desperately to take you out?
Have you been robbed of faith by some great betrayal?
Do you stand hopeless because all that was precious has crumbled before your eyes?
Are you bleeding on the ground and blinded by the violence of a love that has died in your life?
It's real. It's painful. It's no small thing.
You're right. This is a hard thing!!!
<3
... but I encourage you to just breathe. Just let the chaos and the darkness around you growl and swirl.. but don't let it smother you. Breathe. There is life in the breath, as long as you do that one small thing, life will be your help. Light will come to you in the darkness, His presence will never abandon you no matter what mess you are sitting in the middle of, His hands will bandage your wounds when your heart is blind and broken. You don't know what to do right now, but he will restore your sight and lead you in how to move forward once again.
Thru all the chaos that is this life, he remains with you. He is your God and your friend. He will handle the complexities of restoring your hope and your faith and your love.... you simply need to watch for him and to recognize his hand and his voice and his love for you.
Yes, we all lose faith or hope or even love at times...
and it is devastating.
but he has promised that we can find it once again
and you will.
Hang in there.
=)
_____________________________
|
|
|
|
|
RE: Did I just think that out loud?... - 6/20/2010 3:44:05 PM
|
|
|
IwillseekHim
Posts: 835
Joined: 5/17/2009
Status: offline
|
I enjoy your writing, selahgirl. Noticed you haven't posted in a little while. Hope all is ok.
I spend a good bit of time on prayer/praise and it is always nice when you share over there. Hope you will again soon.
Take care.
|
|
|
|
|
RE: Did I just think that out loud?... - 6/30/2010 9:59:26 PM
|
|
|
selahgirl
Posts: 630
Joined: 5/20/2005
From: God is with you, never forget that <3
Status: offline
|
Thanks IwillseekHim <3
I have not been online much at all lately, not even FB or email. Thank you for touching base. Life is very complicated at the moment, and my walk is messy at best. I am very trapped in a horrid situation that only time will resolve. My prayers seem so clearly answered with one word... "wait." And that is why the recent encounter with the military convoy mentioned above moved me so deeply.
Things have been difficult. I think I shall forever be broken hearted in this life. I hurt to the core of my being, worse than I have ever known with all that I have bee thru in life, and I fear it will never go away. If ever there was anything unbearable that I have faced, it is the walk I live daily in this moment. Glimpses of Christ are my only source of strength to continue thru each day... I honestly agree with Paul that I am torn between the two: "... to live is Christ, but to die is gain." Whenever he sees fit to release me from this life, I will forever be grateful. It's just too hard, the hurt is just too deep, nothing seems to touch it, and so few understand.
There are just no words.
Thank you for your prayers and encouragement. I treasure them, my walk is messy and my heart remains in pieces and I see nothing moving forward. I trust God that it is, I trust him that even tho so much remains unchanged by sight... I trust that he is working many things by faith.
I know he sees all. I know he has not forgotten me.
But the pain is still real, and the devil is still mean.
_____________________________
|
|
|
|
|
RE: Did I just think that out loud?... - 6/30/2010 10:46:02 PM
|
|
|
IwillseekHim
Posts: 835
Joined: 5/17/2009
Status: offline
|
My heart hurts with you, selah. Praying for you tonight.
|
|
|
|
|
RE: Did I just think that out loud?... - 7/2/2010 1:10:42 PM
|
|
|
selahgirl
Posts: 630
Joined: 5/20/2005
From: God is with you, never forget that <3
Status: offline
|
Because Dad said so
Heartlight Daily Devotional... I just can't say how many times God speaks thru it. The focus verse today brought so much to mind as I looked up Jeremiah 17 and read it in it's entirety. Scripture is so full of wisdom... and we have missed so much in our attempt to organize it as tho it were simply words on a page or a file folder of bullet points. We so often forget that it is a conversation, fresh and now, between us and Christ... and that the things he speaks of are so clearly and effectively in reference to where our feet are standing in this moment. We don't always agree with it right away, we don't always understand, but knowing that it is Truth causes us to seek his Spirit to bring us into that place of agreement, to open our eyes so that we do understand... if not fully, at least enuff to be at peace as we apply it to the breath that fills our lungs before we plunge headfirst into the next crisis of life.
Every time I try to read a passage or try to write about it, I become so overwhelmed because so much comes to mind as I overlay it to my life and the world around me both physical and spiritual. What a wealth of answers and wisdom and direction of where to step next as I stumble thru the darkness and the dirt in which I live. The struggle and wrestling is not a matter of trying to get God to pay attention and to answer me... the difficulty is in trying to make myself be honest with myself... in trying to convince myself to say yes to God's wisdom rather than my own arrogance and self-centeredness.
I seldom see what's coming down the road because just as Christ said... the trouble of today is sufficient enuff. Who has the time or energy to fret about the devils laying their plans and snares on the roadside down the Way. We all know that they are there waiting. We all know that there will be another battle for God to bring us thru tomorrow... but for now, my sword is in my hand and upon my lips, and the current battle exhausts all my faculties as I look to Him for continued strength to make it thru. I'm tired, and I"m sick, and I'm sick and tired of sin and evil in this world... how it reaches thru each of us to slash those that we love bringing death and destruction to all that Christ came to save and redeem to himself. Will we ever love as he loves... are we even capable? I have lost all faith in myself, all faith in ppl, all faith in the church, leaders, authority of any kind, anything good in this world or in the heart of mankind... but my faith in him is greater than it has ever been.
He has told me to love myself and to love ppl just as much as my wretched self (because he loves them and me).
He has told me to not forsake the church or to abandon meeting with them regularly and sharing and listening and serving and receiving (because it is the church that he reaches thru most often and it is the church that wears his name and represents).
He has told me to obey authority ACCORDING TO GODLY ORDER, to obey my leaders inside the church and outside the church, to give honor where honor is due... no matter how much the person wielding it so often doesn't deserve it (because there is an order, and a right heart, and an ultimate obedience to Him who has commanded us to obey so as not to disrupt the order that he has set in place in this temporary and fragile world).
He has challenged me to look beyond the lack of goodness in the hearts of men and in this world and to see what God sees, his hopes, his dreams, his plans to bless and to prosper... the goodness that he allows us to glimpse in those brief moments when ppl get it right, when the reflection of Christ is allowed to shine thru in those rare and precious moments... that brilliant illumination that over powers the grossest blackness (because he came to be that light, he endured all things to break the stronghold of that blackness that is the seedbed of all that harms and devours... HIS GOODNESS is that light... that burst of sunlight that flashes so unexpectedly when all the world is covered in a gray heaviness, that beautiful warmth that breaks thru bringing life and hope... it awes us and causes the world to stand still during the heat of battle, as the ppl of God look heavenward and their strength is renewed in that brief key moment).
yes, I'm sick and tired and failing and falling short daily, but I am believing with a greater faith every time I get back up again... every time I unleash those gutteral screams as I rise bloody and stumbling, off-balance, guessing about the general vicinity of my next step, trusting that he will land my blows square between the devils eyes. That blow can never be against ppl, it can never be to bring harm and destruction, for such a thing turns me around and runs me toward the enemy's goal line. It puts me on a team of wolves even tho I have Christian plastered across my jersey. That blow is not a matter of flesh and blood... it is a matter of motive and spiritual things and self control to obey the will of God above my own, taking my hands off all vengeance, knowing that his vengeance will be more thorough than anything I could say or do... knowing that he sees the heart and the mind and the actions of those that slash the ppl of God across the face... he sees the measure of humility and sorrow and repentance that is truly in their heart or the lack of it all... and his justice is sure whether he doles out judgement or mercy.
I can deal with mercy... with a seeming lack of justice... if I know God is meting it out... because if he withholds vengeance and judgement, then something has changed in that person's heart. The evil that once ruled and reigned in their heart has lost it's grip and Christ is now Lord over them. To lash out at them at that point is lashing out at Christ. Because the battle goes back to spiritual things, seeing the movement of the enemy and of the Lord... not lashing back blindly. It's like dropping a bunker buster on a building that the enemy has abandoned and your own troops now occupy.
Taking our hands off of vengeance and giving it completely to God, ensures thorough, sure and solid justice. That doesn't mean being a yes-man or winking at abuses and sin... it means motive, to seek God to examine the hearts of men, every person involved, their minds and their actions and sincerely asking him to impose his will upon us all, no matter where the pieces fall.
Jeremiah 17
1 The sin of Judah is written down with an iron stylus ; With a diamond point it is engraved upon the tablet of their heart And on the horns of their altars, 2 As they remember their children, So they remember their altars and their Asherim By green trees on the high hills. 3 O mountain of Mine in the countryside, I will give over your wealth and all your treasures for booty, Your high places for sin throughout your borders. 4 And you will, even of yourself, let go of your inheritance That I gave you; And I will make you serve your enemies In the land which you do not know ; For you have kindled a fire in My anger Which will burn forever . 5 Thus says the LORD, "Cursed is the man who trusts in mankind And makes flesh his strength, And whose heart turns away from the LORD. 6 "For he will be like a bush in the desert And will not see when prosperity comes, But will live in stony wastes in the wilderness, A land of salt without inhabitant. 7 "Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD And whose trust is the LORD. 8 "For he will be like a tree planted by the water, That extends its roots by a stream And will not fear when the heat comes ; But its leaves will be green, And it will not be anxious in a year of drought Nor cease to yield fruit. 9 "The heart is more deceitful than all else And is desperately sick ; Who can understand it? 10 "I, the LORD, search the heart, I test the mind, Even to give to each man according to his ways, According to the results of his deeds. 11 "As a partridge that hatches eggs which it has not laid, So is he who makes a fortune, but unjustly ; In the midst of his days it will forsake him, And in the end he will be a fool."
_____________________________
|
|
|
|
|
RE: Did I just think that out loud?... - 7/12/2010 10:54:04 AM
|
|
|
selahgirl
Posts: 630
Joined: 5/20/2005
From: God is with you, never forget that <3
Status: offline
|
NO HE DID NOT
I woke up this morning thinking about this passage of Scripture for some reason. Actually it was mostly about the question that the serpent asked Eve... It occurred to me how true Scripture is in that his devices are not new. He asks us the same question today, altho it's not so much the exact wording of the question; rather it is his intent to lead our thoughts and our heart astray. The question I wondered at is one that we have asked at some point in our Christian walk or even our pre-Christian walk... something that we ponder every time a prayer seems to fall upon deaf ears...
"Did God really say no?"
Can't you just hear the voice of Satan whispering this question. The slurring and hissing of his soothing voice, speaking with so much concern, too much concern, as his surprise at the seemingly lack of goodness in such a response from an all- powerful, all-loving God becomes contagious, dangerously so, so that we find ourselves somewhat surprised at God's denial of our most passionate requests.
What glaring similarities between his tactics then and his tactics now....
Genesis 3
1Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?
2And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden:
3But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.
4And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die:
5For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.
6And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.
7And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons.
Verse 3, God says you will die.
Verse 4, Satan says you will not die.
Suddenly for the first time, the thought entered to question God.
I have always wondered how Eve and Adam could walk with him, see his power and authority, know first hand that there was no arrogance or evil in him -- only Goodness. But now, suddenly, her thoughts began to run so far ahead of her that she couldn't see how far she was running out from under the shelter of his love, his will, his protection.
I'm sure she questioned what exactly God had in mind in telling her not to eat of that tree, maybe she had misunderstood him, maybe it wasn't as serious a thing as she had thought. It was called the tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, so perhaps the serpent was right. Wouldn't it make sense that that would be the result of eating it's fruit... not death, but knowledge. Not sure why God wouldn't want them to have it.... He sure seemed adamant about them not eating it tho... but God made the serpent too and here he was minimizing the curse attached and emphasizing the benefits of eating the fruit. It just seemed like such a positive thing, God made it all, surely it was good, maybe she was just over-reacting and it wouldn't hurt to eat just a bite... just to taste it, just once, how would she ever know the Truth if she didn't at least try it for herself. God has never lied to her, she knows he loves her, she knows his goodness... but here is the tree wearing this big blinging label and here is the serpent telling her that God's keeping it from her cuz he thinks it's best... but something in her rose up and without as much malice as we often think... she decided to take her destiny into her own hands, to go her own way, to base her decisions on what she thought and felt and desired...
Oh and here we are, standing in her shoes...
We stand in front of that tree, with Satan speaking thru the most subtle mouth piece, beautiful and cunning, making so much sense, soft-spoken, emphasizing the benefits and the positives and minimizing the curse attached. God clearly spoke to us when he said no. His words are pure and strong and good and true... and yet, we participate in twisting our thoughts and our explanations into excuses and logic and truth defined by other voices rather than the voice of God. Voices that allow Satan to speak thru them, tempting us to doubt what we know is True and Good and Right,
"Did God really say no?"
I think of that little five year old girl kneeling at the couch in her livingroom, not understanding much of what was happening, but in a terror filled moment of anguish, crying out to God to not let her mother die, and yet she did. And the voice of Satan whispering with so much concern,
"Did God really say no?"
I think of her hiding in her room while her molester yelled threats thru the door until she opened it and yielded to his lust. I think of her imprisoned and begging God to send someone to take her home, to protect her, to make her feel safe and clean again, only to wake the next morning to the same daily routine of abuse. And the voice of Satan whispers in disbelief at your Almighty God,
"Did God really say no?"
I think of the unexpected discovery of severe deformity in her body, the surgeries planned and her desperate requests for God to heal and to intervene... all the while as she hands over her basketball jersey and resigns her position as captain of the team to undergo medical treatments. And so gently, with so much tenderness, he whispers again,
"Did God really say no?"
Again and again, unrelated tragedies and trials riddle her life like bullets finding their mark time and time again on the battlefield. Again and again, she rose bloody without explanation without questioning if the strength would be given her to find her feet again each time she was face down in the dirt. Again and again, the enemy would whisper with hugs and affection when her prayers seemed unanswered and the flesh hung from her body, ripped and tattered and harder to heal because the scars were so many,
"Did God really say no?"
As a toddler the attacks began, on to her young years, her teen years, her college years, her married years, her graying years... so many prayers, so much hurt and filth around every corner to walk thru, to endure. Each time more sure, more determined that he would put the strength she needed in arms length... but each time becoming more and more difficult to rise from the ashes. How many times can a body walk thru the fire and not be burned? How many times will the flood waters rise and the breath of life continue to flow thru it's lungs?
Once... for some.
Several... for others.
A constant unending, ever increasing barrage?... it happens.
I wondered at these things as I woke this morning and lay there in the darkness of the early morning, tears burning, cries silenced... I looked at her life and wondered before God about her exhaustion and how one body could endure such things and why he would ask her to. Not with malice or anger or complaint, but with a cry for relief, an appeal to the compassion that is who he is, a trust that he is the only one that truly sees her torment or that can reach into the mire and heal the brokenness that is who she is... I asked for answers and direction and peace.
And once again, the enemy answered with such haste and yet so softly,
"Did God really just say no to you again?"
But I see him, and I know what a liar he is. I know how he can twist truth and manipulate the hearts and minds of men to question God and to compromise all that is precious. I know the death that is in his tongue and his false humility and his evil intentions and motives. I know because I have read the Word of God, I have not just read it... I have heard it and believed it.
As I lay there this morning, the Spirit of God so close at my side and flowing thru my being as the very breath in my body... I saw the methods of the enemy so clearly displayed true to form... partial truths. God did not say NO. He said, "No, let me show you something even better."
That is the whole Truth. That is his complete answer. It is not the question that the enemy poses, "Did God really say no?" It is not the truth that he suggests that God just wants to withhold something good from you. That is a lie and Satan is the Father of Lies. How could Adam and Eve, who walked with God, not see that? How can we, who have seen the Love of Christ demonstrated at the Cross, not see that? God never says no, without saying, "Let me show you something even better."
I don't know how much each of us will be called to endure. I don't know when, like my father, the cancer will become too great and our breath will eventually still. I don't know where the line is exactly between giving up and resigning yourself to the end of things, facing that reality of death.
But I do know that God is present, and active and involved in every area of our lives, in this life and the eternity that waits for us. I know that we can trust him, whether we understand or not, whether we hurt or not, whether we actually see the light or hope or an end in sight. I know that he is faithful and true and nothing and no one in heaven or hell or the earth can change that. It's just who he is. The one thing that will never change, the one person who will never abandon or disappoint you.
No matter what the enemy says or does. No matter what questions he asks you to consider. No matter how concerned evil appears or how loving a mask it wears... don't doubt what you know is Truth. Don't doubt yourself, what you have heard and seen and know of Christ. Things can appear black and Satan can hold it up in your face and scream at you that it is black... but it is you that chooses whether to believe him or whether to believe God when He says, "No, the color is not black, it is red."
That's why we often see thru a glass darkly... why we only get to glimpse the Truths of God right now... because blood diluted is clearly red. But as we continue on in this walk, in this faith, as we move to meatier and weightier things, sometimes the pureness and holiness of it all causes us to face things that are not watered down, things that appear differently than they really are and we are called upon to know what is Truth without having to see the evidence... we learn that walking by faith and not by sight requires more than we realized and yet less than we realized.
Greater maturity breeds a greater simplicity.
To whom much is given much is required.
_____________________________
|
|
|
|
|
RE: Did I just think that out loud?... - 7/13/2010 12:28:01 PM
|
|
|
selahgirl
Posts: 630
Joined: 5/20/2005
From: God is with you, never forget that <3
Status: offline
|
I attended a contemporary church years ago and the pastor was pressing a trendy teaching that called for ppl to lay hands on other ppl and impart their gifts to them, to ask God to take whatever gifting was in them and to give it away to whoever they were praying for. It seemed an odd request, I prayed for God to impart gifts to ppl but something just felt awkward about the spirit behind this leadership. The pastor at the time felt that if anyone refused they were walking in arrogance and sin and that they were afraid to give up their gifting as tho their identity was too wrapped up in it. But my concern was that I didn't see the model in Scripture for what they were teaching, which was often the case in that church. It was an odd place of off the cuff ideas that leadership would press upon ppl to experiment it seemed. If they stepped off into things that were contrary to Scripture and anyone questioned it, that person was "dealt with" as they would say.
Anyway, the Scriptures that come to mind about such things are when Elijah passed the anointing to Elijah and all that was required of him... the time when a couple of the disciples asked to drink from the cup of Christ, and he told them they had no idea what they were asking... or as Paul spoke of in Romans that gifts are given in proportion to the measure of a persons faith and the grace given them, how that we are each given different gifts with purpose and intent from the Father as many parts of the same body.
How do you lay hands on someone and impart your gift to them if God has not put it in your heart to do? What if God has called them to a different gifting or purpose, one that is night and day to yours, requiring a very different set of skills? Will they end up ill-prepared for ministry, will their walk be hindered and rougher because they received favor and calling from a man rather than from God, as they search out what purpose God has truly planned for them?
Some gifting and calling comes with a great price... as I quoted earlier, to whom much is given, much is required. What if the person just isn't made of the right stuff to endure the hardships that will fashion their character to effectively use and mature in that gifting? We as the Church, as mentors, as Christians can cause so much harm in the lives of ppl when we fail to impress them to seek God's will above our own. God will bring them to his plans for them without fail, but how much hardship does bad teaching cause ppl to have to endure. So unnecessary. How difficult would it be to give advice or share a concept and encourage ppl to measure it to Scripture and to seek God in prayer for themselves concerning the order of their steps.
Instead, it is taken as a challenge to authority when someone questions the words of a leader or a pastor or someone given authority by their church (whether that authority is Godly or not). There are times when a person of God has told me something and I hesitated and sought God about it, only to learn that they were right on the mark. But there are many more times when someone calling themselves anointed or a leader has given me bad advice and then taken offence at me when I failed to see God in it and refused to obey them above God.
Do you smell that?....
that Pharisee thing that is the precursor to a cult of men,
a kingdom of man rather than the Kingdom of God they claim to represent...
There must be a balance taught. We must remember that God ordains who will be in leadership, whether they are Godly or unGodly. We are to obey inside the church or outside the church, unless their demands begin to require us to go against the Word and Will of God. Christ told the ppl to obey the Pharisees teaching as they taught from the Scriptures... but do not obey them if they demand that your character and behavior mirror their own. He said don't do what they do aside from what they teach from the Scriptures.
That is why it is so important to be constantly reading the word of God. It must become second nature to us, memorized and upon our lips, in our ears and before our eyes. Because as we encounter things in the church and in the world that go against the Spirit of God, we instantly recognize that they don't line up with what God has said and is saying. If they are the leaders of that church, you cannot go contrary to them. But you can voice that you disagree if you do it with humility and a right spirit before God, not to win an argument, but with heartfelt conviction that something has strayed from Scripture. You can withdraw from ministry if God leads you to, and retreat to your prayer closet and pray for God to restore order, to open the eyes of the leadership and the congregation, that he would not allow such sin and error to continue whether intentional or not, and that the Spirit of God would rule and reign in that place. Or you can leave that church, if God leads you to go. Some churches have a capitol "I" blatantly embellished over the door, and yet they are so caught up in the beauty of the gold trim of it that they fail to realize that Ichabod is the reality of what they are allowing.
It is shocking how many churches and leaders are diminishing the power and relevancy and accuracy of the Bible. They are teaching that it is based on myth and tradition. They say "the Bible is without error" and then in the next breath they are teaching from a pulpit or in a classroom that certain passages are irrelevant or questionable because they were patterned after pagan beliefs and not so much the Spirit of God.
Or they twist and manipulate and tweak the Scripture to mean something so very contrary to the heart of God... in an attempt to feel important and exotic and eccentric. Their intent and ministry is ruled by a lack of true discernment and they think they are building the kingdom of God, all the while they are marring it and defacing it and leaving a trail of wounded.
Order...
God First.
Family Second.
The Church Third.
That is the true order of accountability.
When a church begins to put itself as first and attacks ATTACKS ppl that are trying to keep Godly order in the mix... the "I" that they claim is that person's pride is actually the start of ICHABOD above the door of that place.
We live in dangerous times as the Church...
Evil increases exponentially and manifests itself in each of us. If we are to be that Bride without spot or wrinkle, we must become zealous to put God first in who we choose to be accountable to, above ourselves, above our leaders or teachers or even parents. That is never to be done lacking honor to whom honor is due... that is never to be done with an arrogance or a competitive spirit... never with a bitterness or vengeance or any measure of disrespect or insult. It is to be done adamantly, with a broken-hearted spirit over the hurt it has caused and a contrite heart... ALWAYS with our eyes focused on the holiness and the mercy of Christ. He is not one or the other, he is both.
Lord, we ask with broken and contrite hearts that you would restore your order to each of us who are called by your name <3
_____________________________
|
|
|
|
|
RE: Did I just think that out loud?... - 7/14/2010 9:20:44 PM
|
|
|
IwillseekHim
Posts: 835
Joined: 5/17/2009
Status: offline
|
In agreement, Selah.
|
|
|
|
|
RE: Did I just think that out loud?... - 7/16/2010 9:28:45 AM
|
|
|
selahgirl
Posts: 630
Joined: 5/20/2005
From: God is with you, never forget that <3
Status: offline
|
Every time I am ready to walk... that still small voice says to wait... can anyone say "confused much?"
I think... perhaps... the peace of God isn't the absence of a wrestling within, perhaps it is a matter of obedience... which means a peace with God and a peace concerning conscience is night and day from a peace of mind and a peace concerning emotions. Emotions are part of the flesh and while not sin, must be wrestled into submission to the will of God. There will always be a warring within.
_____________________________
|
|
|
|
|
RE: Did I just think that out loud?... - 7/16/2010 3:01:10 PM
|
|
|
AH3
Posts: 14
Joined: 4/27/2010
Status: offline
|
Warm and Friendly Christian Greetings selahgirl,
Peace is such a little thing, as it quietly does suggest. Often it pretends to be lost. We say “pretends” very quietly, in hushed and lowered tones. You see, everything carries something, and often that, that seems the weakest, is yet so silently strong. Its, it's just that it knows it, and does not have to brag. Like a really nice friend, one that never lets us down, not really.
Peace and Love
XXX.
_____________________________
It is all about the life behind the life of sense. Not above or distant, but the personal and within brought forth.
|
|
|
|
|
RE: Did I just think that out loud?... - 7/20/2010 10:04:20 AM
|
|
|
selahgirl
Posts: 630
Joined: 5/20/2005
From: God is with you, never forget that <3
Status: offline
|
I woke this morning to a picture and a word... I saw my heart in his hand as he ran the blade across it, deep and painful. "You cannot KNOW and understand if you do not feel it first," he said. That is what I tried to spare you from. That is why I didn't want you to taste the fruit of the knowledge of good and evil. It is a bitter fruit that requires the scarring of your heart. Some things you just don't want to know...
_____________________________
|
|
|
|
|
RE: Did I just think that out loud?... - 7/20/2010 6:18:34 PM
|
|
|
selahgirl
Posts: 630
Joined: 5/20/2005
From: God is with you, never forget that <3
Status: offline
|
quote:
I woke this morning to a picture and a word... I saw my heart in his hand as he ran the blade across it, deep and painful. "You cannot KNOW and understand if you do not feel it first," he said. That is what I tried to spare you from. That is why I didn't want you to taste the fruit of the knowledge of good and evil. It is a bitter fruit that requires the scarring of your heart. Some things you just don't want to know...
"When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. " (Genesis 3:6)
It had the POTENTIAL to make her a wiser woman, but such knowledge carries no guarantees of wisdom. Knowledge becomes wisdom, only when we apply the Word/Will of God to what we have come to know. Otherwise, we are simply fools (morally bankrupt, dead and empty).
"The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge,
but fools despise wisdom and discipline." (Proverbs 1:7)
Knowing doesn't guarantee wisdom... Satan knew alot, but was a fool.
To know what is good and evil requires an intimacy with it. In the physical realm but more so in the spiritual realm. Hence the word KNOWledge. The knowledge of good and evil... Intimacy with good and evil. Intimacy requires touching and handling what is good and what is evil. In ways it would seem exciting and pleasing but the reality is that "knowing evil" leaves you raped and violated and scarred. Otherwise you can't truly know it, you can't gain wisdom concerning something until you have a complete and thorough knowledge of it.
In the garden we didn't have to touch evil, we didn't have to know it. We only had to encounter good. Intimacy was a God thing, we were married to his goodness spiritually. Ruled by it. Protected by it. But when mankind insisted on knowing good AND EVIL it opened a door to intimacy with all that is selfish and mean and violent. Suddenly we became intimate with hatred rather than love, we exposed ourselves to everything contrary to the character of God and allowed it to ravage not only our own physical/spiritual nakedness but everyone we love... everyone our lives would touch.
Yes, knowledge of such things leads to an increased measure of wisdom... but at what cost? Think about someone that has been abused by a pastor/leader, someone molested as a child, someone betrayed by a cheating spouse, someone robbed of all that is precious to them. They either learn how to inflict the same evil upon other ppl, becoming a seedbed of evil by becoming that exact thing that devoured their life. Or they look to God and invite him to take the knowledge they have gained from such intimacy with evil, whether forced or voluntary intimacy, enabling him to enable them to reach out with empathy and compassion to help others encountering the same devastation they have known. To be the conduit of healing and wholeness in the name of Jesus Christ, Lord and Savior not of us all, but of all who will believe.
Every evil thing that happens to us, must be allowed by God. But how could he give permission for such things to mutilate and murder his children, the innocent?... Most cults or anti-God movements use such a question to confuse and turn the hearts of men. They lead a person's thoughts away from a loving God whose heart has always been to protect them and free them from intimacy (knowing) evil. The only way to gain the knowledge of good and evil, to truly eat it and let it become part of you, is to taste and see... sound familiar.
Mankind chose to taste and see... to eat the fruit of such knowledge in an attempt to be wise in his own eyes... but Christ came as the antidote to the poison, to free us from the sin and sickness and death that we married ourselves to by willfully becoming intimate with evil. We live in a cursed world, physically and spiritually. And we encounter evil whether we want to or not, it has been loosed, everyone we encounter/love/hate in life is infected, all of us are infected.
We were at it's mercy, so God set out a plan in the old testament to postpone judgement until mankind reached a place to realize that there was only one way to remedy the situation... Christ. Until mankind could finally see that anything he touched would also become infected, until mankind realized that he would have to take his hands off of it completely and give all authority back to the one true God... the loving God who was about to give all to save each and every one of us despite our sickness, our arrogance, our filth, our sin. He wanted us to have that second chance at life, physically and spiritually.
Disobedience had entered the world and mankind was on a filthy binge of doing things his own way. God gave him the freedom to do that and waited for the right time for mankind to realize that man couldn't save himself with rituals and methods... mankind had to realize that salvation would have to come completely from God, we cannot save ourselves, there is no ritual or commandment that we can own and perform to bring salvation. Obedience postponed judgement until mankind was ready to do the one thing that was required for salvation, ACCEPT CHRIST as the one and only Lord and Savior of the world... trust him, let go and let God, give him complete freedom in our lives and our hearts in every way so that he could work the miraculous.
When we put our hands on things, anything, and try to inflict our will upon it in any way, it will always hinder the perfect will of God from being performed. But if we take our hands off of it, and lay them back on it in accordance with the will and word and plan of God, we move with him and not against him. His perfect will is performed and we are saved and we move in tune with his Spirit to help bring others to salvation as well. That is what Christ did. That is why he so often stressed that he did nothing but what the Father instructed. That is the role of mankind. That is what protects us from bringing harm to ourselves and to others, complete submission and obedience to a God that has our best interest in mind at all times.
When we encounter evil in life, God permits certain things because the earth is governed by his unchanging value system. God said that he did not come to do away with the laws that he set in place, but to fulfill them. Evil things happen in life, but it was never the desire or plan of God for us to have to KNOW them, to be scarred by such intimacy with them. We did that. He came to set us free from it.
I saw my heart in his hand as he ran the blade across it. I could see the blood ooze from the wound so deep and painful, so recent and fresh. I could see the scars in different stages of healing from encounters with evil thru out my life. I thought about all that I have learned from those situations. I thought about the grace of God that covered me and told the enemy that he could only go so far, the lines he drew each time to keep the cutting from overwhelming me altogether. I thought about the ppl I have known that encountered certain evils before I walked in their shoes, how odd they seemed, how fixable their situations seemed if they would just believe... but now that I have known the evil they had known, after having cried out to my God and searched for his word and will in the situation with many tears and great and exceeding heartache... I have found a measure of wisdom that I could not have known had evil not so veraciously attacked me.
You can't voluntarily go looking for evil to know to gain wisdom, how foolish, how Eve of you *grin*
No, you must be about the Father's business and trust me... evil will find you. He lurks in the shadows, he paces the land looking for someone to devour, some situation to gain the upper hand thru, some person in your life that will open the door to your heart so he can shatter it, so he can give you another good taste of that fruit... that knowledge of good and evil... that intimacy with misery and torment... that thing that God warned us of and tried to keep us from having to know.
I know a girl whose heart is so very scarred, so very tattered and fragile and broken by her many encounters with evil in life. So much so that she is torn between her desire for death (freedom from this world) and her love of life (seeing souls saved). Ppl ask her how she gained such wisdom concerning life and the things of God, cuz they know her weaknesses and sin as well as she does. How does a person answer such a question? Such a thing is performed solely by the mercy and grace of God.
She didn't ask for her mother to die when she was a small child, or to be molested by adoptive parents, or to learn of severe deformity in her body as a teenager, or to marry into certain challenges that have hampered life even further, or to be betrayed in her marriage... or the many other things that are just too numerous and personal to share. But she has learned that evil remains in the world and around every corner infecting every person that we love and encounter in life, that evil is in her own heart as well, that it is alive and strong and mean.
She has learned that evil never conquers evil.
She has learned that there is only one thing that can conquer evil and that is Christ. And that such victory comes only thru the blood of the lamb and the word of our testimony... that means thru what Christ did at the cross to free us from our marriage to sin... and us sharing that knowledge with others. Knowing Christ as Lord and Savior, intimacy with him, tasting and seeing that fruit, partaking of it as his bride... that is the healing of the nations spoken of in revelations, healing for each of us, eternal life and peace and joy.
God keeps bringing me back to Genesis, the beginning.
I think I know why, just trying to find the time to write down all he seems to be speaking recently. But the key word in my heart is REGATHERING. As messy as my walk is lately, as broken as my heart remains... what more proof does a person need that God can use any one and any situation to shine Light into the darkness that invades the most intimate places of our hearts and lives.
I feel that I have rambled thru this, just throwing it all down on e-paper somewhere. I pray it makes sense cuz I haven't had the chance to proof it.
Love to you <3
_____________________________
|
|
|
|
|
RE: Did I just think that out loud?... - 7/21/2010 4:42:46 AM
|
|
|
AH3
Posts: 14
Joined: 4/27/2010
Status: offline
|
Greetings selahgirl,
May a question be asked?
Peace and Love.
XXX.
_____________________________
It is all about the life behind the life of sense. Not above or distant, but the personal and within brought forth.
|
|
|
|
|
RE: Did I just think that out loud?... - 7/21/2010 8:13:32 AM
|
|
|
selahgirl
Posts: 630
Joined: 5/20/2005
From: God is with you, never forget that <3
Status: offline
|
Definitely, questions are one of my favorite things, positive and negative, as long as they are from the heart and in an attempt to arrive at Truth and Goodness <3
You can post it here if in relation to this thread, or you can msg me if on a more personal note. I will trust the mods to step in if discussion takes us to a more specific topic, such as theology or marriage, should we need to move the conversation to keep from cluttering up the writer's table ^_^
_____________________________
|
|
|
|
|
RE: Did I just think that out loud?... - 7/21/2010 8:41:11 AM
|
|
|
AH3
Posts: 14
Joined: 4/27/2010
Status: offline
|
Greetings selahgirl,
O Lord I praise The Holy Spirit for bringing this marvellous opportunity to The Light. All Works truly are for The Lords Testimony.
From the Heart only and always, I have no other testimony. Nothing of theology is spoken forth by the Spirit of this Soul, only Testimony.
Who is it that is the breaker of the Cherubims sword?
Peace and Love.
XXX.
_____________________________
It is all about the life behind the life of sense. Not above or distant, but the personal and within brought forth.
|
|
|
|
|
RE: Did I just think that out loud?... - 7/21/2010 9:04:12 AM
|
|
|
selahgirl
Posts: 630
Joined: 5/20/2005
From: God is with you, never forget that <3
Status: offline
|
wow, good one. haha =)
hmmm, off the top of my head I would have to say that no one could break such a sword. I would wonder more how long the cherubim and sword were assigned to guard the tree. After Christ fulfilled the plan of salvation, could it be that they were no longer necessary or are they still there guarding the tree? idk. Also, is it a literal tree or spiritual symbolism or both?... could the tree of life be the sacrificial lamb? That work that only Christ could perform, and only in God's perfect timing?
_____________________________
|
|
|
|
|
RE: Did I just think that out loud?... - 7/21/2010 9:25:13 AM
|
|
|
selahgirl
Posts: 630
Joined: 5/20/2005
From: God is with you, never forget that <3
Status: offline
|
Interesting question which has caused me some interesting thoughts. Perhaps the tree of the knowledge of good and evil was in the garden because it was a reality, not as a temptation, because God does not tempt us to sin. But perhaps the tree of life was placed there as the antidote, the antiserum, should man disobey and expose himself to evil.
It was as tho that work of Christ was prepared before we were even created and it stood guard over us. It would make sense that Satan wanted Eve to eat of the tree of knowledge, because if he could convince her to, it would marr up the Good and Perfect Life that God had planned for his children. Perhaps Satan had lost his standing and God was being merciful even to Satan by allowing him to remain... maybe Satan would have never gone to hell if he had not persuaded mankind to choose rebellion. Perhaps part of the work of Christ, the fruit of the tree of life, was to eternally condemn Satan and his partners in crime to hell.
There are prolly tons of flaws in that thought line, but this is a place for thinking out loud. I wonder if Satan shunned the mercy of God and chose hell for eternity just because of his hatred of God and jealousy of man.
_____________________________
|
|
|
|
|
RE: Did I just think that out loud?... - 7/21/2010 9:33:34 AM
|
|
|
AH3
Posts: 14
Joined: 4/27/2010
Status: offline
|
Glorious Greetings selahgirl,
This is a Wonderful thing. The Spirit opens truth. God is truth and the truth is a Heavenly foundation and Body. The first will also be the last? How does that add?
Peace and Love.
XXX.
_____________________________
It is all about the life behind the life of sense. Not above or distant, but the personal and within brought forth.
|
|
|
|
|
RE: Did I just think that out loud?... - 7/21/2010 9:38:54 AM
|
|
|
selahgirl
Posts: 630
Joined: 5/20/2005
From: God is with you, never forget that <3
Status: offline
|
Now there's a book theme for all you fiction writers out there. Tell the story thru the eyes of Satan and how he cut off his nose to spite his face. Would that not be a great ending scene in a movie... Satan willfully choosing hell, entering into that place of torment on that final day and staring thru the flames as he watches God close the door and seal it into non-existence. No exit. I wonder if Satan is capable of having regrets, or if his pride and hatred of God are so bitter that his heart is resolute in his rebellion.
You could even title the book... No Exit.
_____________________________
|
|
|
|
 New Messages |
 No New Messages |
 Hot Topic w/ New Messages |
 Hot Topic w/o New Messages |
 Locked w/ New Messages |
 Locked w/o New Messages |
|
 Post New Thread
Reply to Message
Post New Poll
Submit Vote
Delete My Own Post
Delete My Own Thread
Rate Posts |
|
|
Forum Tools
Printable Version
