Grace Walk!
Since Mr. Lester may be taking awhile to get the former board up and running I decided to just jump in and start a new thread.:)
I am starting to learn some new things that I would like to share with you today. Let me ask you a question. Do you think God loves you any less when you are not performing according to his standard? That is a loaded question because His standard is perfection. We cannot live according to the law, or keep the law now any more than we could before we became Christians. No one can live the Christian life! That is no one except Christ himself and he has offered to live his life in us. Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." Matthew 11:28-30 Are you living your life on a spritual roller coaster, high for a while and then low again? If you are like me you want to please God, you want to please people, you want to please your family. You concentrate on the sin in your life. I can't do this or that so I had better not look at anything that will remind me of this sin in my life that I am trying to get rid of. While you are on a diet, you can go to the Pizza hut and read the menu and see all the things you cannot have. Deprivation! Diet! Negative words. Life, Abundant Life, Victorious Life - Positive Words. How do you get from here to there? Many people wake up in the morning and think "I have to do my quiet time, I have to witness to my relatives, I have to post on my forums. I also have to go to work, do the dishes, pick up my daughter, go grocery shopping, and then come home and be nice to my husband. Then on Sunday, I have to teach Sunday School, sing in the choir, play the piano, ........makes a person tired just thinking about it doesn't it? The actual truth is I don't REALLY do all of that. Have you noticed the phrase that keeps cropping up? have to Our natural rebellious nature makes us not want to do things we have to do. At least that is the way I am. I also can't quit thinking about that Pizza Hut menu when I am concentrating on not eating the Pizza. GRACE! What is that? We talk about it all the time. Grace is unmeritted favor. We didn't earn it, and yet God gives it to us anyway. He lavishes it on us. His GRACE is always there, before we are saved and after. Do you think that God really wants us to be busy? Each life is different. Remember Mary and Martha? Mary chose to sit at Jesus' feet and learn, while Martha got busy serving. I suppose we need to get those things done, but are we pleasing God because we are busy? I believe the answer is no. Even when praying, I have learned that "Friendship with God" is the most important thing even more important than the activity of praying. He wants US not our activity. The same goes for the average Christian life........ Busyness in serving Christ can, block intimacy with him. What is our responsibility then? Resting in Christ is the sole responsibility of the Christian. Everything else flows out of that! Your comments are welcome! In Christ, Judy |
Judy,
Loved your post and agree with all you say. The thing is that it seems so opposite of what I thought I learned. I thought key to living the Christian life is to try and strive and perform. I looked for formulas and 5 steps to this and 6 steps for that. Yet, over the last 6 1/2 years, I have learned that Christian living involves rest and receiving from Him and depending totally on God. I am learning to rest in Him rather than striving myself and things I do just happen. I have more to say, but no time right now. I would like to hear from others and then join back later this week. David |
Welcome David!
Just a couple of thoughts today? Busyness!!! I have to admit I do not know what some of these gadgets are or what they are for. Ipod? What is that? Well, so you have an Ipod, and you are driving down the interstate talking on your cell phone and eating the french fries you got at the fast food place on the way. You are on the way to your doctor's appointment to talk about your cholesterol? :eek: Company comes and we still have the TV turned on to Entertainment Tonight. We have to see what Dr Phil has to say about...... or lets talk about church. We can't seem to get a breakthrough, so we go to three seminars on prayer and on the way, the Cell phone rings, it seems that the Sunday School Teacher broke her leg and wants you to....... OK enough already! What was I saying about peace. Does God want us or our busyness?Are we so busy serving God we don't stop long enough to hear what he has to say? Are we afraid to hear what he has to say because maybe he will want us to do yet another thing? NO no no!Besides this a Neurological Board, maybe we just have one giant headache. When God created the world, he rested! When Jesus died on the cross, he said "It is Finished!" What was finished? The payment for our sin debt. He not only died to satisfy a righteous God's requirement for justice, but He died to give us an abundant life. Why are we not living this abundant life? Maybe we are? Any ideas? In the meantime, you think that IPOD (whatever that is) the cell phone the music on the cellphone, and the latest video game keeps us from hearing the still small voice of the Holy Spirit. Until next time...... Judy |
My reply to abundant life question
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Resting in the Psalms?
I thought that the Abundant Life was a New Testament concept. I guess it is - as Jesus is the one who promised to give us one, but it seems that King David knew something about depending on God.....
Psalm 36:7 How excellent is thy lovingkindness, O God! therefore the children of men put their trust under the shadow of thy wings. Psalm 37:4 Delight thyself also in the Lord; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart. Commit thy ways unto the Lord; trust also in him and he shall bring it to pass. God wants us to trust him! Right? Psalm 37:7a Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for him.... Years ago I remember riding in the car on an open highway on the way to church. We drove 50 miles to be with my parents on Sunday. At that time we lived in a little town in Utah. My dad was a pastor of a small Baptist Church in another town in Utah. Because the church was just starting out, I commuted to play the organ. The problem is is that we had been in an automobile accident a few weeks before. I seemed to have developed a phobia of riding in the car. :eek: I am not kidding I was white-knuckling it as my husband was driving, but I was saying "Watch out for that car, slow down....." We had the radio on and it began to play this song. "Be Still and Know that I am God.....The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge." from Psalm 46. I love it! Until next time.... Rest in the Lord! Judy |
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Excellent post and great O.T. scripture verses. I agree that the Abundant Life is also an O.T. concept. Examine most major O.T. Bible characters and see how they went through brokenness, often a desert experience. Moses had to leave Egypt after he thought he was such a hot shot that he could lead the Israelites by his own strength when he killed the Egyptian. Jacob wrestled with God. Examine David's life especially during the period when he was hiding in caves. Compre David's life to that of Saul who never learned to depend on God. Yes, the O.T. characters learned total dependence too. I've wanted to design an O.T. Bible study which would present N.T. abundant life truths. Maybe someday but too busy now. David |
Trust
I just stopped in to check out this forum after visiting the Parkinson's site, and found your conversation; I hope I may join in?
I believe very strongly that God gives us - or allows us to have - trials and afflicions so that we may learn to depend on Him. Long ago I gave up depending on myself and my intellect and energy; I found that those things accounted for very little when I was faced with real trials. I'll save myself some typing, and just paste in [slightly edited] what I wrote out when I was asked to present my testimony in church a few months back (the sermon topic for the day was "Despair"; the pastor thought this would be a good fit!): I believe God will take care of us, even if we don't know who or why. I know the "who" now, and I'm working on the "why". Thank you Judy for your apt scriptural references, and you David for your insightful analyses. |
Kris,
Welcome. What a wonderful post. I am so sorry you have been through so much, but that is the entire reason for this thread is to show that when we can't do it anymore and we realize that, and start depending on God, he will step in and take over. Self-sufficiency is one thing, I believe, that keeps us from truly experiencing God's help and the abundant life that he promises. Sorry, I have been slow getting back here. I am reading this in the middle of the night. Thank you for sharing, and please stay with us. We all have a lot to learn and can help each other.:) In Christ, Judy |
The Bible talks about Christ in us, but it talks 10 times more about us being "In Christ". When we trust in Christ's sacrifice on the Cross God looks at us as actually having died with him, burried and resurrected to a new life.
The Devil is actively trying to trip us up, but he also is the accuser! 1 Therefore, there is now no condemation for those who are in Christ Jesus, 2 because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me from from the law of sin and death. 3 For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the sinful nature, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful man to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in sinful man. 4 In order that the righteous requirements of the law might be fully met in us who do not live according to the sinful nature but according to the Spirit First of all, we are not condemned like the devil makes us think we are when we sin. Because as long as we are still alive we are not ever going to be completely free of sin. Walking in the Spirit involves looking to that sacrifice of Christ on the Cross. He does not recognize faith in our own ability to "not sin" The object of our faith has to be Christ and him crucified. Then the Holy Spirit will work in our life as we continue to trust in Christ's sacrifice! In Christ, Judy P.S. Does anyone have any comments about what it means to Walk in the Spirit vs Wallking in the Flesh? Feel free to participate in this thread - anyone!!!!! |
hi judy can i say what i think it means to me? walking in spirit means u r following gods laws and commands. walking in the flesh means u r follwing your own laws. correct me if i am wrong ;)
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Try it this way: Walking in the Spirit means u r surrending to God's will. Walking in the flesh means u r following your own laws.! Anyone else have another idea?:) Thanks, Judy |
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I"ll join for a bit. Walking by the Spirit is total dependence on Jesus living His life through us moment by moment. Judy, your definition will work too. As far as laws, as we depend on Him, we will follow God's laws since Ezekiel 36:26-27 says that laws are now written on our heart and God will cuase us to walk in them; and besides Jesus living through us will of course follow the laws when we depend on Him. Our focus as a Christian is to focus on Jesus, not laws. Walking by the Flesh is dependence on our resources. Our flesh is our body and soul operating independent of the Holy Spirit. Thus walking by the flesh is depending on our bodyand soul, rather than Jesus. As far as law, we can be focused on man's law or God's law but still be barking up the wrong tree. Even if we are focused on God's law but depending on our resources to fulfill that law, we are walking by the flesh. Gal. 3:3 says "Are you so foolish? Having begun in the Spirit, are you now being made perfect by the flesh?" Oh foolish me, I try that sometime. :) Don't you? I personally think the USA should be renamed Galatia. :) Let me try to remember a story from Classic Christianity by Bob George. There is this guy listening and dancing to the music. He is really enjoying himself. Then another guy joins him but he cannot hear the music at all since he is deaf, but he watches the other guy jumping and dancing and decides to join in anyway Of course, he doesn't hear the music. He is not authentic. Yet, if you walk in and see these two guys you will think they are both greatly enjoying the music. This is like the Christian life. We can obey God's laws in our own strength and look like we are dancing (this would be living according to the flesh) and our Christian friends may be impressed; however, wouldn't it be better if we were dancing and living the Christian life because Jesus was living through us? I don't know about you but I want to experience more authentic consistent dancing in my Christian walk. David |
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I want to share something with you all. When I was raising my autistic daughter who is now an adult I had some pretty hairy times, especially when she was trying to tear down the drapes. As I was trying to fix the damage she would to run out in the street, only to have me save her from doing that - then she would bite me! ouch! Sometimes I would just collapse in a heap (that is when I had time). :rolleyes: I would talk to my dad, long distance and ask him "How to I do this?" His only answer was, "You can't do it in your own power!" No one can! I knew that, but I still didn't know how to live in the power of the Holy Spirit. That is what this thread is about! I know it has been a little scattered as I started in on another board. The bottom line of living in the Power of the Holy Spirt is to admit you can't do it yourself and ask Jesus to Live His life in You! He is just waiting for you to ask. However, as we slip back into the flesh off and on -or actually alot, we have to keep asking or allowing Christ to do the driving! Does that make sense? Judy:) |
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