Study the scriptures diligently. Pray for wisdom. Seek God continually with pure hands and pure hearts. Recognize and exercise spiritual gifts. Encourage others to do likewise. Use the Bible as a guide for how to live, meet and treat others. Beware of the Devil. He is the enemy of all that is good. Don’t trust too heavily in flesh. Flesh deceives and is never satisfied.
Christianity is simple allegiance to, and faith in, Jesus. Follow the Christ and emulate him. Study his teachings and his life. Discover God’s will for your life. If you are married, discover God’s will for your marriage. Follow God’s will and teach what you know to be true until you know better.
Trust in God’s strength in you as a believer. Trust that God has given all his children his gift of the Holy Spirit. Trust that his Spirit in you will counsel you, comfort you and convict you. God, in you, is the best counselor and guide. Listen to him more than you listen to any other person, even yourself. He is always good. He knows you. He knows best.
Finally, have faith that love works regardless of the situation. When love doesn’t appear to be working, continue to be a loving person; continue to act lovingly! A life spent loving others is a hundred times better than a life spent hating everything.
God is love.
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I am going through a time right now where he has withdrawn his presence from me. It was hard at first, but I still know that he is there. I know he still loves me. Maybe he is testing me. But without that continual guidance in my life, that voice that I am used to hearing and used to depending on, what do I do? I can feel him now slowly returning. I continue to speak to him and I "hear" his whisper, but I feel like I can't quite make out what he says to me. Maybe it has just been to long since I have heard him that I don't know what his voice sounds like anymore...
I hope this makes sense. And I hope you realized I am not discouraged. I went through a time recently when it was very hard that his presence wasn't with me, or at least I couldn't feel it. I thought I did something wrong, or I pushed him away. Eventually I decided that he was probably testing me and wanting me to DESIRE HIM. And not for what he CAN DO FOR ME. But for who HE IS TO ME. That is a hard lesson to learn. One that I am not sure that I know just yet.
Any thoughts?
Love always works - when you receive it. Giving love sometimes to some people is the hard trick. We can give love to those we like and love - but to give it to our enemies is the tough part. I am working on loving my enemies and it is hard...but I won't let them bring me down cause I got my Lord and Savior lifting me up. Amen -
You're right also about receiving love. Some of us find it so difficult to receive love, even God's unconditional love. We either feel unworthy or we feel the person will use our love for them against us in some way and wound us severely. It's hard to love without fear.
This love thing is difficult. We need God's help to love like God.
I hear God least when I am most busy. I get so consumed by the cares and affairs of this world. I get too busy to listen and look up. I don't take time to sit quietly and listen carefully. It gets so difficult to spend time with God when I am so concerned with my obligations.
United Statesians have so many material THINGS that require constant upkeep. We have things that need to regularly be fixed up, painted up, kept up, and tuned up! Heehee! We simply have too many things! These, and the additional responsibilities we take (some of us working two jobs) and all the obligations of church, friends, and family, not to mention maintaining close relationships, just simply consume most of our time and energy. We have little left over for God. Why do I keep giving him only scraps? I do so and reap the result of not being able to hear him. He becomes a distant voice because I severely neglect him.
God uses illness in my life to get my attention. He uses it to bring me back to him and to re-emphasize to me what is MOST important. I don't want to be sick again! So, I try to make time for him. I try not to let anything interfere. When I am full of HIM then I find myself with plenty of energy for others and things.
I hope this helps. It's a tough lesson. I have to learn it continually. Just remember, he is not far. He is near to us all. He loves us so. Even when we cannot hear him clearly, he is not away. He is just sitting silently and patiently waiting for us to draw nearer to him.
He loves you so. And, so do I.
Oooo, I just loved writing your whole name out!
Okay, I'll let you answer parasite about the devil who we know is out to kill, steal and destroy (unless we don't believe in God's revealed Word, that is) but I wanted to make one comment on what Doniangel said......I agree with her that we 'think' many things that are not God and sometimes it IS hard to know what to believe and what not to. I don't think we should worry too much, as the Word says, casting all our cares on Him for He careth for us, but when we think something, or do something that we think MIGHT not be godly or in His will, all we have to do is match it up against His Word. ie. If we are dreaming about our neighbor's spouse we can be pretty sure that isn't His will for us, right?
BTW, this was a great post! Preach on brother!
I don't agree with the lifestyle that some Mormons choose to live. How they can marry more than one woman? To me it sounds downright disrespectful and I am against that idea.
What I don't understand is if Adultery is considered a Sin, then how can Mormons call themselves religious and preechers of the church? If your marrying more than one woman, and having sex with more than one woman than aren't you commiting adultery?
Why can’t people just believe in good? Because they can’t deny reality! Evil exists! And, everything has a source. Unless you are going to say that mankind is the SOURCE of all evil? Or, will you blame God for that simply because he created us as creatures of choice and we can choose to do evil or good?
Some think that evil is merely the absence or failure to CHOOSE to do good. Is evil really any other choice besides that of doing good? I don’t think so. Some actions, I feel, are neither evil nor good in themselves. So, the question remains:
“Are there persons/spirits/beings that are by their very nature evil?"
Or, is it that we are just good beings doing bad things? Which is it with you? Have you come to a decision about these matters? Or, do you merely like to throw out questions?
You asked, "Don't you give Satan (or God for that matter) existence merely by believing he exists?"
I don’t think so. I believe Satan and God both to be real. I believe Satan is not God, or a god. There is only one God! I don’t think I can make either one exist by believing nor cause either to vanish from existence no matter how much I disbelieve in either of them. They either ARE or they ARE NOT!
Those who come to God must believe that he is! And, one must believe that he is the Rewarder of those who diligently seek him. So, my thoughts are that you have a choice. I believe God gives all mankind the power to choose. I believe God gives spirits likewise the power to choose to serve him or themselves. We are servants of whom we choose to obey. We can believe in God and reap eternal life or we can follow sin/Satan and reap the judgment and wrath of God when he comes to punish all evil. As for me and my house, we choose the Lord our God. He is the One whom we will serve.
You, on the other hand, can choose to obey whom you wish. You can choose to believe any reality you wish. God gives you the choice. Praise God, we all can choose. But, there are consequences for the choices we make. Of that we can all be certain!
Jesus taught plainly that God is not pleased when we have sex with any other person besides the ONE to whom we are married. Sex is not evil but sex outside of marriage is morally WRONG!
Great job! You just picked up a great point. See, even Christians can be wrong! But, we knew that. Heehee! That's why we shouldn't look to them as the standard for right and wrong, for what is true and false. That honor is reserved for God alone, His true character and nature as revealed in Scripture, nature, and best seen in Jesus Christ and his plain teachings.
You have to know the original before you can clearly see the counterfeits. Jesus is the original and God's word is the standard by which to properly judge all things as right or wrong, good or bad. Don't let man set that standard as he will simply do what pleases himself! Mankind cannot be trusted for these things. Neither can preachers, elders, bishops, or popes for that matter. They are mere mortals with their own agendas. Follow God. If you are a Christian, follow the Spirit of God that God has placed in you (if indeed you are of God). If you and I are following the one and same Spirit, then we will agree on matters that truly matter. We also will know the truth and it will set us free from religionists who wish to enforce their own brand of religion (dare I say, Christianity) on others.
Peace and blessings like in knowing Jesus Christ. Better yet, to be known of him.