Working Our Faith Out

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Comment by ALCEDES JONES on February 6, 2012 at 4:17am

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		Printer version   Deuteronomy 8:2-3 (2) Remember how the LORD your God led you all the way in the desert these forty years, to humble you and to test you in order to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep his commands. (3) He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your fathers had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD. New International Version   Change Bible versions Israel endured many discomforts during those forty years, and they sinned a great deal too. However, God reminds them that He was with them during both good and bad times. He also makes it very clear that He Himself inflicted a great deal of pain on them, and that He did this for three specific reasons: to humble them, to know what was in their hearts, and to teach them that man does not live by bread alone. If He did these things to humble them, then the flip side is that He did it to knock the pride from them. Pride motivated many of their sins. As a recurring theme in Scripture, God's work to humble us is something to keep at the forefront of our minds. The author of Hebrews warns us, "Do not despise the chastening of the Lord" (Hebrews 12:5). He is deeply involved in our lives, and because He loves us dearly, He will correct us painfully when necessary (verse 6). Deuteronomy 8 teaches that God humbles us to drive the pride of self-sufficiency far from us. When things go well, it is easy to forget God and ascribe success to natural abilities, learned skills, or even good luck. But when the body is not fed, it begins to weaken noticeably, and it soon begins to feel pain. The spirit, though, seems to weaken and "die" so slowly that it is almost imperceptible. As we spiritually deteriorate, we may even feel blessed and prospered by God! So He disciplines us with pain to warn us that all is not as well as our vanity is leading us to think. John W. Ritenbaugh Excerpted from: Pride, Humility, and the Day of Atonement

Comment by sandra v villamero on February 6, 2012 at 3:36am

AMEN sis Elaine....

MARTYP....bless you for your nice comments to me

ALCEDES.....love you for all your features here and there.

 

The Love of Jesus
There's no love more precious,
more costly, more kingly.
There's no love that's greater-
that's more wonderful, more wild,
... more passionate, more powerful-
than the love of Jesus.

Believe, receive, and rejoice forever in the greatest love the world has ever known!

For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8:38, 39 NASB

 

Comment by ALCEDES JONES on February 5, 2012 at 6:51pm

Martyp , my sister I hope this answer your question about the man you think was homeless

Romans 9 :6-33 New American Standard Bible

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      6But it is not as though the word of God has failed. For they are not all Israel who are descended from Israel; 7nor are they all children because they are Abraham’s descendants, but: “THROUGH ISAAC YOUR DESCENDANTS WILL BE NAMED.” 8That is, it is not the children of the flesh who are children of God, but the children of the promise are regarded as descendants. 9For this is the word of promise: “AT THIS TIME I WILL COME, AND SARAH SHALL HAVE A SON.” 10And not only this, but there was Rebekah also, when she had conceived twins by one man, our father Isaac; 11for though the twins were not yet born and had not done anything good or bad, so that God’s purpose according to His choice would stand, not because of works but because of Him who calls, 12it was said to her, “THE OLDER WILL SERVE THE YOUNGER.” 13Just as it is written, “JACOB I LOVED, BUT ESAU I HATED.”

      14What shall we say then? There is no injustice with God, is there? May it never be! 15For He says to Moses, “I WILL HAVE MERCY ON WHOM I HAVE MERCY, AND I WILL HAVE COMPASSION ON WHOM I HAVE COMPASSION.” 16So then it does not depend on the man who wills or the man who runs, but on God who has mercy. 17For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, “FOR THIS VERY PURPOSE I RAISED YOU UP, TO DEMONSTRATE MY POWER IN YOU, AND THAT MY NAME MIGHT BE PROCLAIMED THROUGHOUT THE WHOLE EARTH.” 18So then He has mercy on whom He desires, and He hardens whom He desires.

      19You will say to me then, “Why does He still find fault? For who resists His will?” 20On the contrary, who are you, O man, who answers back to God? The thing molded will not say to the molder, “Why did you make me like this,” will it? 21Or does not the potter have a right over the clay, to make from the same lump one vessel for honorable use and another for common use? 22What if God, although willing to demonstrate His wrath and to make His power known, endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction? 23And He did so to make known the riches of His glory upon vessels of mercy, which He prepared beforehand for glory, 24even us, whom He also called, not from among Jews only, but also from among Gentiles.

25As He says also in Hosea,
         “I WILL CALL THOSE WHO WERE NOT MY PEOPLE, ‘MY PEOPLE,’
         AND HER WHO WAS NOT BELOVED, ‘BELOVED.’”

26“AND IT SHALL BE THAT IN THE PLACE WHERE IT WAS SAID TO THEM, ‘YOU ARE NOT MY PEOPLE,’
         THERE THEY SHALL BE CALLED SONS OF THE LIVING GOD.”

      27Isaiah cries out concerning Israel, “THOUGH THE NUMBER OF THE SONS OF ISRAEL BE LIKE THE SAND OF THE SEA, IT IS THE REMNANT THAT WILL BE SAVED; 28FOR THE LORD WILL EXECUTE HIS WORD ON THE EARTH, THOROUGHLY AND QUICKLY.”

29And just as Isaiah foretold,
         “UNLESS THE LORD OF SABAOTH HAD LEFT TO US A POSTERITY,
         WE WOULD HAVE BECOME LIKE SODOM, AND WOULD HAVE RESEMBLED GOMORRAH.”

      30What shall we say then? That Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, attained righteousness, even the righteousness which is by faith; 31but Israel, pursuing a law of righteousness, did not arrive at that law. 32Why? Because they did not pursue it by faith, but as though it were by works. They stumbled over the stumbling stone,

33just as it is written,
         “BEHOLD, I LAY IN ZION A STONE OF STUMBLING AND A ROCK OF OFFENSE,
         AND HE WHO BELIEVES IN HIM WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED.”

Comment by Hamm on February 5, 2012 at 3:55pm

Elaine. wow I didn't no this, thats great explanation. I will remember this.

This would seem to me that the anchor with a cross has some real relevance to you Marty, given whet you said about the storm.

I like the navigation through life, though I think I need radar.

God bless.

Comment by Hamm on February 5, 2012 at 2:40pm

Hi Marty, I am with you as I have and am currently always thinking alot about my self and my circumstances. I find it hard to change this and my current way of thinking, I struggle so much with the learning. I don't mind helping others with anything, but do struggle with the concept of giving to the Lord & living for God.

When you ask about the anchor with a cross on. Well in my country in places by the sea and the fishing communities have and anchor with a cross on. I cam't quite remember if represents a certain saint, but they are very christian communities and I asume it represents they christian believes and it used as protection etc.

Comment by Hamm on February 5, 2012 at 2:31pm

God bless you Chris, I pray that your pain is not with long and that it soon leaves you. Peace be with friend.

Comment by ALCEDES JONES on February 5, 2012 at 12:30pm

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AMEN ELAINE AND YES MY BROTHER CHRIS, YOU ARE SO RIGHT IN BOTH OF YOUR POSTS  AND I JUST LOVE PSALM 119 AND HERE IS A FEW VERSE FROM IT,

Yodh.

73Your hands made me and fashioned me;
         Give me understanding, that I may learn Your commandments.

74May those who fear You see me and be glad,
         Because I wait for Your word.

75I know, O LORD, that Your judgments are righteous,
         And that in faithfulness You have afflicted me.

76O may Your lovingkindness comfort me,
         According to Your word to Your servant.

77May Your compassion come to me that I may live,
         For Your law is my delight.

78May the arrogant be ashamed, for they subvert me with a lie;
         But I shall meditate on Your precepts.

79May those who fear You turn to me,
         Even those who know Your testimonies.

80May my heart be blameless in Your statutes,
         So that I will not be ashamed.

Comment by a servant (Chris) on February 5, 2012 at 11:47am

After I had read Alcedes posting about pain. I also am in agreement to the Wisdom Holy Ghost has shown him. As I have been shown and the Spirit continues to reveal to us on this subject. So many of us deal with pain, however, the enemy often for different reasons, does not want us to share with one another on this issue. As it tries to have us buy into the idea, we are failures if we have pain. Like most of us learn, who deal with pain everyday. We are Over comers based on the Word, not how we feel. Here are two parts, of things on pain that I was shown, and shared in the past. The more freedom we show by sharing, the better off “the Body” as a whole is.
Pain can tell us 8/23/11
Pain can tell us things, we might not be able to hear, any other way.
It shows us limitations, what we can or cannot do.
Where our weakness are, and what to do to get past them.
If we allow pain to much power, it can change us into people we may not like.
If we don’t listen close enough, we can become even more damaged, had we not heard
it’s voice. It can show us who we are and who we are not.
What we do to avoid pain, can be an indication of how much pain we have had.
Pain does not prove bravery, or cowardice no matter the degree. It shows where we are at that moment. What we do w/ that information however shows quite a bit.
Pain is not a licence to hurt others, we never have that right...
...There are always lessons to be learned from pain, we need to learn them.
It’s not that we won’t be hurt again, we will.
But we can learn not to put ourselves in the same positions.
And we can become stronger and more educated.
Everybody is different, what one gleans from something does not mean
another will see the same thing.
That may work for you but, it only makes things worse for me.
Pain can effect how we help and how we let others help us.
Pain can make us very touchy, we need to be aware of that, so others can help us.
And when we can help others w/ that in mind, we don’t just march in and try to fix them.
Is pain my friend, or just companion? Do I embrace pain or shun it’s existence .
How we see pain, what we learn from it, and the manner we share it’s knowledge.
Those are the things that make us up, as people and as a society.
My hope is that none of this hurt.

“The Battle in Storms!” 11/8/11
I love storms, always have I image always will. Yet, since all that has happened to me and my body, the weather can effect me in very painful ways. When I woke up this morning, I was in such pain I said, “no I will stay here in bed!!” And then in me my spirit said, “No, I want to get up and Praise God!!” Now if I were to say the pain left me, and I jumped up and danced before the Lord, I would be a liar. What I did was, I arose and said, “Yes, I will get up and Worship my Jesus!” Not in spite of my pain, not even to lessen my pain. My Lord deserves my Praise. Did my pain go away because I Praised? Well, I took my meds, does that show lack of faith? You see the point is, it has nothing to do w/ pain. As my focus was no longer on pain, but on Praise. No matter the condition we find ourselves in, Jesus deserves our Praise. It is not a this for that. If I Praise You then, You take away my pain. Our Praise is not a transaction. Do I believe in Prayer for healing? Yes, of course I do. I stand on many scriptures for many parts of my body. But, remember” the Battle belongs to the Lord!!” If my faith needs to be built up and, the testing of of that faith is through what I face then, cool. I am standing and believing He knows what is best for me. I exercise my faith by, asking the Father for what I need and want. Jesus Himself gives us the confidence by His Words in Matt 6:8 ..Your Father knows what you need before you ask him. Then John reminds us in 1John 5:14 We are confident that God listens to us if we ask for anything that has his approval. So we stand. Oh, by the way, my pain did and has continued to lessen....

Comment by Hamm on February 5, 2012 at 4:15am

Alcedes, your comments have jsut hit me like a train. Outof all the time I have been on this site, this has hit me and makes some kind of real sence to me.

Where am I within the stages.

How do I get know and understand who the Lord is, I am only in this for myself, how do I devote to something that is willing to use pain for me to love them, is my pain all I think about??

These are really relevant to me now.

Thank you God bless you.

Comment by sandra v villamero on February 5, 2012 at 3:43am

 

LIFT YOUR BURDENS

Give your burdens to the LORD, and He will take care of you. He will not permit the godly to slip and fall. (NLT)

INSIGHT :
... Lift your burdens to god and you will not fall, because HE will support your needs.

REMINDER:
What man cannot do, GOD will work for you in His big ways

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