All About GOD - Growing Relationships with Jesus and Others
How to love God when he created Hell.
Views: 742
Replies to This Discussion
-
Permalink Reply by Brandon on
-
I do out in effort to turn from my sin, but I fail a lot. I feel as if though it's me doing all of the work. We are supposed to rely on Jesus to change us, but at what point am I trying too hard?
-
Permalink Reply by Carla on
-
Brandon, Our obedience matters. If you're not being obedient to what He's already telling you, it's possible you will stop hearing from Him until you fix what He's told you to fix... Broken relationships? dishonest dealings in business? Holding on to unforgiveness? Are you bitter towards anyone? Something else?
A few thoughts....
The Holy Spirit will guide you to walk in obedience, but you won't 'hear' if you're not reading your bible. You won't know His voice. Do you think it may be possible that you have grieved The Holy Spirit? There are many ways that can happen.
I'm just suggesting things... God will convict you if anything rings true.
Here are two trusted resources you may want to look over.
https://www.desiringgod.org/articles/seven-ways-to-quench-the-spirit
-
-
I probably have grieved the holy spirit. Is it possible to come back after grieving the spirit? Thank you for these articles. So, in order to be saved, I just need to repent, ask Jesus for forgiveness of my sins?
-
-
Repent and Believe the gospel. Look over the verses I posted above, all the information is there.
If you have grieved the Holy Spirit simply confess. If you don't know where you may have grieved Him, ask Him to show you, He will bring it to your remembrance.
Once you know what it is, confess it, and repent. God knows your heart.
As I was reading over the article something for myself came to light that I need to confess and repent from. It was only highlighted for me now...
It takes great courage and humility to follow Jesus. There's nothing else like it.
I pray the work you are about to do will bring you great peace. Peace and Comfort from the Holy Spirit will wash over you and through you to bring refreshing and cleansing Newness and a lightness in your spirit. You will be free, and you will know it with all your heart. I anticipate and suspect you are on the verge of a breakthrough.
Many Blessings, Carla
-
Permalink Reply by Tammy on
-
We all move at different paces. I'm only 5'1" so when I walk with my husband, I take 3 steps to his 1. That's how it is in your walk with Christ. You move at your own pace. You may look around & think your neighbor is 'ahead' of you. In reality, you may be growing as much as your neighbor but in different ways.
In our discouragement, we need to remember God is patient & longsuffering. Look at Peter. He reminds me of me (Doc Holliday line in Tombstone). He opened his mouth when he was supposed to be listening, jumped to conclusions before receiving the full truth, reacted on his emotions instead of stepping back & considering all the facts, & he denied Christ 3 times when he said he never would do such a thing. Even through all of that, Christ gave him the keys to the kingdom. Imagine that! Peter failed in every way one could fall & he physically walked with Christ. Yet, He loved him enough to give him the kingdom. When we act foolishly, He is waiting. When we step out of line, He's on the other side waiting. When we respond in anger instead of love, His arms are still outstretched waiting for you to fall in them. So, what you're going through right now, He sees the struggle. He also sees your heart & the desire you have to draw closer to Him. He also sees this as an opportunity to grow you even when you can't see it.
When you feel you're praying & they are bouncing off the walls, that's when you pray even harder. Even Jesus looked to the Father & asked Him why was He forsaking Him. He cried in the garden & the tears were legitimate blood because of His anguish. However, the Lord didn't take His pain away. He knew the crucifixion was the only way for our salvation. You see, just because you don't 'feel' His leading & guiding, doesn't mean He's not doing it.
One way to seek Him is through His Word. The Word IS Him just in written form. The more you study it, the more you learn about Him. In getting to know Him, you learn who He is, His characteristics & His unfailing love. Yes, we should listen to teachers because the Lord has placed them there to shepherd His flock but not all of the flock are the same. One is the finger & the other the hand. He uses each body part to complete the whole. One may be the pastor, another the usher. You have Sunday School teachers & the nursery workers. You have the cleaning crew & those that work the sound system. You have the praise team while others have a choir. Each one of us has a purpose & one without the other, the body breaks down. So, stop beating yourself up & comparing yourself to anyone else. God created you to be unique. You are fearfully & wonderfully made. He knows the number of hairs on your head. He also created you in your mother's womb. He didn't create you to be like your neighbor Herb.
One thing you can do when the discouragement hits hard is finding Scriptures that offer hope. Praise the Lord & tell Him how thankful you are. Read Scriptures aloud & let Satan know you won't be defeated. When you can't think of anything to pray, pray His Word. Remind Him of His promises that He gave you. When you focus on Him & take your eyes off of you, you'll be unbelievably surprised at the results.
-
-
Tammy, what an unbelievably beautiful message. Your points hit me head on, and I will take them all to heart. This was a breath of fresh air. Thank you so much.
-
-
Tammy's response reminds me of King David in the OT. David's life was one of turmoil--incuding Great Victory (He killed Goliath as a young man) and terrible sin. He was guilty of adultery with Bathsheba, got her pregnant, tried to cover that up which lead to him ordering the assasination of Bathsheba's husband in order to try and hide/protect his sin.
However, David is famously known as 'The Man after God's own heart".
He's known as the Man after God's own heart because he was unrelenting in his trust and faith in God, and his self-examination and repentance. David loved God deeply and passionately. We read his prayers of honesty, self examination and the need to repent in the Psalms. God offers forgiveness, but we still face the consequences of our sin (The son Bathsheba was to give birth to died).
When we read the Psalms we see David crying out in anguish because he is certain God has abandoned him because of his sin, he feels that everyone wants to kill him, and that he is in hiding because he is being hunted, and then a couple psalms later, David will be praying that he has not followed in the path of the wicked, everything is going perfectly well, and he could never let God down... totally confident that God has blessed him because he is righteous. This is the human experience isn't it? Sometimes we're so sure were walking as God would have us walk, everything is going well and we're blessed beyond measure, and other times we feel like everything we're doing is wrong, and we can't get a break, and everyone is against us.
1 Samuel 16:7
"The LORD does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart."Brandon, as I said earlier, your breakthrough is coming.
Blessings, Carla
-
Permalink Reply by Dianakoth on
-
Cry to the Lord Jesus to deliver you from evil and grant you peace, He hears you and sees you all the time. When He does deliver you from evil, follow His way (the Word) and turn away from all wrong doing and the peace of the Lord Jesus Christ willl never leave you!
-
Permalink Reply by Axe Elf on
-
What an interesting question for my first response on All About God (no applause, please; just throw money and undergarments)...
First of all, let me ask you this: How do you KNOW that God created Hell (as you define it)? The word "hell" never appears in the Hebrew or Greek texts of the Bible.
The state of death is called "Sheol" in the Old Testament and "Hades" in the New Testament, but both the righteous and the unrighteous go to Sheol/Hades when they die. This is just "the grave" or the unconscious state of inactivity, the "sleep," before the resurrection and judgment.
"The dead know nothing" --Ecclesiastes 9:5
"Now also we would not have you ignorant, brethren, about those who fall asleep [in death], that you may not grieve [for them] as the rest do who have no hope [beyond the grave]. For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will also bring with Him through Jesus those who have fallen asleep [in death]. For this we declare to you by the Lord’s [own] word, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord shall in no way precede [into His presence] or have any advantage at all over those who have previously fallen asleep [in Him in death]. For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a loud cry of summons, with the shout of an archangel, and with the blast of the trumpet of God. And those who have departed this life in Christ will rise first." --1 Thessalonians 4:13-16
The New Testament also uses the word "Gehenna" as a metaphor for the final place of punishment for the wicked after the resurrection. Gehenna was a garbage dump outside of Jerusalem where people burned their garbage, and there was always a fire burning there. Bodies of those deemed to have died in sin without hope of salvation (such as people who committed suicide) were thrown there to be destroyed.
Note that bodies and other garbage do not burn forever in torment, but are destroyed by the fire. This seems to be an accurate description of what happens to the wicked after the judgment, as described in Revelation 20: 10-15:
"Then the devil who had led them astray [deceiving and seducing them] was hurled into the fiery lake of burning brimstone, where the beast and false prophet were; and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever (through the ages of the ages).
'Then I saw a great white throne and the One Who was seated upon it, from Whose presence and from the sight of Whose face earth and sky fled away, and no place was found for them. I [also] saw the dead, great and small; they stood before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is [the Book] of Life. And the dead were judged (sentenced) by what they had done [their whole way of feeling and acting, their aims and endeavors] in accordance with what was recorded in the books. And the sea delivered up the dead who were in it, death and Hades (the state of death or disembodied existence) surrendered the dead in them, and all were tried and their cases determined by what they had done {according to their motives, aims, and works].
"Then death and Hades (the state of death or disembodied existence) were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. And if anyone's [name] was not found recorded in the Book of Life, he was hurled into the lake of fire."
So we see in verse 10 that the only ones who are said to be tormented day and night forever and ever are the devil, the beast, and the false prophet. All of the humans who are judged to be wicked (along with the state of death itself) are destroyed in the lake of fire. As the body is destroyed in the first death, the soul is destroyed in the second death--the lake of fire.
"And do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; but rather be afraid of Him who can destroy both soul and body in hell (Gehenna)." --Matthew 10:28
So it seems that God did not create a place of eternal torture for the wicked; He created a place for their destruction. Does that make it easier for you to love God?
I mean, if you asked most people who don't believe in God what will happen to them when they die, they would probably say that it will be just like before they were born--they will utterly cease to exist.
They're right.
So people who don't believe in God will get exactly what they expect, and people who do believe in God will get exactly what they expect, too. That seems like the perfect arrangement for God to have created, to me--everyone gets what they expect, and no one has to be motivated by fear.
(All citations from the Amplified Bible.)
- ‹ Previous
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- Next ›
Welcome to
All About GOD
The Good News
Meet Face-to-Face & Collaborate
© 2024 Created by AllAboutGOD.com.
Powered by
