Soul Cleanseing?

chilifrankplate · #21 5th December 2005, 03:50 AM

Originally Posted by riverpastor

LRB,

I think often of your "soul is life" teaching.

I think one of the hanging questions is what the "mind" consists of. Now, I wish I had a better concept of computers!

When I think of cleansing, I think of "pruning".

Indeed, pruning is a work of God, but not like we think, I think...

John 15:2 - Any branch in Me that does not bear fruit [that stops bearing] He cuts away (trims off, takes away); and He cleanses and repeatedly prunes every branch that continues to bear fruit, to make it bear more and richer and more excellent fruit.
Oh, no. It looks like God wants to cut my branches!!!

It sounds like he wants to bring calamity into my life to teach me a lesson and keep me humble!!!

What am I to do???

What? What's this? Wait a minute, there's more to this story...

John 15:3 - You are cleansed and pruned already, because of the word which I have given you [the teachings I have discussed with you].
What? I'm cleansed already because of the words of Christ??? I'm already pruned because of the Word??? But, how do I do this? How does it take place in my life???

John 15:4 - Dwell in Me, and I will dwell in you. [Live in Me, and I will live in you.] Just as no branch can bear fruit of itself without abiding in (being vitally united to) the vine, neither can you bear fruit unless you abide in Me.
Dwell in Him. If I dwell in Him, then He will do in me what alone only He can do.

And, this is what we call the Grace of God!!!

I think when we do some "soul searching", we are opening up our lives to the work of the Holy Spirit.

I know that I have asked the Lord to cleanse me before... and I believe that when I did, that the Lord has allowed the Word in me to be tested.

Now, I simply depend on the Word to grow in Me. I depend upon it, and allow it to do in me what it does.

When you heat gold, the dross comes to the top in order to be skimmed.

There are reasons for us to encounter our inward life through our dreams and thoughts... and that the reason is so that we, through the Holy Spirit, have that chance to skim the dross that He reveals to us.

No, it's not our choice to do so. I believe that the Lord has changed us inwardly, yet we must cooperate with that working that is within us.

Excellent post!

Trish1947 · #22 5th December 2005, 05:13 AM

LRB.....I think of the spirit as more of an "organ", or a set of organs than a center of personality or identity. I do not even see it as "alive" in the sense of our soul is alive. I used to see my spirit as a separate "miniature person" that lived in the center of my chest... fully equiped with a personality and mind. He would just sort of hang around in there and tap me on the shoulder when I did something wrong. Kind of like in the cartoons.
I do not think my spirit has a personality, a mind (at least not a "mind" in the way we think of it) or "feelings". It is "static, as it is not "animate" as we think that word.

This is interesting..I looked at the new spirit as the one that has the new life and personality, it's the new us, that now has the created life, and animation, after the image of Christ, in the new birth, and the soul was more like being a part of everything that is old. If there is anything going on in the soul or the flesh, it can hide that new life. When we walk in the Spirit, and when we do, we become animated in His image. When we are walking soulically or fleshly, we become animated soulically or fleshly. I'm still seeing it as new life (Christ in us), and old life, soulical life after the old man. Isn't the old man a soulical man corrupted after the fall? And wasn't it a soulical decision that Adam and Eve made? But I haven't come to grips yet to the saving of the soul or what part of the soul is redeemed. Unless when we were born again, our personalities that ID'd us to who we are, was intergrated with our spirit. And is it to be redeemed along with the new life after we die? If we are to be known as we were known, I would assume that something of us goes along with our spirits. But then again, spirit can recognize spirit, so is the soul needed to be identified? Or if a soul that has been redeemed, even need an ID if submitted totally to God? Is it a soulical thought to even want your own ID?
Well I could ramble for days on this, but I'll quit, now that I've confused myself totally.

Trish1947 · #23 5th December 2005, 05:26 AM

Good post, riverpastor,
I look at these things happening, as something that God is doing..And I'm just along for this ride. I asked for it. So there you go..Ask and you shall receive.

I don't feel that I have a lesson to learn, and some punishment is going on, but it does sound like a pruning of some sort. More like garbage in, garbage out, maybe fruit added, that I can't recognize yet?

Originally Posted by riverpastor

LRB,

I think often of your "soul is life" teaching.

I think one of the hanging questions is what the "mind" consists of. Now, I wish I had a better concept of computers!

When I think of cleansing, I think of "pruning".

Indeed, pruning is a work of God, but not like we think, I think...

John 15:2 - Any branch in Me that does not bear fruit [that stops bearing] He cuts away (trims off, takes away); and He cleanses and repeatedly prunes every branch that continues to bear fruit, to make it bear more and richer and more excellent fruit.
Oh, no. It looks like God wants to cut my branches!!!

It sounds like he wants to bring calamity into my life to teach me a lesson and keep me humble!!!

What am I to do???

What? What's this? Wait a minute, there's more to this story...

John 15:3 - You are cleansed and pruned already, because of the word which I have given you [the teachings I have discussed with you].
What? I'm cleansed already because of the words of Christ??? I'm already pruned because of the Word??? But, how do I do this? How does it take place in my life???

John 15:4 - Dwell in Me, and I will dwell in you. [Live in Me, and I will live in you.] Just as no branch can bear fruit of itself without abiding in (being vitally united to) the vine, neither can you bear fruit unless you abide in Me.
Dwell in Him. If I dwell in Him, then He will do in me what alone only He can do.

And, this is what we call the Grace of God!!!

I think when we do some "soul searching", we are opening up our lives to the work of the Holy Spirit.

I know that I have asked the Lord to cleanse me before... and I believe that when I did, that the Lord has allowed the Word in me to be tested.

Now, I simply depend on the Word to grow in Me. I depend upon it, and allow it to do in me what it does.

When you heat gold, the dross comes to the top in order to be skimmed.

There are reasons for us to encounter our inward life through our dreams and thoughts... and that the reason is so that we, through the Holy Spirit, have that chance to skim the dross that He reveals to us.

No, it's not our choice to do so. I believe that the Lord has changed us inwardly, yet we must cooperate with that working that is within us.

Big Mouth Nana · #24 6th December 2005, 02:30 PM

Originally Posted by LittleRocketBoy

Are you and Trish really related???

Yeah, she's my sister. Hard to believe isn't it? I am a big mouth..thus my username, and she is so meek and mild. I got the "Jesus in the temple with the money changers Spirit", and she got Mary's

Works for me as I spend a lot of my time in Eschatology. I just recently came over here for the "gentler" side of my faith, but you will have to excuse my "personality", as it seeps through sometimes

.

Big Mouth Nana · #25 6th December 2005, 02:54 PM

Originally Posted by Trish1947

Well I could ramble for days on this, but I'll quit, now that I've confused myself totally.

Amazing. I understood every bit of this, and after only 2 cups of coffee. I think that you are right. God will remove anything that hinders our new regenerated Spirits from growing. That is evident from just the fact that we don't like doing the things that we used to do anymore...like purging out the old leaven so to speak....1st Cor 5:6 -7 ~ Your glorying is not good. Know ye not that a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump?
7) Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us:
This is something that only the Holy Spirit can do. Since the bible states that the carnal mind is enmity against God, it makes perfect sense to me that He would cleans our hearts and minds (carnality) also.
On the ID's that you mentioned. I personally believe that we are going to have our same personalities and look the same in heaven...but of course without sin. When Jesus arose, they all recognized him, and evidently His personality was the same.
Phi 4:7 ~And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and MINDS through Christ Jesus.He keeps our hearts, and the minds go with that. It's part of the new birth.

Preacherchick99 · #26 6th December 2005, 04:27 PM

@BigMouthNana--Good post!

And you're right. Here's a little something I'd like to add:

2005 has been a year of change for me. And I mean--Serious, never going back, crossing to the otherside, earth shaking, life breaking, getting outta my comfort zone, emotional, heart breaking change.

At the beginning of the year, I seriously started to have a break down. There was sooo much change going on around me and I was like, "LORD!!!! Slow down!!! Let me adjust to the change before you bring about something totally new!!!" It got to me bad--Mentally and emotionally I was shutting down--I just couldn't take it anymore.

I was at a Women of Excellence meeting one night and they had an altar call for women who were going through a tough time, and they felt overwhelmed--And that is what I felt--Overwhelmed!

So I went up there, and the closer I got to the altar, the more and more I wept--The harder I wept--I was literally sobbing, bawling out tears. As the Pastor laid hands on me, she said these words by the Spirit of God:

"I don't know what this is for....But what you are going through is for your own good. It's for your own good! Don't give up!"

Man that ministered to me A LOT. So yes--God will change things, take certain things outta your life if it is going to hinder you--And other times there are tests and trials you must face--And God will take you through it!

So good word pplz--Good word!

Big Mouth Nana · #27 6th December 2005, 05:29 PM

Originally Posted by Preacherchick99

So I went up there, and the closer I got to the altar, the more and more I wept--The harder I wept--I was literally sobbing, bawling out tears. As the Pastor laid hands on me, she said these words by the Spirit of God:

"I don't know what this is for....But what you are going through is for your own good. It's for your own good! Don't give up!"

Man that ministered to me A LOT. So yes--God will change things, take certain things outta your life if it is going to hinder you--And other times there are tests and trials you must face--And God will take you through it!

So good word pplz--Good word!

The same thing happened to me at home. I felt like I was going to go crazy!! The enemy was attacking me, by trying to get me to "think" ugly things about God. I didn't want to think about anything, as this thought kept popping into my mind about God. I couldn't pray effectivly, and I felt like I was going to explode with this pent up anger at the enemy attacking my mind. One day I just came to the point that I screamed...JESUS. I was bawling like a baby. I heard Him very clearly speak to me, and He said, I am here Karla (my name). The thought about God suddenly vanished. It was several years before this thought entered my head again, and I said, nope devil, God knows that I love Him, so I don't receive this thought any longer, and as the Word states I have the mind of Christ. I have been fine ever since.
It is a warfare, and we have to know just who we are in Christ to over come. We DO have all power over the enemy, thank you Jesus!! I believe that God will bring you to a point where you are just at a loss sometimes, and all you can do is scream JESUS to let go of it so He can heal that problem.