Is freed from sin....

[Not me]

Romans 6:7 (NASB)

“for he who has died is freed from sin.”

This here, in these few words are the all of being made free from sin...Both large and small, wherever and whenever sin of any type or degree might raise it’s ugly head...

For just like any dead person has come out from under the influences of all the elements of this world, sin, just the same loses all the power over the person that by faith believes into their death in Christ....For of a very real and ever present truth is;

“for he who has died is freed from sin.”

This path or way forward once seen as God’s way to be made free from the power of oneself, is a most blessed walk....Wheresin, that by choice are chosen to be done, are seen to be all the sin that is done by the body...For all sin is a choice, whereby one’s death whereby one is freed from the self-will that chooses sin, is the only cure...

Thereby, death; one dying to oneself is seen as the one and only way to be made free from the power of sin that dwells in the body..

Once death is seen as the way to come out from under all the influences of all the desires of sin that dwells in oneself...Death; Christ’s death on the cross, whereby He took us to death with Him becomes the all of our existence...We meet all that comes our way with a;

“what is that to a dead man, when Jesus died, I died, I follow Christ”

The permanency and the unfailingness of our death is according to the realness and the efficiency of Christ really and truly dying on the cross for us... Whereby His death is our death...

Once this truth has the whole of the heart one rejoices before God like never before over the awesomeness and completeness and never failing-ness of the salvation that God has given to all that by faith would grab on to it....

For;

Romans 6:6 (NASB)

“knowing this, that our old self was crucified with Him, in order that our body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin”;

is the doorway into a life of walking before God in a ever present state of dying to oneself...Thereby to the degree one by faith reckons themselves dead to sin and alive unto God will that person be made free from sin to walk in newness of life...

Than each and every day becomes a blessing to itself whereby one can walk before God in the surety of faith before Him; which is, walking in the Spirit ....

For when Christ died we died and such is the foundation of our salvation in Christ...

Be blessed all in the finding and being established in the faith...

A fellow believer, Not me

 

[Stone-n-Steel]

Col 3:3 "For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God."

 

[Not me]

Col 3:3 "For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God."

To know this truth by experience..

Be blessed in Him...

A fellow believer, Not me

 

[K2K]

To know this truth by experience..

Be blessed in Him...

A fellow believer, Not me

I like what is written in the OP. I agree with what is written above. But I wonder about the "To know this truth by experience".

It's not that we don't get to know the Truth by experience, but where is that in the OP or anywhere else?

That is: if I have died to Jesus Christ (the Truth) then I know Him personally. That knowing Him comes with spending time with Him. That spending time with Him comes with testimonies, teachings, and lots of "experiences"!! And I find those experiences with Him incredible! They are always incredible and in the smallest of things.

So if, and when I died to Him and follow Him I hear His voice speaking to me, giving me information and instructions which lead to knowledge and events. Yet, and this is what I don't get about this site in general, I don't see people writing about those things. It is like they regurgitate the words of the Bible but don't have words from Him. It like they talk about a personal relationship but don't have anything to say about that personal relationship! It doesn't make sense to me at all!!

I honestly read what is written and come away thinking that I like what they said but I can't help thinking that what they are saying is lip service.

Today I got up. He started asking me if I want to spend some time talking to Him. I heard that. That was His very specific words to me. "Do you want to spend some time talking with Me?" Was what He asked me.

Now I got up a bit late today, and I have a business to run. Yet I had a choice, the same choice everyday. Do I make it about listening to Him and walking with Him today, or not? That is the dying to Him!!! In Psalms we read that He speaks to us in parables and dark sayings. "Dying to Him" in a saying! In this thread it is correctly pointed out that it means following Him. The thread forgets to mention that Jesus leads us out by His voice and know where, until I wrote, are anything words of His to a person mentioned . Experiences are referred to but not mentioned!!! So it all seems like 'lip service'

How can someone die to Him and not be excited about even the little things????

Now, everyday I hear from Him, so I was wondering why this day He asked about us talking?

Yet I wound up coming on this forum, to this thread, and talking to Him was the very things missing!! They were saying 'die to Him' and something about experience, but there was no experience from dying to Him given!! There were no words if His spoken to them personally. There was teaching but no experience. Not even a little but timely one as I had, and can't help do wonder if they truly know Him?

What did the dying to Him today do for you????

Why are you not writing about the personal relationship you actually have, instead of the theology you have?

I go to a place on the Christian Forum called "Deeper Fellowship" and don't find it there!

So I have me answer - "Yeah Lord - I want to talk to you today because I can't seem to find fellowship with those writing about you. They don't seem to actually know you at all"

Anyway I like the theology even if the practice seems to be missing in your writings. I have to take a walk with the Lord now so bye.

 

[Not me]

I like what is written in the OP. I agree with what is written above. But I wonder about the "To know this truth by experience".

It's not that we don't get to know the Truth by experience, but where is that in the OP or anywhere else?

That is: if I have died to Jesus Christ (the Truth) then I know Him personally. That knowing Him comes with spending time with Him. That spending time with Him comes with testimonies, teachings, and lots of "experiences"!! And I find those experiences with Him incredible! They are always incredible and in the smallest of things.

So if, and when I died to Him and follow Him I hear His voice speaking to me, giving me information and instructions which lead to knowledge and events. Yet, and this is what I don't get about this site in general, I don't see people writing about those things. It is like they regurgitate the words of the Bible but don't have words from Him. It like they talk about a personal relationship but don't have anything to say about that personal relationship! It doesn't make sense to me at all!!

I honestly read what is written and come away thinking that I like what they said but I can't help thinking that what they are saying is lip service.

Today I got up. He started asking me if I want to spend some time talking to Him. I heard that. That was His very specific words to me. "Do you want to spend some time talking with Me?" Was what He asked me.

Now I got up a bit late today, and I have a business to run. Yet I had a choice, the same choice everyday. Do I make it about listening to Him and walking with Him today, or not? That is the dying to Him!!! In Psalms we read that He speaks to us in parables and dark sayings. "Dying to Him" in a saying! In this thread it is correctly pointed out that it means following Him. The thread forgets to mention that Jesus leads us out by His voice and know where, until I wrote, are anything words of His to a person mentioned . Experiences are referred to but not mentioned!!! So it all seems like 'lip service'

How can someone die to Him and not be excited about even the little things????

Now, everyday I hear from Him, so I was wondering why this day He asked about us talking?

Yet I wound up coming on this forum, to this thread, and talking to Him was the very things missing!! They were saying 'die to Him' and something about experience, but there was no experience from dying to Him given!! There were no words if His spoken to them personally. There was teaching but no experience. Not even a little but timely one as I had, and can't help do wonder if they truly know Him?

What did the dying to Him today do for you????

Why are you not writing about the personal relationship you actually have, instead of the theology you have?

I go to a place on the Christian Forum called "Deeper Fellowship" and don't find it there!

So I have me answer - "Yeah Lord - I want to talk to you today because I can't seem to find fellowship with those writing about you. They don't seem to actually know you at all"

Anyway I like the theology even if the practice seems to be missing in your writings. I have to take a walk with the Lord now so bye.

As your personal relationship with Christ bears witness or not, be blessed in the growing of that relationship...

A fellow believer, Not me

 

[K2K]

As your personal relationship with Christ bears witness or not, be blessed in the growing of that relationship...

A fellow believer, Not me

Again - I like what you write - but what's missing - "The bears witness?"

Look - it is great to say I have died to Christ! It is what we should say, but is it the saying or doing and really its about us people and Him, so do we really die to God or was that Him?

He has asked me to do numerous things - some of which I did and some I didn't. I can hardly believe some of the things He got me to do, like taking all I had to open a Christian bookstore for Him for a couple of years and give it away to a pastor in another town when He told me to - Yet I can hardly believe some of the things He told me to do but I didn't like just asking a lady if in an isle at a store if she was going to church on Easter Sunday which was the next day. How easy was that, but I couldn't get myself to do it.

Still - I come to a Christian forum thinking Christians would surely understand what a personal relationship with the Lord really is like, but can't be sure anyone here really knows Him personally. I like some of the things I see written. So correct they are, but do they bear witness to Him??

So is it as my personal relationship with Christ bears witness or as your personal relationship with Christ bears witness?

Just say - I do like what you write, but the bearing witness is indeed what seems to be missing.

 

[Not me]

Again - I like what you write - but what's missing - "The bears witness?"

Look - it is great to say I have died to Christ! It is what we should say, but is it the saying or doing and really its about us people and Him, so do we really die to God or was that Him?

He has asked me to do numerous things - some of which I did and some I didn't. I can hardly believe some of the things He got me to do, like taking all I had to open a Christian bookstore for Him for a couple of years and give it away to a pastor in another town when He told me to - Yet I can hardly believe some of the things He told me to do but I didn't like just asking a lady if in an isle at a store if she was going to church on Easter Sunday which was the next day. How easy was that, but I couldn't get myself to do it.

Still - I come to a Christian forum thinking Christians would surely understand what a personal relationship with the Lord really is like, but can't be sure anyone here really knows Him personally. I like some of the things I see written. So correct they are, but do they bear witness to Him??

So is it as my personal relationship with Christ bears witness or as your personal relationship with Christ bears witness?

Just say - I do like what you write, but the bearing witness is indeed what seems to be missing.

It is as the Spirit so teaches you....

If for whatever reason and to whatever degree, your personal relationship and experience with the Spirit of Christ that dwells in you does not bear witness with my writings, please, by all means ignore them...If they find a place, to whatever degree, I’m glad they bless...

For being obedient to what the Spirit of Christ in us, is teaching us, is living up to the standard to which we have obtained...

So to that inward personal relationship you have with Christ, I pray that it will grow and abound in all things..For to the degree the Spirit of Christ in us, teaches us, to that degree has Christ been formed in us..

Be blessed in the pressing in and in the growing in Him....

In the Beloved, Not me

 

[Scott Husted]

We lay down our life that we might pick it back up again ...

 

[Not me]

We lay down our life that we might pick it back up again ...

Yes we do...Be blessed in the laying down and walking in the new life that follows...

A fellow servant of His, Not me

 

[Scott Husted]

Yes we do...Be blessed in the laying down and walking in the new life that follows...

A fellow servant of His, Not me

Jesus' abide and John's seed that remains are the same truth ... an eye that is single, a passover kept becomes a tabernacle realized ...

 

[K2K]

It is as the Spirit so teaches you....

If for whatever reason and to whatever degree, your personal relationship and experience with the Spirit of Christ that dwells in you does not bear witness with my writings, please, by all means ignore them...If they find a place, to whatever degree, I’m glad they bless...

For being obedient to what the Spirit of Christ in us, is teaching us, is living up to the standard to which we have obtained...

So to that inward personal relationship you have with Christ, I pray that it will grow and abound in all things..For to the degree the Spirit of Christ in us, teaches us, to that degree has Christ been formed in us..

Be blessed in the pressing in and in the growing in Him....

In the Beloved, Not me

I think you are missing what I am saying. I like what you write. It clearly is correct. What I don't understand is how Christians can write things that are correct, but not about Him who they say they know? I can see the theology is correct but where is the relationship, really?

Did He not put a testimony in Jacob?

So if I was to have run across Jacob and sit down with him, would he have not told me the wonder things the Lord did for Him, or would Jacob only make grand statements about the Lord?

It is right to say I died to Christ, but if so what happened because of it?

Now for me, dying to Christ means I hear Him and put His will before mine. Of course I have to hear from Him and get some answers as to what personally wants me to do in order to do His will .

Ps 118:21 I shall give thanks to You, for You have answered me...

So He talks to me and gives me answers as to what I need to do. Then if I do them I am putting His will before mine. In that way I die to Him.

For example, there was a day He asked me to quite my job. It was a good job, but He asked me to quite. Was I going to do it or not? It was important so I asked Him for some confirmation that it was indeed Him talking to me. It sounded like Him, but God is spirit and not the only spirit around. While I can usually recognized His voice this was a bit big for me trusting my discernment of spirits. He confirmed it in incredible ways - by having my talk to my pastor, by a snow storm in the afternoon in a place that does not get snow, but a falling star, by a lady picking me up saying that she only did it because she had promised the Lord, and a some more. So I quite my job. Then He told me to open up a Christian bookstore for Him. Which I did and ran for a couple of years before He had me give it to a pastor in another town.

That, for me, was dying to Him. It totally changed my life. It cost me all I had. And it was only done because He said. I would never had done it. I have other examples also.

So I fully agree with the dying to Christ teaching, but where is the testimony. Where is the "bearing witness", as was mentioned?

Is it simply that a person goes to church on Sunday. Ok, well if that is what you think then say so. Is it more than just going to church on Sunday? Ok, well explain that. What does it mean to you?

It is a very vague things to say "I died to Christ", especially when I see the person supposed to have died is still writing. Death in the common sense of the word would precluded that. So 'dying to Christ' is a saying in the form of some parable. So it sounds great but what does it mean? What does it mean to you, my friend?

 

[K2K]

There is a problem I have with Christianity. It's not that Christianity is not right, but that it is explain very poorly, and who can talk about it? Is Christianity just a religion? Is it a relationship with Jesus Christ? Do we just call Jesus Christ our Lord or is He really our Lord?

My parents took me to church when I was a kid, and I went a few times with them later. Frankly the Christianity that I heard at church seemed to be a bunch of grand statements!!! Then the Lord came into my life and changed it massively. He changed it by starting to talk to me. The first words I heard from Him were "Read Your Bible'. They were powerful, but those were only the first words and for 20 years Him and I have been talking.

Looking back, the grand words were all correct, but the people saying them to this day often don't really seem to know Him. I might be wrong and probably in some sense I am. But what gets me is that from talking to Him everyday and seeing the incredible things He does when I do talk to Him and do what He asks, I can't make it about the grand words I see Christians write. I have to actually make it about Him who does talk to me.

I have seen Him heal hundreds of people including my son, daughter, mom, and me a few times. He instantly healed my knee I had hurt surfing. He removed a growth behind my ear. It literally when down under my fingers as I prayed for it so that it disappeared in less than 30 seconds. I've been kissed by a greenish colored cloud. And so much more. And I love the things He tells me, which match up with the Bible but are not the exact same words read in the Bible. He talks to me personally. Saying things like:

SHOULDN’T YOU HEAR FROM A MAN YOU’RE JUDGING WORTHY OF DEATH AND EXAMINE WHETHER THERE IS TRUTH IN WHAT HE SAYS. SO IT IS THAT I HAVE MADE HEARING FROM ME THE VERY THINGS THAT GIVES YOU ETERNAL LIFE.

You've read that faith comes from hearing and that we are saved by faith, right? So if you have been talking to you then you probably heard that you are saved because you hear Him which gives your the faith that saves you, right? Indeed, if you are not hearing from Him who is always with you then having you wanted Him dead?

Thank about it. God is omni-present, so everyone hears from Him everyday but they don't want to do His will but theirs. So they must die, spiritually speaking, to their will and thinking and listen to Him in order to do His will and thinking. That is dying to Christ. It is not just a grand statement but a life actually listening to a person, Jesus Christ! And since this person is the Word of God and God, then how can we make the grand statements and not tell about the grand person behind the statements?

It seems to me that the church makes it about grand statements they find in the Bible instead of making it about actually knowing the grand person. So I read things like we need to die to Christ and we need to have a personal relationship with Christ, but nothing about their dying to Christ or about their personal relationship with Him.

Didn't He do miracles around you and in your when you got to know Him?

It's not about the statements, it's about Him! He is awesome. I could careless as to whether I think I died to Him or not. I care about knowing Him. I like that One behind that voice who talks to me everyday, whether I did what He said or not. Yet, I like to try to do what He says because I like Him.

 

[Not me]

Jesus' abide and John's seed that remains are the same truth ... an eye that is single, a passover kept becomes a tabernacle realized ...

Be blessed in the filling of the tabernacle...

A fellow servant of His, Not me


@K2K

Scripture says, let no man judge me expect by the Christ they see in me...

Be blessed in your judging...

A fellow believer, Not me

 

[K2K]

Be blessed in the filling of the tabernacle...

A fellow servant of His, Not me


@K2K

Scripture says, let no man judge me expect by the Christ they see in me...

Be blessed in your judging...

A fellow believer, Not me

If you are asking me to talk about my judgement, I would judge that you say things right, but if we are to fellowship then are we not talking about our Lord Jesus Christ?

So I come here to a Christian forum thinking I will find others looking to have honest conversations about our Lord, whom we are supposed to know, but I find a bunch of grand old statements instead of conversations about others relationships with Him. Why is that?

Saying why is that is not a judgement but a question - a question that has me wondering, not judging!

You tell me, do you really know Him? What is the favorite personal saying He gave you? Tell me the ways you have died to Him, if you like. But just tell me sometime about you and Him, that would be much better than grandstanding.

For me, I have a few favorites things that He told me. I have written down lots of them and I am not certain which of His sayings to me is my favorite but below is a few of them.

YOU DIDN’T MAKE ME AN AWESOME GOD, BUT YOU CAN MAKE ME AN AWESOME GOD.


MY CHURCH IS MY HEART. IT PUMPS THE BLOOD.


IF YOU THINKING HOW BEAUTIFUL THE EARTH IS, YOU ARE ONLY LOOKING AT THE SETTING, NOT THE STONE. LOOK HOW BEAUTIFUL THE PEOPLE ARE.


THE PRESENT ALWAYS MAKES THE FUTURE.

SO, DID THE PASS MAKES THE PRESENT?


THE BEST LISTENERS MAKE THE BEST TEACHERS.


As for me having to die to Him. Well, sometimes I have been better at it than others. There was the time I kept telling the other employees at work about the incredible things He was doing in my life. That got me fired though I was trying to be extra nice to the other employees at the time. Persecution is promised, and the Lord doesn't lie.

Then there was His request for me to quit another job and open a Christian bookstore for Him. It cost me all I had, but it was awesome and He took care of me and replaced what I lost.

I think the healing ministry was a big ask on His part. It didn't take too much time or money but being asked to pray for people who expect a miracle can put a lot of pressure on a person even if the person knows it is not him but the Lord who is the Healer. That ministry was great. I saw hundreds of miracles, but I still left it after the five years the Lord told me He wanted me doing it. He said I could keep doing it, but since He only told me I had to do it for five years, I left because of the pressure and the few times I didn't see the Lord do a miracle. Honestly, probably 2/3rds of the times or more we clearly saw Him do great things, yet for the lady who was dying of cancer, the man with the problem son, and a few others that we didn't see a miracle - it was tough on me.

Can we Christians really be honest and talk about the Lord? I don't see that, even among the best of people posting here. My judgement concerning you "Not me" would be that you are the best of the people posting here. Someone that must personally know Jesus Christ.

So I posted on your thread and I ask: What does dying to Jesus Christ really mean to you?

You aren't just going to come back implying that I am judging you, are you?

Why are you not telling us what your grand statement of dying to Jesus Christ actually means to you?

 

[Not me]

If you are asking me to talk about my judgement, I would judge that you say things right, but if we are to fellowship then are we not talking about our Lord Jesus Christ?

So I come here to a Christian forum thinking I will find others looking to have honest conversations about our Lord, whom we are supposed to know, but I find a bunch of grand old statements instead of conversations about others relationships with Him. Why is that?

Saying why is that is not a judgement but a question - a question that has me wondering, not judging!

You tell me, do you really know Him? What is the favorite personal saying He gave you? Tell me the ways you have died to Him, if you like. But just tell me sometime about you and Him, that would be much better than grandstanding.

For me, I have a few favorites things that He told me. I have written down lots of them and I am not certain which of His sayings to me is my favorite but below is a few of them.

YOU DIDN’T MAKE ME AN AWESOME GOD, BUT YOU CAN MAKE ME AN AWESOME GOD.


MY CHURCH IS MY HEART. IT PUMPS THE BLOOD.


IF YOU THINKING HOW BEAUTIFUL THE EARTH IS, YOU ARE ONLY LOOKING AT THE SETTING, NOT THE STONE. LOOK HOW BEAUTIFUL THE PEOPLE ARE.


THE PRESENT ALWAYS MAKES THE FUTURE.

SO, DID THE PASS MAKES THE PRESENT?


THE BEST LISTENERS MAKE THE BEST TEACHERS.


As for me having to die to Him. Well, sometimes I have been better at it than others. There was the time I kept telling the other employees at work about the incredible things He was doing in my life. That got me fired though I was trying to be extra nice to the other employees at the time. Persecution is promised, and the Lord doesn't lie.

Then there was His request for me to quit another job and open a Christian bookstore for Him. It cost me all I had, but it was awesome and He took care of me and replaced what I lost.

I think the healing ministry was a big ask on His part. It didn't take too much time or money but being asked to pray for people who expect a miracle can put a lot of pressure on a person even if the person knows it is not him but the Lord who is the Healer. That ministry was great. I saw hundreds of miracles, but I still left it after the five years the Lord told me He wanted me doing it. He said I could keep doing it, but since He only told me I had to do it for five years, I left because of the pressure and the few times I didn't see the Lord do a miracle. Honestly, probably 2/3rds of the times or more we clearly saw Him do great things, yet for the lady who was dying of cancer, the man with the problem son, and a few others that we didn't see a miracle - it was tough on me.

Can we Christians really be honest and talk about the Lord? I don't see that, even among the best of people posting here. My judgement concerning you "Not me" would be that you are the best of the people posting here. Someone that must personally know Jesus Christ.

So I posted on your thread and I ask: What does dying to Jesus Christ really mean to you?

You aren't just going to come back implying that I am judging you, are you?

Why are you not telling us what your grand statement of dying to Jesus Christ actually means to you?

K2K;
Be at peace...

I have wrote many threads pertaining to what “dying to sin” means... You are free to go back and read.. Even in this thread I have put forth what it means in truth..What dying to sin means to you or any other believer matters not, only what it means before God... For in the understanding of this truth is the foundation of our salvation in Christ...

If you don’t understand or comprehend my writings and don’t see Christ in them, ignore them and count them as rubbish..

If you sense Christ in them and can’t grasp their meaning take them before God and ask Him the yea or nay concerning them....

Scripture says we should only judge by the amount of Christ we see in a fellow believer...As I can taste your relationship with Christ, however deep it might be, your tasting or not of mine and other believers is between you and God..

So may God grant you an increase of Himself in your innermost being...

A fellow servant of His, Not me

 

[K2K]

K2K;
Be at peace...

I have wrote many threads pertaining to what “dying to sin” means... You are free to go back and read.. Even in this thread I have put forth what it means in truth..What dying to sin means to you or any other believer matters not, only what it means before God... For in the understanding of this truth is the foundation of our salvation in Christ...

If you don’t understand or comprehend my writings and don’t see Christ in them, ignore them and count them as rubbish..

If you sense Christ in them and can’t grasp their meaning take them before God and ask Him the yea or nay concerning them....

Scripture says we should only judge by the amount of Christ we see in a fellow believer...As I can taste your relationship with Christ, however deep it might be, your tasting or not of mine and other believers is between you and God..

So may God grant you an increase of Himself in your innermost being...

A fellow servant of His, Not me

The Scriptures don't say "we should only judge by the amount of Christ we see in a fellow believer - and there is some good reasons for the. For one - Christ is a being not a substance measured out!! So you don't see Christ in a person!! You might see the effect of Him working in them, but what does that look like?

Jesus talking to Nicodemus about what it's like to be born of the Spirit explained: (Jn 3:11 Truly, truly, I say to you, we speak of what we know and testify of what we have seen.

I read the writings but not the testimonies. The writing can be taken out of the Scriptures and the Scriptures are correct. But testimonies come from personal experiences. I have read and actually enjoyed many of your writings, but I can not remember a testimony. I'd guess there would be testimonies, but where is the "we speak of what we know and testify of what we have seen?

When I listen to the Lord I get testimonies about Him. Oh, sometimes they are small little things. Those little things can turn into bigger things. And so listening to Him and doing what He says can be incredible, even to the point where you have to actually tell people about Him - not a Him like some type of thing that can be measure, but Him the person who talks to you and you know.

I remember once when He told me to pull into a gas station for gas. I didn't really need it but He has had me do things like that for a reason, so I did again. While filling up a young man came up and asked me if I had any change foe the bus. I looked in my wallet and I didn't have any. So I told him no, and he walked away.

I turned to the Lord and talked to Him, saying something like "I didn't have any change, so what was i supposed to do?" because I figured the Lord must have had a reason for getting gas. The Lord told me "You could have offered to drive him where he wanted to go."

He is not a portion you see in someone, He is a person who talks to you like a Wonderful Counselor!

Now at that point I was thinking, 'Oh my Lord, I have work to do. But ok, if you want me to talk him somewhere I will', and I began to look to see where the man was but I didn't see him. So I asked the Lord, "Where is he?" The Lord responded and said to me, "He is in the cross walk going across the street." I look and sure enough he was half way across the street. So I finished filling up and drove across the street where the young man had meet with a young girl and another guy then the two men went into a MacDonald's that was there. I could see this as I drove up. The girl was still outside and looked really cold.

I pulled up to the girl and told her that her friend had wanted gas money for a bus. I didn't have it but if they needed a ride I would give it to them. The guy and his friend came out with a little food, and I explained it to him. He wanted a ride to the local maul for all of them, so I drove them there, per the suggestion of my Lord. What I heard on the way amazed me!

It turned out the the girl had just graduated high school and her mom had kicked her out of the house. She had just spent the first night of her life homeless on the streets. The 2 guys were friends from high school that were trying to help her. So they had bought her something to eat at MacDonalds and were trying to get to the maul because they felt they could find some other friends there who might help her.

I drove them there and was now asking the Lord is He wanted me to get them some more money out of the ATM or something. He told me that He didn't need that. He just needed me to get them to the maul where He could help her some more.

The Lord our God is not some portion that you see in someone!!!!! He is the Lord our God! And if born again you hear the sound of the wind, and that in words. It is great to say that we need to die to Him, but if we are not listening to the words and instructions He says then what? And if we are listening to Him then we have testimonies about what He does and says to us.

I could never mistake Him for a portion that might "increase in me"!!!! How could anyone knowing Him personally think of Him as a portion and not a person.

I love some of the writings about Him being a personal God that I read in the past, but who thinks of that person as something that increases in us. We can seek Him more. We can listen to Him more. He might do more with us or say more to us, but He is a person and not a portion so as to increase in us!!

 

[K2K]

Dying to Christ is a nice symbolic statement. There is something to it, but what? Too often to me, it just seems to be some Christianism that sounds great to say but ultimately just seems to be grand standing.

"OH, I HAVE DIED TO CHRIST" - Sounds great but what does a person mean my it?

The Lord came into my life and I started hearing from Him, so we talk. Sometimes I have been more or less zealous for Him. I have let Him lead me into somethings I would have never done if not for Him telling me. Things like telling people about Him even thought it was going to mean losing my job, and quitting another job to open a Christian bookstore for Him, and working in ministries that I would never have done if not for Him telling me to.

So we talk, Him and I. Sometimes I do things for Him and sometimes I have gotten out of them. If He really wants I usually do them, but I never know until I actually do them. So did I die to Him or not? I don't know. I do try to do things for Him and have seen soo many incredible things I can't possible remember them all. I could set down and tell people testimonies all day long, because He has been in my life for about 20 years now. Still, He is a person not a substance you can measure out. He is a person and not writing in a book. He is an omni-present being who is always with you so He is not in some far off place called heaven where we might meet up with Him someday if we get there. So we can be the temple of God but we are not His Zombies blindly going about totally under His control.

I should feel the need to tell any Christian any of this, but I read things that make me feel like I do need to explain that He is a person and not a substance that increases in us. So seek Him more and you will know Him better, but He does grow in you. He will however grow on you, in the sense you will get to like Him more and more, and not in the sense that He actually grows as a fungus might grow on you.

 

[Not me]

@K2K

“It is great to say that we need to die to Him,”

“Dying to Christ is a nice symbolic statement.“

"OH, I HAVE DIED TO CHRIST" - Sounds great but what does a person mean my it?

“So did I die to Him or not?“


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hopefully it was an unconscious mistake, but there is nothing as “dying to Christ”...

It’s “dying to sin“ or “dead in Christ”...

Scripture says;

“We are dead to sin, but alive unto God”

(Your answers to what it means to “die to sin and alive unto God” are in my threads, blessed are you if are you willing....)

Scripture says;

2 Corinthians 12:6 (NASB)
“~~~~~~~~so that no one will credit me with more than he sees in me or hears from me”.

Such is how we should judge the Christ that has been formed in a fellow believer, by the amount we see manifested....Which is just another way of saying the fruit of the Spirit being manifested outwardly..

Scripture also says;

Galatians 4:19 (NASB)

“My children, with whom I am again in labor until Christ is formed in you”—

So as Christ is continually being formed in you, I wish you all the good things in Christ...

A fellow believer, Not me

 

[K2K]

Scripture says;

“We are dead to sin, but alive unto God”

(Your answers to what it means to “die to sin and alive unto God” are in my threads, blessed are you if are you willing....)

Scripture says;

2 Corinthians 12:6 (NASB)
“~~~~~~~~so that no one will credit me with more than he sees in me or hears from me”.

Such is how we should judge the Christ that has been formed in a fellow believer, by the amount we see manifested....Which is just another way of saying the fruit of the Spirit being manifested outwardly..

Scripture also says;

Galatians 4:19 (NASB)

“My children, with whom I am again in labor until Christ is formed in you”—

So as Christ is continually being formed in you, I wish you all the good things in Christ...

A fellow believer, Not me

Ps 78:1,2A A Maskil of Asaph.
Listen, O my people, to my instruction;
Incline your ears to the words of my mouth.
I will open my mouth in a parable;
I will utter dark sayings of old,

The Lord tends to speak to people in parables and saying. If it say "Christ is formed in you" and you know the Christ is a person, is that a literally speaking or a parable? What about dying to Christ?

Still there is something else written afterwards in Psalms 78

FPs 78:5 For He established a testimony in Jacob
And appointed a law in Israel,
Which He commanded our fathers
That they should teach them to their children,

Are we teaching the parable and maybe the law, but without the testimony like commanded?

There is a reason for the testimonies He gives us. They help explain the sayings. So if I put out a Scriptures like dying to Christ or Him being formed in us, and don't provided the testimony like commanded I have failed to explain properly!! I have not don't what is asked. Did I die to Christ? Has Christ been formed in me, so to speak?

If like Jacob, you know the person and perhaps you have fought with Him for what seems like all night, then you have a testimony of the person you fought with.

Isaiah wrote: (Is 1:18) Come now, and let us reason together,”
Says the LORD,
“Though your sins are as scarlet,
They will be as white as snow;
Though they are red like crimson,
They will be like wool.

You didn't reason with a portion being formed in you! You reasoned with a person, the Lord Jesus Christ, via the Spirit of Christ. You talked and He talked. You listened and He listened. You explained and He explained. So where is the forming of Christ in you? Well, it is there in the personal relationship that developed. So where is the dying to Christ? Well it is there also, because you are going to find out that He knows better than you and it is not even close. Still you have a choice because it is also written;

Is 1:19 If you consent and obey,
You will eat the best of the land;

You might not always care for the best of the land, but you will certainly want to obey Him you think is God. So you wind up doing crazy things, like asking someone if they have a bad elbow because He told you they did. Then you hear back from that person, that Christian person who was praying to the Lord, that they indeed had a bad elbow. That they had unfortunately lost their job because of that bad elbow and were now looking for work. And it occurs to you that they were praying to Him but not listening to Him. They had been coming to a seemingly very nice Christian place and heard the teaching those on the grand stands had been teaching but had never come to know that the Lord would speak to them and that He said if His people harken to His voice He would heal their land.

So we have a land in need of healing and teaching without testimonies. We have great correct statement made from the Scriptures but the explanations is lacking because the testimonies are lacking. Agh - but we did in our heals and says we explained all just like commanded in the Scriptures.

No - we forgot the testimonies, and that too was commanded.

 

[K2K]

Mat 3:10,11 And the disciples came and said to Him, “Why do You speak to them in parables?”
Jesus answered them, “To you it has been granted to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been granted.

Mat 3:13,14 Therefore I speak to them in parables; because while seeing they do not see, and while hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand.
In their case the prophecy of Isaiah is being fulfilled, which says,
YOU WILL KEEP ON HEARING, BUT WILL NOT UNDERSTAND;
YOU WILL KEEP ON SEEING, BUT WILL NOT PERCEIVE;

People - Jesus explained that He stands at the door and knocks and if anyone hears His voice and opens the door He will come into the and will dine with them and them with Him. (Rev 3:20)

Simply put, Jesus Christ is standing right there willing and wanting that you and Him shall talk back and forth with each other. That way you will be discipled by Him. If you don't the message to you will be in the form of parables and dark sayings. As a disciple you too will hear the parables like His disciples did then but as a disciple you will get explanations and see incredible things which help explain also.

Dying to Him is just a saying meant to explain that you need to listen to His voice and do what He says. "Dying to Him" is like the eye catching bold print header on an advertisement, meant to draw you to Him so you to can talk. If you talk to Him you then are not talking to sin. "Sin" is just another name for evil spirits who are trying to keep you from talking to Him. So if you are listening to Him you are not listening to evil spirits which is explained as "dying to sin".

So God uses people to bring a message to you in parables, but often they don't understand the parables, because with their ears they don't hear, so they don't understand. The understanding couldn't be any simpler. There is Jesus Christ who wants to talk to us so He can help us. Why don't you just seek Him and listen to what he has to say?