Bible Basics of Our Christian Calling (c:

com7fy8 · Mar 29, 2019

"For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren." (Romans 8:29)

So, yes God does want all of us His children to be changed to be like Jesus His Son. This is a basic, not some special ideal for only certain super-holy saints. But God is doing this in every one of us who have trusted in Jesus (Ephesians 1:12) for salvation.

Because of how dearly our Father loves Jesus, our Father's attention is to changing us so we also are pleasing to Him like His Son Jesus is. So, may be we could say that grace is God's favor for Jesus and how Jesus is. We are here first to be God's children, pleasing to Him, submissive to Him in His peace (Colossians 3:15), loving one another the way Jesus in us has us relating > Ephesians 4:2, Ephesians 4:31-5:2, plus loving and caring for any and all people, with prayer and hope for any and all people > Matthew 5:46, 1 Timothy 2:1-4.

So, in case we have our attention elsewhere, this could be why we are having problems and suppose God isn't paying attention to us! We do always have our Father's attention, but where does our attention need to be?

Our Apostle Paul would know where our attention needs to be. And Paul says,

"Him we preach, warning every man and teaching every man in all wisdom, that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus. To this end I also labor, striving according to His working which works in me mightily." (Colossians 1:28-29)

So, I would say this means how Paul was focused > ministering for us to be changed to be like Jesus and to love like Jesus. And he did this according to how God in him was working for Paul to minister this. So, God in Paul was committed to this first, I consider.

So, we need for God in us to have us laboring with Him, with Him guiding our attention. Our basic calling, then, I would say, includes where our attention needs to be, with God. And ones can miss out on so much good, by allowing their attention to be elsewhere.

"You will keep him in perfect peace,
.Whose mind is stayed on you,
.Because he trusts in you."
. . . . . . . . . . .(Isaiah 26:3)

LynnSmith · Mar 29, 2019

Yes our attention, our focus on God. Easy to get distracted and that focus go where it shouldn’t.

com7fy8 · Mar 30, 2019

jiminpa said:
I haven't had much success with any denomination. It's usually the non-denominational churches that I find the best fellowship in.

LynnSmith said:
Yes our attention, our focus on God. Easy to get distracted and that focus go where it shouldn’t.

LynnSmith said:
Fellowship is very important.

I personally now understand and trust that we need to be with each other, in order to help one another to grow more in Jesus, and stay better and better in focus with God. There are various scriptures which show how we need to share in love with one another, and help one another to walk in our Christian calling. God has made things so we do have the ability to so help one another > to become more like Jesus and to love like Jesus, but also to take care of our individual lives and responsibilities and needs.

"Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers." (Ephesians 4:29)

So, what we say during fellowship is able to help to edify one another. To edify, I think, means to build one another up in how Jesus is and how Jesus loves. We help one another to become stronger in love, by helping one another to get real deep character correction. And God's grace includes how our Father in us changes us to be and love like Jesus. Grace, then, is not only God's favor to make things go well in our lives!!

But God favors Jesus and how Jesus is and loves

Plus, God favors how we become submissive to how He personally rules us in His own peace > Colossians 3:15 < in this peace we have His personal guiding for ministering and our personal lives, plus His peace is almighty to keep our hearts and minds safe > Philippians 4:6-7. So, speak this in prayer and fellowship!!!

God's grace favors this!!!

Our Father makes us able to minister this to one another, by speaking and praying all which His word says He desires for us, "that it may impart grace to the hearers."

So, our words of prayer and sharing with one another can be helping us to grow in Christ.

Plus, our example and support for one another is included in our basic calling >

"to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love," (Ephesians 4:1-2)

We feed one another our example of "all lowliness and gentleness" like Jesus is "gentle and lowly in heart" (Matthew 11:29). And we bear with one another, "with longsuffering"; because each of us can be wrong at times; so we need to be strong in love, ready to be longsuffering with one another. And this can help to exercise us in love, so we get stronger in love. Therefore, we need to be with each other. Be ready for love, always, be ready with forgiveness. And have hope of how God can use what we say in prayer and sharing, to really help each other. What God has us say in prayer or in sharing is His word guaranteed to do all He means >

"'So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth;
. It shall not return to Me void,
. But it shall accomplish what I please,
. And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.'"
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .(Isaiah 55:11)

com7fy8 · Apr 1, 2019

In Mark 3:14 it says Jesus "appointed twelve, that they might be with Him and that He might send them out to preach" > in Mark 3:14.

So, Jesus did not choose the twelve apostles only so they could serve Jesus; but He wanted them to "be with Him". I see this can mean Jesus wanted to have them so He could love them and personally share with them. Plus, He wanted them to get to know His example, so they could represent Him well while preaching Him and talking about Him; and their personal experience with Jesus could help them to be His "examples" (1 Peter 5:3) who could feed His example to His sheep while they were leading them.

From this, I see how part of our basic calling is first to be in sharing with Jesus. So, He is not only interested in us doing things to serve Him.

And we see what happened when Martha was so busy with serving Jesus but Mary stayed at His feet. Martha even tried to interfere with Mary and Jesus being together. But Jesus stood up for Mary!!!

Luke 10:38-42

And being with Jesus, really I would say, means being His way, in us. This includes how "all" are called to learn from Jesus and have His "rest for your souls." (Matthew 11:28-30).

Jesus calls to "all", with this hope for "all" of us >

"'Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.'" (Matthew 11:28-30)

Also, when Jesus told Paul He was sending Paul to the Gentiles, Jesus said He would have Paul turn Gentiles "from the power of Satan to God", in Acts 26:18. So, He was not going to have Paul only turn people from their sins and to forgiveness. . . but "to God" Himself > not only from Satan's power to God's power, but to God Himself so we can be in personal sharing with Him in us >

"Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us." (Romans 5:5)

"Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you." (James 4:7)

This does not say to submit to some person or some rules, but the God Himself, I see this to mean. And if we submit to God, why then would we go off to get our own selves to do things? Submission to God, I would say needs to be all the time. And this in His peace ruling in our hearts >

"And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful." (Colossians 3:15)

We are "called in one body" to this ! ! ! So, this is for all of us. God wants to personally share with every one of us His children in His own peace. God is not distant and impersonal; but there are religious people who might be conceited and distant and wanting to control; and so they might represent God to be . . . the way they are, really!

And Jesus says the one who is faithful in little is faithful also in much (Luke 16:10). Like this, if we submit to our Father for how He rules us in His peace for doing less important things, now we can know how to submit to Him when we have harder and bigger things to do > we just keep doing the same thing > simply whatever God has us doing with Him in His peace

If something or someone gets the better of me, I can stop and trust God to correct me so I am with Him in His peace. Then see how I see things in His peace, and do what He our Creator creatively has me doing about a problem person or thing. And stay with this rule > trust only what God has us doing in His peace.

LynnSmith · Apr 1, 2019

com7fy8 said:
I personally now understand and trust that we need to be with each other, in order to help one another to grow more in Jesus, and stay better and better in focus with God. There are various scriptures which show how we need to share in love with one another, and help one another to walk in our Christian calling. God has made things so we do have the ability to so help one another > to become more like Jesus and to love like Jesus, but also to take care of our individual lives and responsibilities and needs.

"Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers." (Ephesians 4:29)

So, what we say during fellowship is able to help to edify one another. To edify, I think, means to build one another up in how Jesus is and how Jesus loves. We help one another to become stronger in love, by helping one another to get real deep character correction. And God's grace includes how our Father in us changes us to be and love like Jesus. Grace, then, is not only God's favor to make things go well in our lives!!

But God favors Jesus and how Jesus is and loves Plus, God favors how we become submissive to how He personally rules us in His own peace > Colossians 3:15 < in this peace we have His personal guiding for ministering and our personal lives, plus His peace is almighty to keep our hearts and minds safe > Philippians 4:6-7. So, speak this in prayer and fellowship!!! God's grace favors this!!!

Our Father makes us able to minister this to one another, by speaking and praying all which His word says He desires for us, "that it may impart grace to the hearers."

So, our words of prayer and sharing with one another can be helping us to grow in Christ.

Plus, our example and support for one another is included in our basic calling >

"to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love," (Ephesians 4:1-2)

We feed one another our example of "all lowliness and gentleness" like Jesus is "gentle and lowly in heart" (Matthew 11:29). And we bear with one another, "with longsuffering"; because each of us can be wrong at times; so we need to be strong in love, ready to be longsuffering with one another. And this can help to exercise us in love, so we get stronger in love. Therefore, we need to be with each other. Be ready for love, always, be ready with forgiveness. And have hope of how God can use what we say in prayer and sharing, to really help each other. What God has us say in prayer or in sharing is His word guaranteed to do all He means >

"'So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth;
. It shall not return to Me void,
. But it shall accomplish what I please,
. And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.'"
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .(Isaiah 55:11)

We must build each other up. I’ve seen too many Christians tear down others. It’s so damaging.

com7fy8 · Apr 1, 2019

LynnSmith said:
We must build each other up. I’ve seen too many Christians tear down others. It’s so damaging.

Amen

Thank you

For a while after I asked Jesus to save me, I just got into criticizing anyone and everyone. Then I fell apart and went through a nice sample of how I myself could be . . . frustrated, confused, pounding a table because I could not get my work done on time. And I was thinking how God might be letting me see how I was my own problem, and I did not need to be putting down His people and staying away from them like they weren't good enough for me. Then things developed, and I trusted in Jesus to do whatever He wanted with me; I understood He knew what to do with me. And I kept offering to submit to whatever He wanted to do with me, and did not do anything else, except for however I simply would fail at that, but then trust God to get me back to submitting to Him.

But I still could have problems with people. And ones indeed could be really wrong, I would say . . . sparing details

But an odd thing is that certain problem people were pastors, but they got removed from their churches! Yet, though, they had done and said things which had helped me, though I found them to be wrong however. Then I got more into just praying for people and blessing them, and not merely welcoming opportunities to look down on wrong people.

"He can have compassion on those who are ignorant and going astray, since he himself is also subject to weakness." (Hebrews 5:2)

This scripture helped me a lot. I could see I needed to have compassion on people who really were wrong > Jesus has had compassion on us ! ! ! And Jesus is so superior to us, yet not at all conceited, but compassionate ! ! ! So, I knew I needed to submit to God for real correction so I would follow this example, plus know how I knew some number of Jesus people who already were following this example and they had been this way with me, so I could see how I needed to become.

And now I know I need to be any wrong person's best friend, in a tie for first place with all the others who are the person's best friend . . . by being God's example to the person, of how to be in love and how to relate.

LynnSmith · Apr 1, 2019

com7fy8 said:
Amen Thank you

For a while after I asked Jesus to save me, I just got into criticizing anyone and everyone. Then I fell apart and went through a nice sample of how I myself could be . . . frustrated, confused, pounding a table because I could not get my work done on time. And I was thinking how God might be letting me see how I was my own problem, and I did not need to be putting down His people and staying away from them like they weren't good enough for me. Then things developed, and I trusted in Jesus to do whatever He wanted with me; I understood He knew what to do with me. And I kept offering to submit to whatever He wanted to do with me, and did not do anything else, except for however I simply would fail at that, but then trust God to get me back to submitting to Him.

But I still could have problems with people. And ones indeed could be really wrong, I would say . . . sparing details But an odd thing is that certain problem people were pastors, but they got removed from their churches! Yet, though, they had done and said things which had helped me, though I found them to be wrong however. Then I got more into just praying for people and blessing them, and not merely welcoming opportunities to look down on wrong people.

"He can have compassion on those who are ignorant and going astray, since he himself is also subject to weakness." (Hebrews 5:2)

This scripture helped me a lot. I could see I needed to have compassion on people who really were wrong > Jesus has had compassion on us ! ! ! And Jesus is so superior to us, yet not at all conceited, but compassionate ! ! ! So, I knew I needed to submit to God for real correction so I would follow this example, plus know how I knew some number of Jesus people who already were following this example and they had been this way with me, so I could see how I needed to become.

And now I know I need to be any wrong person's best friend, in a tie for first place with all the others who are the person's best friend . . . by being God's example to the person, of how to be in love and how to relate.

Such a good point!!! We have so much to learn from how God loves!

com7fy8 · Apr 2, 2019

LynnSmith said:
We have so much to learn from how God loves!

Part of our basic calling is how we are to love with one another >

"with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love," (Ephesians 4:2)

Just before Paul says this, he says for us to "walk worthy of your calling". So, our basic calling includes how we are to relate in His love. And Paul says,

"with all lowliness and gentleness". And Jesus is "gentle and lowly in heart", He says in Matthew 11:28-30. So, I see how Paul means to relate in Jesus Christ's own gentle and lowly love. So, how Jesus loves us is our example, required also of us. Our calling, then, is not only to try to get all God has for us in our own lives, but to love the way Jesus is loving any and all people > caring for others as well as I care about my own self!!

"you shall love your neighbor as yourself"

yes

And this is gently and humbly. I think this includes in our emotions and how we are reacting. Our emotions of God's love are gentle and humble . . . kind to our own souls, "and you will find rest for your souls," Jesus guarantees in Matthew 11:28-30.

So, thank You, Jesus; the glory is to You our Father and Jesus our Groom.

God can do no less in us. This is basic to all God in our character will have us doing, succeeding. But this does come with more and more correction . . . of our nature. But we have God in us sharing His own love with us > Romans 5:5 > not only to make us feel so good and loved, but He in His love in us cures our nature more and more so we become like Jesus His own Son; so this fits with how we in Jesus are destined "to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren." (in Romans 8:29)

And this is for loving God. By becoming like Jesus we truly are loving our Father. By becoming like Jesus, we are pleasing Him more and more how Jesus is so pleasing to our Father >

"rather let it be the hidden person of the heart, with the incorruptible beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is very precious in the sight of God." (1 Peter 3:4)

I see a connection here > Jesus is "gentle and lowly in heart" and the beauty pleasing to our Father is "gentle and quiet", which I would say is like how Jesus is gentle and humble. And this beauty is "incorruptible" > only Jesus is incorruptible, with almighty power to keep Him, and us, from being corrupted by the things of this world. So, this is so good for us, too; we have this in sharing with Jesus in us > Galatians 4:19, 1 Corinthians 6:17), not by means of our own willing and trying!!

This is how well God loves us, then . . . not only smiling at us from a distance and forgiving us unconditionally while we keep failing and suffering deeply. But our Father loves us by truly correcting us to become like His Son Jesus, so we so share with Him > Hebrews 12:4-11.

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Bible Basics of Our Christian Calling (c:

com7fy8

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