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Anyone falling back down into the dark?

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Again, a bunch of great stuff here Jeshu. Here are a couple of the standouts for me:

I know from experience that most of such guilty feelings come from our own religious and worldly morals and values...
...God's kingdom is not about doing...
...understand how that nasty creep gets us into his dungeons again and again by lying to us about God's loving truth...
...you are greatly loved by our Heavenly Father...

Totally agree about the provenance of guilty feelings. Actually, it's probably more about shame than guilt. But perfect love casts out fear.

However, I can't picture God as a loving father, so every day is an exercise in faith. I've read probably all the passages about God's love in the Bible but it still leaves me cold, probably due to years of spiritual abuse. Although, I suppose my thinking isn't entirely black and white. For instance, Jesus breaks my heart at Easter.

I believe in my mind that God is loving and I act like He's loving and will take care of me, but getting hit upside the head with a Bible so many times and told that God didn't like me if I wasn't busy, took its toll. It became the yardstick against which I measured myself. Hence, years of counseling.

I can't say if I will be able to change on this side of heaven but I very much look forward to being proven wrong someday :)
 
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Jeshu

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Again, a bunch of great stuff here Jeshu. Here are a couple of the standouts for me:



Totally agree about the provenance of guilty feelings. Actually, it's probably more about shame than guilt. But perfect love casts out fear.

However, I can't picture God as a loving father, so every day is an exercise in faith. I've read probably all the passages about God's love in the Bible but it still leaves me cold, probably due to years of spiritual abuse. Although, I suppose my thinking isn't entirely black and white. For instance, Jesus breaks my heart at Easter.

I believe in my mind that God is loving and I act like He's loving and will take care of me, but getting hit upside the head with a Bible so many times and told that God didn't like me if I wasn't busy, took its toll. It became the yardstick against which I measured myself. Hence, years of counseling.

I can't say if I will be able to change on this side of heaven but I very much look forward to being proven wrong someday :)

Oh sister if you knew how it has been like that for me, so very much alike, God was a tyrant in my mind as well. My father and his father combined, along with my mother's dislike for them both, smeared the word father through the dirt into meaning - do as you are told or else I burn you alive forever.

Yet when Jesus, who lives also in your heart by the way, got me to know the Father. He took me to Him, on more than one occasion even. (Revelation 1-7)

Our heavenly Father is so loving that it is impossible for me to say how loving He is - a consuming fire!!! Is the best description I can find to both tell you how good He is and how bad such is for no good within us. That is why we are shielded from Him, because He loves us that much and wants us to be saved and not tormented forever, as we have been doing to Him in our sinful folly.

Today God lives in my heart (John 14,) and He is always with me wherever I go. Even when I'm psychotic He masters me. He taught me to love my dad and to forgive him his wrongs and also my grand dad, though this was much harder to do, the man has had a very negative impact on me though he has physically never harmed or said anything nasty to me. Just how he was and how I am. Big clash.

So if you also long after the Father then ask Jesus to teach you to listen to the Word of God spoken in your heart through the Spirit of love (as summed up by God's Word in 1 Corinthians 13) and see how quick you will be meeting with God in real life and praise Him in the Great a Assembly Upstairs. An awesome place if ever there was one. Where pure love reigns and all your longings for a loving dad will come true forever - for God loves being our Father, that is why Jesus advises us not to give anyone else that title, our earthly fathers are dads no better than that. It is Our Father in Heaven we want as Father though. Everyone wants God as their Father. He is our inmost hearts desire, from where all good comes from. Our very source/kernel/breath of our life is Jesus Christ for our lives He died so we would all be in Him.

Be of good courage for giving your bad life away to receive His good life is far easier to do than giving a great going life away. Yet to have communion with Him is worth everything. One hour with Him is better than 10 thousand years partying to your hearts content. No even that is not descriptive enough. Nothing compares to having God as Father.

I love Him much more than I love my life.


Greatly recommend Him as your Father to find, just dump the old father overboard and feed him to the sharks all around. It is a trap from satasn to do as much damage to you as possible and to try and keep you away from seeking after God as your Heavenly Father.

I wrote a poem about the time I met Jesus in the inner place a wretched sinner.

The Beggar Of My Existence

Begging I lay beside the road, unable to get-up or move on.
Paralysed after a viscous assault when I was just a little kid
bloodied I stared at my wretched existence for many years.
Hope had gone, pain throbbing, hungry and thirsty, cold and alone,
the inner demons dragging me deeper and deeper down the drain,
helpless the wicked abused my life, robbing me of all my possessions.

Most of my life I lay there beside the road alone
I don't know how I survived my miserable existence,
by-passers often bashed me, blaming me for their hate.
At first I was raped night after night for years,
lately mainly tortured for cruel fun and cheap thrills,
oh yes, those wicked ones have been hurting me!

Not often have peels been part of my diet,
weeds, grass, rotten fruit and insects,
that's what I ate, such meagre meals.
I was skin over bones and smelled like sewage.
Walking dead, longing for an early ending.
I didn't feel worthy to carry the name human.

Suddenly I became aware of a pleasant aroma,
a beautifully perfumed visitor, a rich stranger,
he knelt beside beside me and took hold of me
I thought, maybe he'll give me something worthwhile,
I'd better ask quickly before he goes on his way,
normally the rich don't ever stop to talk to me!

Facing the visitor I croaked through parched lips,
please? I am unable to move and very hungry,
my last visitor abused me and I'm hurting bad,
could you spare me some food or money,
a sip of water, I'm so thirsty right now?
Expectantly I looked up into the man's eyes.

Chewing delicious bread I stared at the stranger,
the young wine had refreshed me completely
where did all this come from I wonder?
My taste-buds were in Heaven and so was I
I couldn't believe what I was hearing
I remember his lips pronounce the words;

"Shalom... Beloved...

..You're most welcome, my child," he said,
"Eat your fill, here, have another sip of wine,
your clothes are all worn, dirty and broken.
At home I have some new clean garments your size,
a warm bath and a place of safety and rest,
awaiting my dwelling-place high-up New Eden street."

That's what he said, and that's what he did for me!
Amazed I watched as out of nowhere servants arrived,
gently lifting me out of my grime and of the street,
carrying me along an all together different route,
right to the top of a most beautiful mountain hill,
halting before a mansion I didn't know could exist.

A doctor came and tended my wounds and sores
ointments soothing, smelling like fragrant herbs
a massage, gently, carefully rejuvenating me.
Years long ache disappearing, well-being arriving,
heaven on earth how could all this be for me,
when did I do anything to deserve this treatment?

A gentle knock on my door, as I lay sleeping
in a massive bedroom, adorned for royalty.
"You've been invited at The Feast tonight."
I recall this loving moment fleetingly pass by,
how lovely he looked standing there,
"and Dad said he likes to meet you as well."

I remember how confused I had been, Dad?
A party tonight, seeing Dad, who and what else?
Why is he looking after me so fantastically well?
My mind was in turmoil after all these events,
several hours ago I still lay dying in my filth,
and now..? now I was so alive and so fulfilled!

Gratitude arose like paradise restored within,
never before did I feel so much thankfulness,
I'd been rescued from a life of painful misery,
saved from the wretchedness of my existence,
restored to human dignity, loved and cared for,
deep down I knew Life had found me for good.
 
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com7fy8

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I can't picture God as a loving father, so every day is an exercise in faith. I've read probably all the passages about God's love in the Bible but it still leaves me cold, probably due to years of spiritual abuse.
Have you fed on how God corrects those whom He loves? Hebrews 12:4-11. We need to seek Him for His correction.
 
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Have you fed on how God corrects those whom He loves? Hebrews 12:4-11. We need to seek Him for His correction.
Actually discipline is a much easier concept for me. I truly believe and am grateful that God has allowed hardships to enter my life for the purpose of strengthening me. To bring me to repentance. To delight me. And I like the perseverance and character that He developed in me.

Regarding God's love, I suppose my outlook is more Orthodox or like Shusako Endo -- God is with us no matter where we go, what we do or how we feel. He hurts with us. Rejoices with us. And all the time he is working for our good.
 
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"For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin." (Hebrews 4:15)

Yup. But why Jesus chose to obey the Father and come down here to experience humanity is still a mystery to me. Not sure I would have made the same choice, especially if I had to live at home until I was 30! That being said, I do appreciate that my Savior "gets it" since he is my intermediary.

I tend to identify with David -- up one day and down the other. Dude had some big mood swings! I look forward to meeting him and comparing notes.
 
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ToBeLoved

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Totally agree about the provenance of guilty feelings. Actually, it's probably more about shame than guilt. But perfect love casts out fear.

However, I can't picture God as a loving father, so every day is an exercise in faith. I've read probably all the passages about God's love in the Bible but it still leaves me cold, probably due to years of spiritual abuse. Although, I suppose my thinking isn't entirely black and white. For instance, Jesus breaks my heart at Easter.
You know, that;s not the oddest thing. A lot of people do feel that they have a big problem with rationalizing God's love for them because of spiritual abuses that were done to them in their past. I've heard quite a few people say exactly what you have said.

First, know that it is coming because of the spiritual abuse that you have experienced in the past. Spiritual abuse is so ugly in that it changes something spiritual that should bring someone peace and feelings of love, into a place where all the wonderful things God has given us are negative. My prayers are with you. This is a terrible thing that has been done to you.

You can concentrate on God's promises though. And one of His biggest promises is how much He loves each of us. Maybe you cannot feel that love because of abuse, but try to know in your rational mind (when you are thinking, not feeling) that His promises are ONLY TRUE. God cannot be untrue. He cannot. It is not in His character. He LOVES YOU and you are so important to Him. He has numbered each hair on your head. He sent His Son to die so He could have you back.

Sometimes we must sludge past our feelings. We must know something in our minds and not be blown like a tree branch in the wind based on our feelings.

Please know that God LOVES YOU. With a love that surpasses any of our understanding. You will have a hard time experiencing this love, but that in no way means it does not exist, it only means that because of some wicked things in your past you are having a very hard time feeling it.

Feelings betray us, God does not.

God bless you.
 
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@ToBeLoved - Tiring? Absolutely!
Maybe we should take a nap now ;)
It's interesting but i think being emotionally tired can be more tiring than being physically tired. Whenever I go through a very hard time emotionally, I am exhausted.

Curling up for a nap and being in the rest of God sure does help! Thank you Jesus!
 
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It's interesting but i think being emotionally tired can be more tiring than being physically tired. Whenever I go through a very hard time emotionally, I am exhausted.

Curling up for a nap and being in the rest of God sure does help! Thank you Jesus!
I give it to Jesus, then I'm not thinking about being tired. I love days off because I could rest. I think we should live up Sunday to the fullest.
 
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ToBeLoved

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Oh sister if you knew how it has been like that for me, so very much alike, God was a tyrant in my mind as well. My father and his father combined, along with my mother's dislike for them both, smeared the word father through the dirt into meaning - do as you are told or else I burn you alive forever.

Yet when Jesus, who lives also in your heart by the way, got me to know the Father. He took me to Him, on more than one occasion even. (Revelation 1-7)

Our heavenly Father is so loving that it is impossible for me to say how loving He is - a consuming fire!!! Is the best description I can find to both tell you how good He is and how bad such is for no good within us. That is why we are shielded from Him, because He loves us that much and wants us to be saved and not tormented forever, as we have been doing to Him in our sinful folly.

Today God lives in my heart (John 14,) and He is always with me wherever I go. Even when I'm psychotic He masters me. He taught me to love my dad and to forgive him his wrongs and also my grand dad, though this was much harder to do, the man has had a very negative impact on me though he has physically never harmed or said anything nasty to me. Just how he was and how I am. Big clash.

So if you also long after the Father then ask Jesus to teach you to listen to the Word of God spoken in your heart through the Spirit of love (as summed up by God's Word in 1 Corinthians 13) and see how quick you will be meeting with God in real life and praise Him in the Great a Assembly Upstairs. An awesome place if ever there was one. Where pure love reigns and all your longings for a loving dad will come true forever - for God loves being our Father, that is why Jesus advises us not to give anyone else that title, our earthly fathers are dads no better than that. It is Our Father in Heaven we want as Father though. Everyone wants God as their Father. He is our inmost hearts desire, from where all good comes from. Our very source/kernel/breath of our life is Jesus Christ for our lives He died so we would all be in Him.

Be of good courage for giving your bad life away to receive His good life is far easier to do than giving a great going life away. Yet to have communion with Him is worth everything. One hour with Him is better than 10 thousand years partying to your hearts content. No even that is not descriptive enough. Nothing compares to having God as Father.

I love Him much more than I love my life.


Greatly recommend Him as your Father to find, just dump the old father overboard and feed him to the sharks all around. It is a trap from satasn to do as much damage to you as possible and to try and keep you away from seeking after God as your Heavenly Father.

I wrote a poem about the time I met Jesus in the inner place a wretched sinner.

The Beggar Of My Existence

Begging I lay beside the road, unable to get-up or move on.
Paralysed after a viscous assault when I was just a little kid
bloodied I stared at my wretched existence for many years.
Hope had gone, pain throbbing, hungry and thirsty, cold and alone,
the inner demons dragging me deeper and deeper down the drain,
helpless the wicked abused my life, robbing me of all my possessions.

Most of my life I lay there beside the road alone
I don't know how I survived my miserable existence,
by-passers often bashed me, blaming me for their hate.
At first I was raped night after night for years,
lately mainly tortured for cruel fun and cheap thrills,
oh yes, those wicked ones have been hurting me!

Not often have peels been part of my diet,
weeds, grass, rotten fruit and insects,
that's what I ate, such meagre meals.
I was skin over bones and smelled like sewage.
Walking dead, longing for an early ending.
I didn't feel worthy to carry the name human.

Suddenly I became aware of a pleasant aroma,
a beautifully perfumed visitor, a rich stranger,
he knelt beside beside me and took hold of me
I thought, maybe he'll give me something worthwhile,
I'd better ask quickly before he goes on his way,
normally the rich don't ever stop to talk to me!

Facing the visitor I croaked through parched lips,
please? I am unable to move and very hungry,
my last visitor abused me and I'm hurting bad,
could you spare me some food or money,
a sip of water, I'm so thirsty right now?
Expectantly I looked up into the man's eyes.

Chewing delicious bread I stared at the stranger,
the young wine had refreshed me completely
where did all this come from I wonder?
My taste-buds were in Heaven and so was I
I couldn't believe what I was hearing
I remember his lips pronounce the words;

"Shalom... Beloved...

..You're most welcome, my child," he said,
"Eat your fill, here, have another sip of wine,
your clothes are all worn, dirty and broken.
At home I have some new clean garments your size,
a warm bath and a place of safety and rest,
awaiting my dwelling-place high-up New Eden street."

That's what he said, and that's what he did for me!
Amazed I watched as out of nowhere servants arrived,
gently lifting me out of my grime and of the street,
carrying me along an all together different route,
right to the top of a most beautiful mountain hill,
halting before a mansion I didn't know could exist.

A doctor came and tended my wounds and sores
ointments soothing, smelling like fragrant herbs
a massage, gently, carefully rejuvenating me.
Years long ache disappearing, well-being arriving,
heaven on earth how could all this be for me,
when did I do anything to deserve this treatment?

A gentle knock on my door, as I lay sleeping
in a massive bedroom, adorned for royalty.
"You've been invited at The Feast tonight."
I recall this loving moment fleetingly pass by,
how lovely he looked standing there,
"and Dad said he likes to meet you as well."

I remember how confused I had been, Dad?
A party tonight, seeing Dad, who and what else?
Why is he looking after me so fantastically well?
My mind was in turmoil after all these events,
several hours ago I still lay dying in my filth,
and now..? now I was so alive and so fulfilled!

Gratitude arose like paradise restored within,
never before did I feel so much thankfulness,
I'd been rescued from a life of painful misery,
saved from the wretchedness of my existence,
restored to human dignity, loved and cared for,
deep down I knew Life had found me for good.
That poem was so beautiful. You have blessed me today with your words.
 
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ToBeLoved

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Yup. But why Jesus chose to obey the Father and come down here to experience humanity is still a mystery to me. Not sure I would have made the same choice, especially if I had to live at home until I was 30! That being said, I do appreciate that my Savior "gets it" since he is my intermediary.

I tend to identify with David -- up one day and down the other. Dude had some big mood swings! I look forward to meeting him and comparing notes.
It is interesting that you identify with King David. A lot of us do. I have heard said more than one time that if there was ever a person in the Bible that could have (and we do not know for sure) had depression, it would have been King David. His Psalms bring many comfort. Me too!
 
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I'm deep in the pit today and could use some prayer, if anyone has time. I am desperate for guidance and truth from God.

The loudest voice in my head says over and over that if I don't work harder, God won't provide for me. (Yes I know how that sounds!)

My husband and I are doing work we think God has given to us but sometimes, we don't bring in enough funds to cover everything. Then I get scared and the self-hatred kicks in because I'm not as strong or productive as I might be without mental illness. "If only I was healthier, more determined, or a better person, I could fix this problem...

I'm sure you see the fallacy in my logic. Anyway, this is one of my weak spots and the enemy knows it. Hence, the SOS for prayer.

For you, my brothers and sisters who also suffer, I pray that you would find God to be your shelter and your refuge.
 
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com7fy8

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"'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.'" (Matthew 11:29)

learning with growing

becoming deeply gentle and humble like Jesus

we all need this :)

So you are not alone :hug::pray::help::groupray:
 
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Jeshu

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I'm deep in the pit today and could use some prayer, if anyone has time. I am desperate for guidance and truth from God.

The loudest voice in my head says over and over that if I don't work harder, God won't provide for me. (Yes I know how that sounds!)

My husband and I are doing work we think God has given to us but sometimes, we don't bring in enough funds to cover everything. Then I get scared and the self-hatred kicks in because I'm not as strong or productive as I might be without mental illness. "If only I was healthier, more determined, or a better person, I could fix this problem...

I'm sure you see the fallacy in my logic. Anyway, this is one of my weak spots and the enemy knows it. Hence, the SOS for prayer.

For you, my brothers and sisters who also suffer, I pray that you would find God to be your shelter and your refuge.

Hi sis praying you hear me when I say let go off all of that especially all your feelings of must and do.

you have to get into The Word and out of the lies hurting you so badly!



Here EAT this!!! and give it to your attackers Girl fight your heart out!!! ith Jesus you will win. Stay loving, forgive all wrongs, and each time demands begins to win -read the piece below again - until He is in you - then you are save. In the mean time I pray for you Please let me know how you go through out the day so I can adjust my prayers for you. Much love.
Isaiah 28:9-29
“Who is it he is trying to teach?
To whom is he explaining his message?
To children weaned from their milk,
to those just taken from the breast?
For it is:
Do this, do that,
a rule for this, a rule for that;
a little here, a little there.”



Very well then, with foreign lips and strange tongues
God will speak to this people,
to whom he said,
“This is the resting place, let the weary rest”;
and, “This is the place of repose”—
but they would not listen.
So then, the word of the Lord to them will become:
Do this, do that,
a rule for this, a rule for that;
a little here, a little there—
so that as they go they will fall backward;
they will be injured and snared and captured.



Therefore hear the word of the Lord, you scoffers
who rule this people in Jerusalem.
You boast, “We have entered into a covenant with death,
with the realm of the dead we have made an agreement.
When an overwhelming scourge sweeps by,
it cannot touch us,
for we have made a lie our refuge
and falsehood our hiding place.”



So this is what the Sovereign Lord says:

“See, I lay a stone in Zion, a tested stone,
a precious cornerstone for a sure foundation;
the one who relies on it
will never be stricken with panic.
I will make justice the measuring line
and righteousness the plumb line;
hail will sweep away your refuge, the lie,
and water will overflow your hiding place.
Your covenant with death will be annulled;
your agreement with the realm of the dead will not stand.
When the overwhelming scourge sweeps by,
you will be beaten down by it.
As often as it comes it will carry you away;
morning after morning, by day and by night,
it will sweep through.”


The understanding of this message
will bring sheer terror.
The bed is too short to stretch out on,
the blanket too narrow to wrap around you.
The Lord will rise up as he did at Mount Perazim,
he will rouse himself as in the Valley of Gibeon—
to do his work, his strange work,
and perform his task, his alien task.
Now stop your mocking,
or your chains will become heavier;
the Lord, the Lord Almighty, has told me
of the destruction decreed against the whole land.



Listen and hear my voice;
pay attention and hear what I say.
When a farmer plows for planting, does he plow continually?
Does he keep on breaking up and working the soil?
When he has leveled the surface,
does he not sow caraway and scatter cumin?
Does he not plant wheat in its place,
barley in its plot,
and spelt in its field?
His God instructs him
and teaches him the right way.



Caraway is not threshed with a sledge,
nor is the wheel of a cart rolled over cumin;
caraway is beaten out with a rod,
and cumin with a stick.
Grain must be ground to make bread;
so one does not go on threshing it forever.
The wheels of a threshing cart may be rolled over it,
but one does not use horses to grind grain.
All this also comes from the Lord Almighty,
whose plan is wonderful,
whose wisdom is magnificent.

 
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Jeshu

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Here sis another great Word to fight your attackers within you

Hebrews 4:1-13
Therefore, since the promise of entering his rest still stands, let us be careful that none of you be found to have fallen short of it. For we also have had the good news proclaimed to us, just as they did; but the message they heard was of no value to them, because they did not share the faith of those who obeyed. Now we who have believed enter that rest, just as God has said,


“So I declared on oath in my anger,
‘They shall never enter my rest.’”


And yet his works have been finished since the creation of the world. For somewhere he has spoken about the seventh day in these words: “On the seventh day God rested from all his works. And again in the passage above he says, “They shall never enter my rest.”


Therefore since it still remains for some to enter that rest, and since those who formerly had the good news proclaimed to them did not go in because of their disobedience, God again set a certain day, calling it “Today.” This he did when a long time later he spoke through David, as in the passage already quoted:

“Today, if you hear his voice,
do not harden your hearts.”



For if Joshua had given them rest, God would not have spoken later about another day. There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God; for anyone who enters God’s rest also rests from their works, just as God did from his. Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will perish by following their example of disobedience.


For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.
 
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Jeshu

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Psalms 51
Have mercy on me, O God,
according to your unfailing love;
according to your great compassion
blot out my transgressions.
Wash away all my iniquity
and cleanse me from my sin.



For I know my transgressions,
and my sin is always before me.
Against you, you only, have I sinned
and done what is evil in your sight;
so you are right in your verdict
and justified when you judge.
Surely I was sinful at birth,
sinful from the time my mother conceived me.
Yet you desired faithfulness even in the womb;
you taught me wisdom in that secret place.



Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean;
wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.
Let me hear joy and gladness;
let the bones you have crushed rejoice.
Hide your face from my sins
and blot out all my iniquity.



Create in me a pure heart, O God,
and renew a steadfast spirit within me.
Do not cast me from your presence
or take your Holy Spirit from me.
Restore to me the joy of your salvation
and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.



Then I will teach transgressors your ways,
so that sinners will turn back to you.
Deliver me from the guilt of bloodshed, O God,
you who are God my Savior,
and my tongue will sing of your righteousness.
Open my lips, Lord,
and my mouth will declare your praise.
You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it;
you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings.
My sacrifice, O God, is a broken spirit;
a broken and contrite heart
you, God, will not despise.



May it please you to prosper Zion,
to build up the walls of Jerusalem.
Then you will delight in the sacrifices of the righteous,
in burnt offerings offered whole;
then bulls will be offered on your altar.
 
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Jeshu

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Haggai 1
This is what the Lord Almighty says: “These people say, ‘The time has not yet come to rebuild the Lord’s house.’”

Then the word of the Lord came through the prophet Haggai: “Is it a time for you yourselves to be living in your paneled houses, while this house remains a ruin?”


Now this is what the Lord Almighty says: “Give careful thought to your ways. You have planted much, but harvested little. You eat, but never have enough. You drink, but never have your fill. You put on clothes, but are not warm. You earn wages, only to put them in a purse with holes in it.”


This is what the Lord Almighty says: “Give careful thought to your ways. Go up into the mountains and bring down timber and build my house, so that I may take pleasure in it and be honored,” says the Lord. “You expected much, but see, it turned out to be little. What you brought home, I blew away. Why?” declares the Lord Almighty. “Because of my house, which remains a ruin, while each of you is busy with your own house. Therefore, because of you the heavens have withheld their dew and the earth its crops. I called for a drought on the fields and the mountains, on the grain, the new wine, the olive oil and everything else the ground produces, on people and livestock, and on all the labor of your hands.”


Then Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, Joshua son of Jozadak, the high priest, and the whole remnant of the people obeyed the voice of the Lord their God and the message of the prophet Haggai, because the Lord their God had sent him. And the people feared the Lord.


Then Haggai, the Lord’s messenger, gave this message of the Lord to the people: “I am with you,” declares the Lord. So the Lord stirred up the spirit of Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and the spirit of Joshua son of Jozadak, the high priest, and the spirit of the whole remnant of the people. They came and began to work on the house of the Lord Almighty, their God, on the twenty-fourth day of the sixth month.
 
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