Growing in Christ

[Abel1337]

Wonderful

 

[Elshevia]

Hello everyone, there are so many names here, so many Tears so much Love, its impossible to take everything in, my Name is Elshevia. I joined this forum about a year ago, and then went absent for a few months, but I came back now I know why, I was lead here by our Lord, to learn about staying in the Presence, { Practicing His Presence }. I have read it a couple of times, and thought what a wonderful way to worship our Lord, But, There is always one, is 'nt there, I live in the U.K. England in fact, but I was born in Scotland of Irish Parents, I am a widow of nearerly 9 years
and was weeping earlier when reading Pilgrim1951, struggles I know what she went through, its not easy, "But" to get back to that word, try telling People about this way of worshipping, I am talking about Christians here, their eyes go vague, even the Pastors, look at me with wide eyes, and I can hear their thoughts, by their expressions, poor old soul I was expecting them to pat me on the back, but they have'nt up till now, we have a prayer meeting in the middle of the week as well, try and tell them, no, we do this, then that, then we have a cup of tea and go home,
and my heart breaks, I hurt inside, I have an ache inside me, that never stops I know what that ache is, Love for our Lord, and Love for his Sacrifice for us, who could not love Him, I sit and rock and rock, and pray, thanking Him for His love to me and my Family, for what has given me and continues to give, I have been Mightly Blessed throughout the years, I hope to continue to post here, if you accept me, I will do my best to continue this thread with all of Gods Love that is in me. God bless you all.
Elshevia.

 

[brinny]

glad this thread is still alive.

 

[PoetStorm]

Wow, what a powerful thread. There is so much here to learn from and to understand. I am new to the forum and over my life I have had an on again-off again relationship to God. My parents were about the most lax Catholics around and I never really got a grounded religious education, nor did I know that I wanted it. When I reached college I became a very rational and scientifically minded person. I wanted to believe that there was some sort of benevolent spirit out there taking care of us but I didn't know hoe to get past the lack of proof. I have explored a number of other theories. My faith would come and go, buried by a mound of questions and doubts.

I have been on a journey to find stronger faith and to become a better person. It just sort of happened and I just feel driven in a sense. There is one thing I am coming to understand as truth. "There are no accidents". Everything has meaning, either for you or for someone you interact with. Sometimes we are the student and sometimes we are the lesson giver to someone else. We all take turns and everything has some sort of reason though we may never understand it sometimes.

As mentioned a few posts ago, the guy at the minimart buying cigarettes and clearly upset, I know what it is like to feel afraid to reach out and comfort a stranger. It has happened to me. I can't say so much because I was afraid of the person.

I think I am afraid, and maybe others are too, because of three reasons. Firstly, I am afraid my attempts to comfort will be rejected harshly. What if they think I am crazy or butting in where I do not belong? Secondly, I sometimes think that I have nothing to give. I think that nothing I say will change a situation, that words are useless against hard reality of suffering. What could I possibly do? I'm not perfect by any means and I don't have all the answers. Thirdly and most importantly, I think I am afraid to truly open up. To share in someone else's sorrows and to try to give comfort somehow entwines you a bit in their suffering. You become vulnerable in a way to experience their pain, and also vulnerable to the feeling of helplessness if you can do nothing about it. It is really hard to open up fully and give of yourself in that way, especially fot those of us who have remained closed and shy for years like myself.

I am learning that despite the misgivings, and despite the chance that your efforts will backfire and leave you feeling embarrassed or helpless, it is important to try. We are all, each one of us, on a journey and we travel along so wrapped into ourselves and our path that we don't see the people walking beside us. Everyone has problems to solve and improvements to make. We are not so different from each other as we may think. Everyone just wants a little love and comfort, and to feel that they are not lost.

"Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some people have entertained angels without knowing it."
Hebrews 13:2

"There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ ... "
~Galations 3:28~

Being unwanted, unloved, uncared for, forgotten by everybody, I think that is a much greater hunger, a much greater poverty than the person who has nothing to eat.
Mother Teresa

If we have no peace, it is because we have forgotten that we belong to each other.
Mother Teresa

And of course, the quote that has inspired me the most from Mother Theresa: In this life we cannot do great things. We can only do small things with great love.
Mother Teresa

She is a role model and a heroine to me and I shall strive to do the best I can with little things, even little things like trying to brighten a stranger's smile.


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[libertybelle]

What beautiful, open, and honest writings poet and elshiva.

How it must grieve our mighty God and Savior when we, as Christians, recoil from His ominous presense and works; and how it quickens and quenches the blessed Holy Spirit and disables His ability to produce the mighty fruit of wonders and spectacular deeds.

The Lord opened a door for me in a very strange and mysterious event. The entire scenerio of the situation left me on an emotional rollercoaster I thought would never come to an end. Yet as I sit here today and write, the event is closed, yet it has sparked so much I have no idea about.

I was admonished and exhorted a week before an important person in our extended "family" died. But I didn't understand. When the news came, I then understood. I grieved with sackcloth and ashes over the loss of this individual and for the loss of their family. I wanted so much to be there for them, to extend my heart and hands to comfort and share in their sorrow. But it didn't work out.

As I grieved over things I had done and repented and over their loss, it was brought to my attention that my grandaughter was in danger. The danger wasn't any physical threat, but a spiritual threat. It was brought over and over again to my attention that this child was being used for the gifts she demonstrated throughout her small amount of life.

Since my grandaughter was of their family, they found it natural to use her to console, comfort, and give the mercy, love, and joy- attributes of God she had always been known to demonstrate. It was an area that made my grandaughter stand out and a character demonstration that never waivered on her behalf through her many trials of fire.

It was her ability to give this that made her popular with many Tribal leaders. (My grandaughter is Native American. She is 6 years old).

Now I was being pushed to go. And I was given a way to get there long after the ceremonial traditions had passed. I was overjoyed with excitement as I imagined finally being able to give my love and comfort to the family over their loss. And I was especially joyful of giving back to my grandaughter that which she had given, for she was depleted. But I was not recieved as I imagined.

Upon arriving my grandaughter told me about the day in the church with "dead Aunt ___". How frightening she looked and how much make up was on her face. My grandaughter told me she was afraid to go to sleep because everytime she closed her eyes not her aunts face, her aunt in the church's face, came racing at her. She talked of her aunt's spirit racing through the trees, like the wind, and that she was terrified of walking by the woods for aunt ___ would scream through the trees and jump in front of her. I was horrified! So was she.

I talked to my 6 year old grandaughter in a way I never imagined I would. I kept thinking in my head, "Oh Lord, what do I say next?" The extended "family" greeted me with great hostility and resistance, and the struggle was strong and harsh. I did not understand. That first night my grandaughter lay curled up into me as close as she could, clinching my pajamas in her hands without letting go as I cried and prayed while stroking her hair. I think it was the first good sleep she had gotten in three weeks.

It is during this time that it seemed the Holy Spirit poured through me and into her. By the third night together she finally released me and from that time forward slept comfortably. But something more happened.

My duaghter's soon to be step-daughter shared the same room. And in the process of giving to my own grandaughter the door was being open to a new grandaughter. The entire situation was akward and I knew from the moment my grandaughter spoke her first fear that she must recieve Christ as her Savior. And after that, I knew she must be baptized and annointed with oil. But my daughter and her soon to be husband were against "religion", and I could not figure out for the life of me how this was going to come about. Yet on that night, my soon to be new-grandaughter asked me if I would say bedtime prayers with them.

As we prayed, it allowed me to clarify some false conceptions the girls had and allowed me to introduce Christ. By the second night of bedtime prayers my new grandaughter asked me "how?" When finished both girls exclaimed they wanted Christ Jesus as their Savior and they both individually prayed with me and accepted Christ in their lives. (The new grandaughter is 7).

When completed I attempted to explain baptizm, and through the power of the Holy Spirit the girls said yes. However, that was another dilema, for the lake was too cold, they didn't go to church, the parents didn't believe- which grieved me horribly because one of those parents is my own daughter, she herself accepted Christ as her Savior and has been baptized but I don't know what to think of where she's at- and what I had left was a bathtub.

I pondered on this in and out through the night. In the morning I was asked if I would watch the girls after school because one had town errands and the other was still working. I was also told that my grandaughter was coming home and from there we would take her back to her dad's later that night. I was jazzed.

But my grandaughter didn't come home that day. Out of spite she was picked up from school early. And as I searched for her I cried until my new grandaughter told me how her poppa picked her up in the classroom. However that afternoon my new grandaughter was baptized and annointed. She was jazzed!

Now two days has passed and it's time for my daughter's visitation and she returned. As everyone came home that night there was tension and discord. It was demanded of me to tell the two parents that the baptism of the new grandaughter was pretend. Actually I couldn't figure out how someone would "pretend" to do a baptizm. At that point my daughter refused to let me baptize my grandaughter and I was devestated. As my soon to be son-in-law packed up my new grandaughter in the car to take her to her mother's house for the weekend my daughter walked them out to the car. I was in tears and asking the Lord what happened and if this is what He really wanted from me. It just seemed so bizzare and unusual.

When my daughter stormed though the door she commanded me to baptize the child because my soon to be son-in-law didn't want any problem with my new grandaughter's mother. In his thinking at least he could tell her it was something I did to both girls. My grandaugher lept off the couch and ran to the bathroom. She was baptized and annointed.

So many other things took place there. The Lord revealed a multitude of things and set so many things in motion that it made my head spin. As time goes on, I may or may not know what His total intentions are or the outcome of them. But by the time I left my grandaughter was refreshed and renewed and the unexpected surprise was that my new grandaughter was renewed as well.

 

[KRAZYCAT]

Hi Everyone:

Prov. 1:23 - "Turn to My reproof: behold, I will pour out My spirit unto you, I will make known My words unto you."

Hebrews 12:6 - "For those whom the Lord loves He disciplines, and He scourges every son whom He receives."

Hebrews 12: 11 - "All discipline for the moment seems not to be joyful, but sorrowful; yet to those who have been trained by it, afterwards it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness."


Once we had two Labrador puppies and since we knew little about training dogs, we bought a book by a professional dog trainer. In it the author advised taking the pups when they were between 6 months and 1 year old to a park every day, tying a long rope to their choke collars and then walking from point to point without ever saying a word to them. At first, those pups would take off this way and that, chasing every little thing that caught their attention. We would brace ourselves (because they were big) but continue walking, never saying a word to them. Within a few days, the change in them was amazing; they would follow at our heels most of the time, only occasionally running after something. After two weeks they never took their eyes off of us. For the rest of their lives they were the most well behaved dogs you could imagine. We saw the truth of what the author wrote: wherever a dog is looking is where his attention is; so to train them, thereby making them worth having around you, you want them looking at you always.

Humans are just like dogs: wherever our focus is aimed, that is what has our attention. And the Lord wants us looking to Him always. If we are looking at others, He doesn't have our attention. If we are looking at our circumstances or problems, He doesn't have our attention. If we are looking at ourselves, He does not have our attention. And He will continue to allow adversity in our lives until He gets our full attention always.

Hebrews 12:1 - "...fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith..."

Col. 3:1 - "Therefore if you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God."

To grow in Christ, pray for His discipline in your life. For when He can trust you to be obedient to Him is when you become useful to Him in His work.

Luke 6:46 - "Why do you call Me, `Lord, Lord,' and do not do what I say?"


LeastOne

Thanks I needed that! really..

 

[libertybelle]

Favorite I, too, relate well to Peter. I can relate to him being asked if he loved the Lord, by the Lord Himself, after the ressurection.

I so needed to hear that the Lord knew Peter's dilemma and internal suffering and anguish of rejecting Him at a crucial time. And for the word to fly from Peter's mouth and the instand video of what the Lord had told him prior to the events.... well I'm certain of it, that he heard and seen, via instant replay, the entire scene.

Where they were, what was going on around them, the impact and puzzlement of the statement Christ made, and his response. Thus leaving him shameful, humiliated, and defeated.

So when the Lord specifically sought out Peter after His ressurection, He, with great intent and purpose brought Peter out of the mire and muck of "self" by asking Peter to know that he loved the Lord with all that he was, even though what he was fell short of His glory. Just as Peter fell short of the glory of the Lord, so do we; however, just as the Lord embraced and took Peter back He does with us also.

It seems as the Lord asked the same question with three different types of love, it elevated Peter to acknowledge and accept that even though he committed an act that even his own spirit could not bear, Christ could.

And when the Lord confronted Peter with belief of "self" to truth of Him, it seems at the point Peter confessed His truth, the Lord then charged him to go forward and tend the flock and steward well that whcih was His. However it took the Lord's truth to replace the "self" belief and conception. Then upon the replacement and acceptance, Peter went and did what the Lord asked or charged him to do.

Finding freedom in Christ is no easy task. For we battle our minds. We battle other things too, but out minds are the most difficult. We must allow Christ to break down every gate of iron and bronze, every wall ever created to keep others at bay, and allow Him to challenge every belief, concept, idea, plan, and thought that has sustained us until the coming of our acceptance of the Lord Jesus as our Savior. He is transparent and we are to be transparent. Yet, if we remain in "self" beliefs and behaviors we cannot be transparent.

This is a challenging, humbling, and difficult task. To say, "Here I am Lord. Take me. Use me." Or to say, "Blessed Lord, God Almighty, I want to know You. I want to be like You, Lord God of Isreal. Teach me Your ways. Show me Your heart and what Your heart's desire is. Let me love You as You love me."

Prehaps we're all like Peter. Maybe some of us don't get over the "self" and carry on, acting as if things are the same, remaining in guilt and shame until we disconnect ourselves to the point of living like an unbeliever again.

Then perhaps there are some of us who bring ourselves before our Lord and King, and He lifts us beyond the "self" and we move forward in Him. Either way, just as the Lord searched for Peter, he searches for us. It is up to us to either respond and act or just hear and walk away.

So when the Lord answered my prayers of being like Him and knowing His hearts desire.. I too had a choice to make. And like Peter I stumble and bumble, and fumble. Yet as the Lord presented, and continues to present, how He seen me- removing each brick of my "self" built fortress and crushed my gates of iron and bronze, I learned, like Peter, that I am not even close to what my God and King is while in this earthened vessel. I won't be like Him when joined in the heavinly realm either. I can't wait to give to him the gifts and crowns He so richly deserves.

It wasn't easy. It wasn't fun. In fact, it was very painful, humiliating, and brought much shame. However, I would not trade the experience nor would I not encourage anyone to skip over it. As I was rebuilt and healed, I learned He forgave me and replaced my walls. For the price that He paid for my freedom; then it was essential that I forgive.

And in that came freedom.

 

[Bartimaeus]

Favorite I, too, relate well to Peter. I can relate to him being asked if he loved the Lord, by the Lord Himself, after the ressurection.

I so needed to hear that the Lord knew Peter's dilemma and internal suffering and anguish of rejecting Him at a crucial time. And for the word to fly from Peter's mouth and the instand video of what the Lord had told him prior to the events.... well I'm certain of it, that he heard and seen, via instant replay, the entire scene.

Where they were, what was going on around them, the impact and puzzlement of the statement Christ made, and his response. Thus leaving him shameful, humiliated, and defeated.

So when the Lord specifically sought out Peter after His ressurection, He, with great intent and purpose brought Peter out of the mire and muck of "self" by asking Peter to know that he loved the Lord with all that he was, even though what he was fell short of His glory. Just as Peter fell short of the glory of the Lord, so do we; however, just as the Lord embraced and took Peter back He does with us also.

It seems as the Lord asked the same question with three different types of love, it elevated Peter to acknowledge and accept that even though he committed an act that even his own spirit could not bear, Christ could.

And when the Lord confronted Peter with belief of "self" to truth of Him, it seems at the point Peter confessed His truth, the Lord then charged him to go forward and tend the flock and steward well that whcih was His. However it took the Lord's truth to replace the "self" belief and conception. Then upon the replacement and acceptance, Peter went and did what the Lord asked or charged him to do.

Finding freedom in Christ is no easy task. For we battle our minds. We battle other things too, but out minds are the most difficult. We must allow Christ to break down every gate of iron and bronze, every wall ever created to keep others at bay, and allow Him to challenge every belief, concept, idea, plan, and thought that has sustained us until the coming of our acceptance of the Lord Jesus as our Savior. He is transparent and we are to be transparent. Yet, if we remain in "self" beliefs and behaviors we cannot be transparent.

This is a challenging, humbling, and difficult task. To say, "Here I am Lord. Take me. Use me." Or to say, "Blessed Lord, God Almighty, I want to know You. I want to be like You, Lord God of Isreal. Teach me Your ways. Show me Your heart and what Your heart's desire is. Let me love You as You love me."

Prehaps we're all like Peter. Maybe some of us don't get over the "self" and carry on, acting as if things are the same, remaining in guilt and shame until we disconnect ourselves to the point of living like an unbeliever again.

Then perhaps there are some of us who bring ourselves before our Lord and King, and He lifts us beyond the "self" and we move forward in Him. Either way, just as the Lord searched for Peter, he searches for us. It is up to us to either respond and act or just hear and walk away.

So when the Lord answered my prayers of being like Him and knowing His hearts desire.. I too had a choice to make. And like Peter I stumble and bumble, and fumble. Yet as the Lord presented, and continues to present, how He seen me- removing each brick of my "self" built fortress and crushed my gates of iron and bronze, I learned, like Peter, that I am not even close to what my God and King is while in this earthened vessel. I won't be like Him when joined in the heavinly realm either. I can't wait to give to him the gifts and crowns He so richly deserves.

It wasn't easy. It wasn't fun. In fact, it was very painful, humiliating, and brought much shame. However, I would not trade the experience nor would I not encourage anyone to skip over it. As I was rebuilt and healed, I learned He forgave me and replaced my walls. For the price that He paid for my freedom; then it was essential that I forgive.

And in that came freedom.

I know this post is old, but I really needed it. I have my days where I feel like Peter and want the faith and courage of Paul. LOL!

If I could just be like Paul was in Acts 21: 10-14. I know I can get to a point like that, and only if God calls me to a place where I need that type of courage. I just I could respond as faithfully in other situations. I hope I am making sense and this isn't exceedingly a ramble.

I can often relate to Peter, too, because I find myself bumbling in my response to what I am told to do, and being caught short when my response isn't what it's meant to be. Far too often, I've started to sink instead of walking on the water. LOL!

 

[~ Harbor ~]

Subscribing to the thread, to glean when I have more time.
(The little I've read will feed me awhile... )

 

[brinny]

haven't been here in ages.....

 

[BlessedWithAngels]

The fact that this thread has a newer post caught my eye initially, and then the title jumed out at me. You have some wonderful suggestions here. My initial post talked about being out of touch with the Lord for a while and I am finding my way back. Thank you for sharing your ideas. Patty

 

[GodGirl69]

My husband, Eric. Would be so proud to see such loyalty to Jesus these days. God rest his soul. R.I.P.

 

[favoredwiththelord]

thank you for letting god use you ,
be blessed

 

[adwayk]

Out of all the forums I have read on this site I like this one the most. The steps that you list the story that you tell of your own struggles are powerful. But what stands out the most is that even when things weren't going your way and you felt you couldn't hear anything instead of pitching a hissy fit and walking away from God. You told him I am going to love you anyway. I am going to stick to you and I am not going anywhere until I hear from you. Your perserverance and your will to know and find out more about God is a great example of what we as Christians, even new Christians, should be like. I wish I could be this way. I love Christ but I know I could have a deeper relationship with Christ and I know he truly wants one with me. But everything on your list I battle with. I am still learning how to discipline my tongue and that is one of my greatest downfalls. But I think the thing that actually hurts Christ the most is I don't give him the time he deserves to just talk and for me to be quiet and if I do let him speak to me I am so quick to cut him off and take what I want to hear from the little I allowed myself to get. The most ironic thing about this is I have the same nasty habit when it comes to others. It's affected personal relationships and friendships because it's horrible annoying. But it also comes down to learning how to guard your tongue and sometimes just listen. And the part about exercising your faith and how you broke that down. I love that. Because you can set yourself up for failure. God knows your heart and when you truly don't believe those miracles won't manifest themselves and we find ourselves discouraged and feeling as if God is not listening. When in actuality he is and he is ready to make these things come true he is just waiting on our faith to catch up with our miracle. Thank you for the great forum. I also visit another christian website called gracefriends.com where they talk about other Christian issues similar to this. I am going to have to take back what I have learned here on your post or you always welcome to come and check it out yourself.

 

[Butch4HIM]

What a great forum topic! Thank You.
The most helpful book I have found (other than the Bible) for assisting my growth in the Lord is easily one called "Thy Will Be Done On Earth; Understanding God's Will for You" by Russell. It is both simply presented and profound. I'm on about my 15th reading of it. It causes me to really reflect on God and what is important. I cannot recommend it highly enough for all Christians regardless of their spiritual maturity level. The writer is truly profound. Future generations may think of him the way we do of C.S. Lewis.

 

[Via Cassian]

I have grown by something that is difficult for me and for most people — learning to stop — and then to listen in stillness.

 

[kingdomwalk]

Has anyone struggled with conistency? When I ask myself how would I want to grow in Christ - magnitude of life growth didn't come to my mind. But consistency came to my mind.

More devotion? More prayer and reading His word? More staying in His presence? Everything is fine, but what use is it if I am not doing it consistently?

 

[leastone]

Dear Kingdomwalk:

There are cycles - ups and downs - in all of life, are there not? We breathe in and we breathe out, the earth has seasons of winter, spring, summer and fall, the sap in a tree withdraws to the roots and rises to the branches, dependent upon the time of year. This is the way of all life; in truth it is a necessity - a law or principle of growth - and the Kingdom of God follows that same principle as it grows within each of us.

For me, growing in Christ (Who is the Kingdom of God) is akin to climbing a slippery pole: there are times I am spiritually energized and can climb a fair ways, and there are times when I have less spiritual energy and slide down. What I find however is that overall progress is always made; even during those times I slide down, I am still farther up the pole than I was in the past (last year, last month, last week or yesterday).

Just as you have certain constants in your life regardless of the season, so maintain the constants in your spiritual life regardless of how you feel. Just as you feed your body whether it is winter or summer, so feed your spirit whether you "feel" particularly "spiritual" or not. And you feed the spirit always and only by the Word and by the Spirit.

Remember, the Christian life is just that: a Life in you, and God thru Christ is the Author and Completion of that Life - in you. Christ Jesus has become a Life-giving Spirit Who lives in you, and He is performing His work through His Spirit in your life. It is not through your self-effort - your "works" - that you grow; it is through your faith, your confident trust in Him, that He grows in you.

Never give up. Endure to the end. Walk - and live daily - in the Light that you have.

LeastOne

 

[keishakk]

God bless you all for wonderful posts

 

[Citizen of the Kingdom]

Never give up. Endure to the end. Walk - and live daily - in the Light that you have.

LeastOne

Timely words of wisdom. Great to see that your still here posting Leastone