Growing in Christ

[Savedsis]

When we buy a product, we receive an instruction book to learn to use the purchase most effectively..When we receive life, God issues a Book for maximum effectiveness...We have the option of using the guidebook or not.
We may decie which authority to live by..If you choose God as your authority, as I have, we will be proceeding together on the same foundational level of understanding..Unified in purpose..
As we respond to principles of truth, we respond to God, not some human idea..God is always waiting to talk when we have questions and/or disagreements, so do seek Him and His mind on any matter..Biblical authority gives us confidence to become comfortable with our created design.....That will help us grow in Christ......

 

[EarthMomma]

and that person, Jesus Christ, lives in us! I really enjoyed this Frangipane article from The Elijah List, and wanted to share it here. If anyone wants the link, let me know.

He lives!
In Him,
EarthMomma



Francis Frangipane: "TRUTH IS A PERSON--IT'S CHRIST BURNING IN YOU"

Attackers of Truth
Over the years, we have received many encouraging emails and letters from people who appreciate our call and passion to pursue Christ-likeness. We are both thankful and humbled by those who have taken the time to write. On occasion, however, we hear from Christians who have been troubled by criticisms they've read about us (and others) on "attack websites." These sites often exude an air of legitimacy since they focus upon false religions, new age teachers, and openly heretical doctrines. Yet, many of these sites also aggressively misrepresent and attack true Christians as well.

Who are their targets? The fact is, if you open an Internet search engine (such as Yahoo, Ask or Google), type in the name of a well-known Christian leader, and then add the words "false teacher" next to his or her name, as fast as you say, "Oh no!" you will likely find a number of sites that openly, and often viciously, attack that leader. Frankly, having had my life and teaching repeatedly misrepresented by these attack sites, I would not trust their opinion about any ministry.

As for us, when we hear from a disquieted believer, we usually direct them to our "Statement of Faith" page. We also adhere to the truths stated in the Apostles' Creed.

This is not to say we've never made a mistake or that all our peripheral doctrines are infallible; each of us in this ministry is still growing and learning. Yet when an attack site fails to list even one good thing about a ministry, you tend to believe their goal is not to discern, but to destroy.

Biblical Test of Faith

Yes, there are false teachers in the modern church. But let us remember that throughout history, true Christians have always been accused of heresy. Jesus Himself warned, "Beware when all men speak well of you" (Luke 6:26). He also taught us to examine the fruit of a prophet. In other words, what kind of life does a ministry inspire in those who ascribe to its teaching?

Yet, beyond our statement of faith, the Bible itself provides a number of fundamental tests to authenticate the soundness of one's doctrines (see the book of 1 John, especially the verses that contain the phrase "by this"). Another important test comes from the apostle Paul. He writes,

"Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith; examine yourselves! Or do you not recognize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you--unless indeed you fail the test?" (2 Corinthians 13:5).

Paul takes all of Christianity and boils it down to one irreplaceable reality: "Jesus Christ is in you." You might be wrong about the timing of the rapture or off concerning spiritual gifts, but you still are a true Christian because you have accepted the living reality of Christ in you!

Christ Dwelling in Us
Do you see this? You are a Christian, not because you said a prayer at an altar, but because when you prayed the Spirit of Jesus Christ actually entered your life! When He promises, "I will never leave you nor forsake you," He means He is with you forever. The devil knows you are a Christian not because you carry a Bible, but because he actually sees Christ's presence burning within you.

It is Christ dwelling in us that produces fruit, works, deliverance, and manifests power through us. Our living union with Him makes us His temple; our connectedness to Him enlivens us as His body.
In the swirl of religious deception in our world, Jesus reduces all we truly need to know about truth and error, by focusing us upon Himself. He said, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life" (John 14:6). "Truth," Paul tells us, "is in Jesus" (Ephesians 4). And when Jesus is in us, He transforms us.

Listen carefully my friends: many of these attack sites do not believe that Christ actually dwells within His people! Of those who accept Christ as dwelling within them, an additional number do not believe we can actually hear from the Lord Jesus! Some will accuse you of heresy if you believe you can have a relationship with Jesus Christ! This is in spite of the fact that Jesus affirmed, "My sheep hear My voice" (John 10:27).

Consider also Paul's quest. His magnificent obsession was to know Christ, being conformed to His life and death (Philippians 3:10). Consider also the profound words Paul wrote to the Galatians:

"I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me" (Galatians 2:20).

Paul wrote, "Christ lives in me." The Son of God is not a mere doctrine, He is Emmanuel, "God with us." Eternal life comes from knowing God, and Jesus Christ whom God has sent (John 17:3).

So, when a number of these attack websites posture themselves as "keepers of the true faith," and then reject the reality that Jesus Christ lives within His church, they reveal it is they, in fact, who are walking in deception.

Truth

In an era of great confusion, we must see truth as a person: Jesus Christ. Everything we need to know about God, Heaven, hell, salvation, sin, and redemption is centered in Him. We must also apply our hearts in humility, and focused faith, to become like Him, even as John taught, "The one who says he abides in Him ought himself to walk in the same manner as He walked" (1 John 2:6).

Eternal life does not come from having a religion about Christ, but from actually knowing Him (John 17:3). He has purchased our forgiveness, our healing, and our well-being. As our Redeemer, He works all things for our good. As our King, He grants us His authority, and sends us as His ambassadors. He calls us His body, not just His people, underscoring His oneness with us, and also extending to us His sanctification and righteousness. We are His bride, wooed by His love to His side.

If anyone tries to convince you that Christ does not dwell within His people, remind them of His word, "If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our abode with him" (John 14:23).​

 

[angelwind]

and that person, Jesus Christ, lives in us! I really enjoyed this Frangipane article from The Elijah List, and wanted to share it here. If anyone wants the link, let me know.

He lives!
In Him,
EarthMomma



Francis Frangipane: "TRUTH IS A PERSON--IT'S CHRIST BURNING IN YOU"

Attackers of Truth
Over the years, we have received many encouraging emails and letters from people who appreciate our call and passion to pursue Christ-likeness. We are both thankful and humbled by those who have taken the time to write. On occasion, however, we hear from Christians who have been troubled by criticisms they've read about us (and others) on "attack websites." These sites often exude an air of legitimacy since they focus upon false religions, new age teachers, and openly heretical doctrines. Yet, many of these sites also aggressively misrepresent and attack true Christians as well.

Who are their targets? The fact is, if you open an Internet search engine (such as Yahoo, Ask or Google), type in the name of a well-known Christian leader, and then add the words "false teacher" next to his or her name, as fast as you say, "Oh no!" you will likely find a number of sites that openly, and often viciously, attack that leader. Frankly, having had my life and teaching repeatedly misrepresented by these attack sites, I would not trust their opinion about any ministry.

As for us, when we hear from a disquieted believer, we usually direct them to our "Statement of Faith" page. We also adhere to the truths stated in the Apostles' Creed.

This is not to say we've never made a mistake or that all our peripheral doctrines are infallible; each of us in this ministry is still growing and learning. Yet when an attack site fails to list even one good thing about a ministry, you tend to believe their goal is not to discern, but to destroy.

Biblical Test of Faith

Yes, there are false teachers in the modern church. But let us remember that throughout history, true Christians have always been accused of heresy. Jesus Himself warned, "Beware when all men speak well of you" (Luke 6:26). He also taught us to examine the fruit of a prophet. In other words, what kind of life does a ministry inspire in those who ascribe to its teaching?

Yet, beyond our statement of faith, the Bible itself provides a number of fundamental tests to authenticate the soundness of one's doctrines (see the book of 1 John, especially the verses that contain the phrase "by this"). Another important test comes from the apostle Paul. He writes,

"Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith; examine yourselves! Or do you not recognize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you--unless indeed you fail the test?" (2 Corinthians 13:5).

Paul takes all of Christianity and boils it down to one irreplaceable reality: "Jesus Christ is in you." You might be wrong about the timing of the rapture or off concerning spiritual gifts, but you still are a true Christian because you have accepted the living reality of Christ in you!

Christ Dwelling in Us
Do you see this? You are a Christian, not because you said a prayer at an altar, but because when you prayed the Spirit of Jesus Christ actually entered your life! When He promises, "I will never leave you nor forsake you," He means He is with you forever. The devil knows you are a Christian not because you carry a Bible, but because he actually sees Christ's presence burning within you.

It is Christ dwelling in us that produces fruit, works, deliverance, and manifests power through us. Our living union with Him makes us His temple; our connectedness to Him enlivens us as His body.
In the swirl of religious deception in our world, Jesus reduces all we truly need to know about truth and error, by focusing us upon Himself. He said, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life" (John 14:6). "Truth," Paul tells us, "is in Jesus" (Ephesians 4). And when Jesus is in us, He transforms us.

Listen carefully my friends: many of these attack sites do not believe that Christ actually dwells within His people! Of those who accept Christ as dwelling within them, an additional number do not believe we can actually hear from the Lord Jesus! Some will accuse you of heresy if you believe you can have a relationship with Jesus Christ! This is in spite of the fact that Jesus affirmed, "My sheep hear My voice" (John 10:27).

Consider also Paul's quest. His magnificent obsession was to know Christ, being conformed to His life and death (Philippians 3:10). Consider also the profound words Paul wrote to the Galatians:

"I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me" (Galatians 2:20).

Paul wrote, "Christ lives in me." The Son of God is not a mere doctrine, He is Emmanuel, "God with us." Eternal life comes from knowing God, and Jesus Christ whom God has sent (John 17:3).

So, when a number of these attack websites posture themselves as "keepers of the true faith," and then reject the reality that Jesus Christ lives within His church, they reveal it is they, in fact, who are walking in deception.

Truth

In an era of great confusion, we must see truth as a person: Jesus Christ. Everything we need to know about God, Heaven, hell, salvation, sin, and redemption is centered in Him. We must also apply our hearts in humility, and focused faith, to become like Him, even as John taught, "The one who says he abides in Him ought himself to walk in the same manner as He walked" (1 John 2:6).

Eternal life does not come from having a religion about Christ, but from actually knowing Him (John 17:3). He has purchased our forgiveness, our healing, and our well-being. As our Redeemer, He works all things for our good. As our King, He grants us His authority, and sends us as His ambassadors. He calls us His body, not just His people, underscoring His oneness with us, and also extending to us His sanctification and righteousness. We are His bride, wooed by His love to His side.

If anyone tries to convince you that Christ does not dwell within His people, remind them of His word, "If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our abode with him" (John 14:23).​

Oh this is very good EM...I used to read Frangipani a lot...it does help to balce me a bit...yet "right doctrine" is still crucial...I was very deceived in my early walk with the Lord...am just these last few years learning about grace and what the cross is really about...yet the doctrine brings me straight to Jesus, as I thin it should be doing.

 

[EarthMomma]

Oh this is very good EM...I used to read Frangipani a lot...it does help to balce me a bit...yet "right doctrine" is still crucial...I was very deceived in my early walk with the Lord...am just these last few years learning about grace and what the cross is really about...yet the doctrine brings me straight to Jesus, as I thin it should be doing.

Dear Angelwind,
You are very correct about "right doctrine" being crucial, and I have complete faith in God that when we've allowed His Word to abide in us and we abide in Christ, He will never fail to give us the discernment, if we seek His face. Thanks for sharing your thoughts, and reminding us that it is truly the grace of God that allows us to understand the cross, bringing us straight to Jesus!

Your sister in Christ,
EarthMomma

 

[angelwind]

Dear Angelwind,
You are very correct about "right doctrine" being crucial, and I have complete faith in God that when we've allowed His Word to abide in us and we abide in Christ, He will never fail to give us the discernment, if we seek His face. Thanks for sharing your thoughts, and reminding us that it is truly the grace of God that allows us to understand the cross, bringing us straight to Jesus!

Your sister in Christ,
EarthMomma

It's the word according to the letter that kills us...but then if you just be "free in the Spirit"...that is deadly too.


Somehow the Lord is working life in Him thru His word by His Spirit into me...it has and is taking a while...but it is coming along.

(((((hugs)))))

 

[EarthMomma]

I love the description of The Word as living. When the Word of our Lord abides in us we avoid the whole letter of the word thing, don't we? We content ourselves to proceed as He wills, not as we will.

As for the slowness of it all, I think we all can honestly admit how at times we get disgusted at ourselves for our slowness in growing in Christ. But remember, all things according to His timing (for we can never know all His ways), before we were ever born He foreknew the manner and timing of how we would come to Christ, and I'm pretty sure the Israelites aren't the only ones that wander in the wilderness for decades. I try to keep in mind that God's present at all stages (even those times when I was disgusted at my lack of progress or repeated trips around the same mountain), and as I look back at my progress, I search out Him, His presence and try to savor that. Just some rambling thoughts brought on by your candor, for which I am very grateful.

Bless you dear one as the mysteries are revealed to both of us, and to all who seek His face, for that is truly the hope of glory.

Colossians 1:25-29 (KJV) 25 Whereof I am made a minister, according to the dispensation of God which is given to me for you, to fulfil the word of God; 26 Even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints: 27 To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory: 28 Whom we preach, warning every man, and teaching every man in all wisdom; that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus: 29 Whereunto I also labour, striving according to his working, which worketh in me mightily.
​

Your sister in Christ,
EarthMomma

 

[lonnienord]

JESUS loved us
so much HE died for us.

then HE choose us to be HIS bride
and HE longs for union with us!!

HE wants us more than we want HIM.
HE is always with us.
HE longs to talk with us.
Practice HIS presence
(be aware of HIS constant presence)
Talk with HIM!!

 

[Savedsis]

Jesus prayed for you and for me, that we would be drawn by obedience into oneness with himself and with his Father, and with one another...W must choose to abide in Christ, exactly as Jesus says, by loving my brothers and sisters, by keeping his commandments, by doing his Father's wil as he revealed it...And continually choose i despite a self that, unfortunately, is not dead and buried at all..
I am no more an angel than Jesus was..Neither are you...We are men and women..But unlike Jesus, we are weak, we are fallen, we are selfish, we are cowardly, we are timid, we are full of self will..Yet in the midst of that humanity, we have been given he highest privilege of creation...to graft ourselves onto the vine of his life by laying down that self-will and entering into a life of abiding in his will.....
The cross is a moment-by moment way of life...

 

[angelwind]

Jesus prayed for you and for me, that we would be drawn by obedience into oneness with himself and with his Father, and with one another...W must choose to abide in Christ, exactly as Jesus says, by loving my brothers and sisters, by keeping his commandments, by doing his Father's wil as he revealed it...And continually choose i despite a self that, unfortunately, is not dead and buried at all..
I am no more an angel than Jesus was..Neither are you...We are men and women..But unlike Jesus, we are weak, we are fallen, we are selfish, we are cowardly, we are timid, we are full of self will..Yet in the midst of that humanity, we have been given he highest privilege of creation...to graft ourselves onto the vine of his life by laying down that self-will and entering into a life of abiding in his will.....
The cross is a moment-by moment way of life...

The mind of Christ will ever and always lead us into the will of God, and the result will be a life marked by purity rather than the sad consequences of sinful choices.

From Our Daily Bread 3-9-06

 

[RAVENN]

To All:

My reasons for starting this thread are out of obedience to the Lord and because so many of us seem to be struggling to grow in Him. While I in no way know all there is to know of Him, and seek daily to learn from Him - both directly through His Word and His Spirit and from others who sit at His feet in Love - He continues to prompt me to take the risk and share what I have learned.

After He led me to share the following in another thread, He is now telling me to put this here. (In fact, in His gentle way, He will not leave me alone about it!) My constant prayer is to be pleasing to Him always, and be a blessing in some small way to others. And so it is with humility before Him that I offer this.

All I ask is that others will also post here what they have learned and are learning, that we may all grow in Him and come to the unity of faith, bonded together with Him in the Spirit of His great Love.


There was a time in my life when I did not think God liked me very much, when my whole life seemed to go from misery to misery. Yet, I believed; I knew the Bible very well; and I knew there was a love in me for Him. But I could never seem to get close to Him, and never really saw any specific answers to my prayers. I always felt as if I was following Jesus from way back in the crowd; as if I was climbing hills, only to catch a glimpse of Him going over another hill far in front of me. Finally, I just got fed up and told Him, "Lord. I don't care if You like me or not! I am still going to love You!" And right then, I made up my mind to know Him personally.

So what I would like to offer you are some practical steps that He led me to take (although at the time, I did not realize it was Him leading me) that He used to grow me and teach me and help me find Him. And what a difference this has made in my own prayer life.

1) Guard your tongue. Become aware of what you say out loud, for your words can rob you of any blessings He has for you. No matter how you feel, how depressed you get, etc., don't allow yourself to start speaking from those feelings. There are a multitude of scripture in the both the OT and NT which teach this.

2) Praise God. This truly helps in guarding the words of your mouth as well as overcoming negative feelings. You don't have to try to conjure up reasons for praising Him for the situation, just make up your mind to praise Him in the situation. He lead me (and I still do this at times when necessary) to say out loud: "I praise you Father that I am not moved by my feelings, but only by your Word. I praise you Father that I am not moved by what others say about me, but only by your Word." And so on. Truly, praise works!

3) Get His Word from your mind to your spirit. Two ways to help with this are (a) to never read the Bible without praying first, asking the Holy Spirit to guide you in it; to open your heart to receive what He is teaching you; to open your understanding to grasp it. Etc. And (b) go through the NT finding every passage where it talks about who we are in Christ and who He is in us. In other words, everything positive that applies to us being new creatures in Him. Make a tape recording of your own voice saying these passages, applying them to yourself. Our spirits pay attention to what we say, and since it is with our hearts that we believe - not our minds - by saying His Word aloud we can re-program our inner man according to that Word. Example: "I am the Righteousness of God in Christ." Then, play that tape! I would put on headphones at night and play it as I went to sleep, night after night for weeks.

4) Don't try to believe for more than you have faith to believe. Faith is like a muscle; it must be exercised in order to grow. Just as you would not begin lifting weights with the maximum amount - the goal you want to reach - until you built up to it, so don't try to believe too far beyond what you know you can believe for. Judging this is tricky, I agree. But you have to start somewhere and I believe the Lord will guide you. Many, many times I have wanted to believe, but had to admit I really did not have that big of faith. Don't set yourself up to fail; but don't set your sights too low either. Exercise your faith and it will grow, until you can believe for big miracles.

5) Make it your primary goal to know Christ Jesus. More than anything else, seek to know the Giver rather than the gift. Humble yourself - in your attitude especially - before Him and trust Him to guide you. Remember that love is not a feeling, rather love causes feelings. We know He loves us - just like we know anyone loves us - because He says He does. His love for us is not dependent upon our feelings about it, anymore than our parents love for us was dependent upon our feelings. Realizing this is extremely important in our being able to trust Him, for our trust - our faith - is very much dependent upon our knowing and believing in His love for us in Christ. And we know He loves us because His Word says He does, and God does not lie.

6) Remember we have an enemy and he is a liar! Daniel prayed and even though the Lord heard his prayer the first day, it took 21 days for the answer to come. Pray, believe (because of His Word) that in the Name of Jesus we can be sure that the Father hears and answers our prayers, and then persevere in thanking Him for answering our prayer. The enemy delights in robbing of us of our joy, faith, confidence, peace, etc., as well as the answers to our prayers. Stay the course!

7) Practice listening. Set some time (20-30 minutes) aside each day to sit quietly before the Lord. Ask the Holy Spirit to guide you. Get a notebook and write what you hear inside. Don't worry about getting big revelations - because you probably won't; and don't worry if you don't get anything - because you may not for awhile. Consider it as you would any conversation: both sides talk in a conversation, not just one. So you are allowing the Lord His opportunity to speak to you and not you just talking to Him. And write down what comes to you. And even when you do begin to hear from Him, don't expect some earth-shattering revelations. For a long time the Lord had me practice this, just to learn how to hear Him no matter what was going on around me. And I am still learning. But measure everything you hear against His Word! And seek to be obedient to what He tells you. It is when we are faithful on the little things that He will trust us with bigger things.

8) Seek His will first and always. The Lord will never get in line with us; we must always get in line with Him. In all your prayers - for others as well as for yourself, seek His will.


May the Lord bless others through this, and continue to bless us all in the coming posts from His faithful ones.

LeastOne

Thank you for sharing those 8 wonderful Steps to a New LIFE in Christ Jesus.

May the Lord continue guiding and leading you into all His truth friend.

RAVENN

 

[EarthMomma]

For me, growing in Christ has been the most exciting and rewarding journey. In reviewing leastone's 8 steps to growth, the fifth one really reached out to me this morning.

5) Make it your primary goal to know Christ Jesus.

When we examine the qualifications of our Lord we find majestic titles. In 1 Timothy chapter six, Paul tells us to follow the only Potentate, the King of Kings, the Lord of Lords, as we fight the good fight.

1 Timothy 6:12-16 (KJV) 12 Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art also called, and hast professed a good profession before many witnesses. 13 I give thee charge in the sight of God, who quickeneth all things, and before Christ Jesus, who before Pontius Pilate witnessed a good confession; 14 That thou keep this commandment without spot, unrebukeable, until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ: 15 Which in his times he shall shew, who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings, and Lord of lords; 16 Who only hath immortality, dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto; whom no man hath seen, nor can see: to whom be honour and power everlasting. Amen.
​

Jesus the lamb of God wears the name King of Kings and Lord of Lords clearly in Revelation 17:14 and Rev 19:16.

Revelation 17:14 (KJV) These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them: for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings: and they that are with him are called, and chosen, and faithful.
​

Revelation 19:16 (KJV) And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.


​

The power and authority, and the ability, of our leader is of course unparallelled, and always worthy of prayer and meditation as we pray for and thank God for His leading through Christ of our lives. May we pray the 23rd Psalms today as we submit to the "blessed and only" leader, placing our spiritual goodness and growth in His hands.

1 The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
2 He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.
3 He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake.
4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.
5 Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.
6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.

Psalm 23 KJV

 

[Jaison]

Brother Leastone,
God bless you, my brother. Holy Spirit made you do the thread. You mentioned , to seek guidence from Holy Spirit on every issue. He will guide us to find the truth. but one sould ask for it. Otherwise our eyes will be blind. Holy Spirit is the helper,the guide as said in John 16;13 to 15. He is my guide. I remember you in my prayer.

 

[angellady]

Good stuff I have enjoy this.

 

[EarthMomma]

I was thinking this morning about guarding my tongue, there are so many wonderful and clear scriptures on why and how I should guard my tongue. I trust the Lord to remind me of those scriptures, to hide them in my heart, as I grow in Him, so I will never become complacent with the world and it's tendency to prize a sharp tongue!

 

[Sennaria]

To All:

My reasons for starting this thread are out of obedience to the Lord and because so many of us seem to be struggling to grow in Him. While I in no way know all there is to know of Him, and seek daily to learn from Him - both directly through His Word and His Spirit and from others who sit at His feet in Love - He continues to prompt me to take the risk and share what I have learned.

After He led me to share the following in another thread, He is now telling me to put this here. (In fact, in His gentle way, He will not leave me alone about it!) My constant prayer is to be pleasing to Him always, and be a blessing in some small way to others. And so it is with humility before Him that I offer this.

All I ask is that others will also post here what they have learned and are learning, that we may all grow in Him and come to the unity of faith, bonded together with Him in the Spirit of His great Love.


There was a time in my life when I did not think God liked me very much, when my whole life seemed to go from misery to misery. Yet, I believed; I knew the Bible very well; and I knew there was a love in me for Him. But I could never seem to get close to Him, and never really saw any specific answers to my prayers. I always felt as if I was following Jesus from way back in the crowd; as if I was climbing hills, only to catch a glimpse of Him going over another hill far in front of me. Finally, I just got fed up and told Him, "Lord. I don't care if You like me or not! I am still going to love You!" And right then, I made up my mind to know Him personally.

So what I would like to offer you are some practical steps that He led me to take (although at the time, I did not realize it was Him leading me) that He used to grow me and teach me and help me find Him. And what a difference this has made in my own prayer life.

1) Guard your tongue. Become aware of what you say out loud, for your words can rob you of any blessings He has for you. No matter how you feel, how depressed you get, etc., don't allow yourself to start speaking from those feelings. There are a multitude of scripture in the both the OT and NT which teach this.

2) Praise God. This truly helps in guarding the words of your mouth as well as overcoming negative feelings. You don't have to try to conjure up reasons for praising Him for the situation, just make up your mind to praise Him in the situation. He lead me (and I still do this at times when necessary) to say out loud: "I praise you Father that I am not moved by my feelings, but only by your Word. I praise you Father that I am not moved by what others say about me, but only by your Word." And so on. Truly, praise works!

3) Get His Word from your mind to your spirit. Two ways to help with this are (a) to never read the Bible without praying first, asking the Holy Spirit to guide you in it; to open your heart to receive what He is teaching you; to open your understanding to grasp it. Etc. And (b) go through the NT finding every passage where it talks about who we are in Christ and who He is in us. In other words, everything positive that applies to us being new creatures in Him. Make a tape recording of your own voice saying these passages, applying them to yourself. Our spirits pay attention to what we say, and since it is with our hearts that we believe - not our minds - by saying His Word aloud we can re-program our inner man according to that Word. Example: "I am the Righteousness of God in Christ." Then, play that tape! I would put on headphones at night and play it as I went to sleep, night after night for weeks.

4) Don't try to believe for more than you have faith to believe. Faith is like a muscle; it must be exercised in order to grow. Just as you would not begin lifting weights with the maximum amount - the goal you want to reach - until you built up to it, so don't try to believe too far beyond what you know you can believe for. Judging this is tricky, I agree. But you have to start somewhere and I believe the Lord will guide you. Many, many times I have wanted to believe, but had to admit I really did not have that big of faith. Don't set yourself up to fail; but don't set your sights too low either. Exercise your faith and it will grow, until you can believe for big miracles.

5) Make it your primary goal to know Christ Jesus. More than anything else, seek to know the Giver rather than the gift. Humble yourself - in your attitude especially - before Him and trust Him to guide you. Remember that love is not a feeling, rather love causes feelings. We know He loves us - just like we know anyone loves us - because He says He does. His love for us is not dependent upon our feelings about it, anymore than our parents love for us was dependent upon our feelings. Realizing this is extremely important in our being able to trust Him, for our trust - our faith - is very much dependent upon our knowing and believing in His love for us in Christ. And we know He loves us because His Word says He does, and God does not lie.

6) Remember we have an enemy and he is a liar! Daniel prayed and even though the Lord heard his prayer the first day, it took 21 days for the answer to come. Pray, believe (because of His Word) that in the Name of Jesus we can be sure that the Father hears and answers our prayers, and then persevere in thanking Him for answering our prayer. The enemy delights in robbing of us of our joy, faith, confidence, peace, etc., as well as the answers to our prayers. Stay the course!

7) Practice listening. Set some time (20-30 minutes) aside each day to sit quietly before the Lord. Ask the Holy Spirit to guide you. Get a notebook and write what you hear inside. Don't worry about getting big revelations - because you probably won't; and don't worry if you don't get anything - because you may not for awhile. Consider it as you would any conversation: both sides talk in a conversation, not just one. So you are allowing the Lord His opportunity to speak to you and not you just talking to Him. And write down what comes to you. And even when you do begin to hear from Him, don't expect some earth-shattering revelations. For a long time the Lord had me practice this, just to learn how to hear Him no matter what was going on around me. And I am still learning. But measure everything you hear against His Word! And seek to be obedient to what He tells you. It is when we are faithful on the little things that He will trust us with bigger things.

8) Seek His will first and always. The Lord will never get in line with us; we must always get in line with Him. In all your prayers - for others as well as for yourself, seek His will.


May the Lord bless others through this, and continue to bless us all in the coming posts from His faithful ones.

LeastOne

This is wonderful, I shall read the rest of this thread, but I did so get blessed by what you said.

Sennaria

 

[Sennaria]

For me, growing in Christ has been the most exciting and rewarding journey. In reviewing leastone's 8 steps to growth, the fifth one really reached out to me this morning.

5) Make it your primary goal to know Christ Jesus.

When we examine the qualifications of our Lord we find majestic titles. In 1 Timothy chapter six, Paul tells us to follow the only Potentate, the King of Kings, the Lord of Lords, as we fight the good fight.

1 Timothy 6:12-16 (KJV) 12 Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art also called, and hast professed a good profession before many witnesses. 13 I give thee charge in the sight of God, who quickeneth all things, and before Christ Jesus, who before Pontius Pilate witnessed a good confession; 14 That thou keep this commandment without spot, unrebukeable, until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ: 15 Which in his times he shall shew, who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings, and Lord of lords; 16 Who only hath immortality, dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto; whom no man hath seen, nor can see: to whom be honour and power everlasting. Amen.
​

Jesus the lamb of God wears the name King of Kings and Lord of Lords clearly in Revelation 17:14 and Rev 19:16.

Revelation 17:14 (KJV) These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them: for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings: and they that are with him are called, and chosen, and faithful.
​

Revelation 19:16 (KJV) And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.


​

The power and authority, and the ability, of our leader is of course unparallelled, and always worthy of prayer and meditation as we pray for and thank God for His leading through Christ of our lives. May we pray the 23rd Psalms today as we submit to the "blessed and only" leader, placing our spiritual goodness and growth in His hands.

1 The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
2 He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.
3 He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake.
4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.
5 Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.
6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.

Psalm 23 KJV

Amen!

 

[Godsray523]

To All:

My reasons for starting this thread are out of obedience to the Lord and because so many of us seem to be struggling to grow in Him. While I in no way know all there is to know of Him, and seek daily to learn from Him - both directly through His Word and His Spirit and from others who sit at His feet in Love - He continues to prompt me to take the risk and share what I have learned.

After He led me to share the following in another thread, He is now telling me to put this here. (In fact, in His gentle way, He will not leave me alone about it!) My constant prayer is to be pleasing to Him always, and be a blessing in some small way to others. And so it is with humility before Him that I offer this.

All I ask is that others will also post here what they have learned and are learning, that we may all grow in Him and come to the unity of faith, bonded together with Him in the Spirit of His great Love.


There was a time in my life when I did not think God liked me very much, when my whole life seemed to go from misery to misery. Yet, I believed; I knew the Bible very well; and I knew there was a love in me for Him. But I could never seem to get close to Him, and never really saw any specific answers to my prayers. I always felt as if I was following Jesus from way back in the crowd; as if I was climbing hills, only to catch a glimpse of Him going over another hill far in front of me. Finally, I just got fed up and told Him, "Lord. I don't care if You like me or not! I am still going to love You!" And right then, I made up my mind to know Him personally.

So what I would like to offer you are some practical steps that He led me to take (although at the time, I did not realize it was Him leading me) that He used to grow me and teach me and help me find Him. And what a difference this has made in my own prayer life.

1) Guard your tongue. Become aware of what you say out loud, for your words can rob you of any blessings He has for you. No matter how you feel, how depressed you get, etc., don't allow yourself to start speaking from those feelings. There are a multitude of scripture in the both the OT and NT which teach this.

2) Praise God. This truly helps in guarding the words of your mouth as well as overcoming negative feelings. You don't have to try to conjure up reasons for praising Him for the situation, just make up your mind to praise Him in the situation. He lead me (and I still do this at times when necessary) to say out loud: "I praise you Father that I am not moved by my feelings, but only by your Word. I praise you Father that I am not moved by what others say about me, but only by your Word." And so on. Truly, praise works!

3) Get His Word from your mind to your spirit. Two ways to help with this are (a) to never read the Bible without praying first, asking the Holy Spirit to guide you in it; to open your heart to receive what He is teaching you; to open your understanding to grasp it. Etc. And (b) go through the NT finding every passage where it talks about who we are in Christ and who He is in us. In other words, everything positive that applies to us being new creatures in Him. Make a tape recording of your own voice saying these passages, applying them to yourself. Our spirits pay attention to what we say, and since it is with our hearts that we believe - not our minds - by saying His Word aloud we can re-program our inner man according to that Word. Example: "I am the Righteousness of God in Christ." Then, play that tape! I would put on headphones at night and play it as I went to sleep, night after night for weeks.

4) Don't try to believe for more than you have faith to believe. Faith is like a muscle; it must be exercised in order to grow. Just as you would not begin lifting weights with the maximum amount - the goal you want to reach - until you built up to it, so don't try to believe too far beyond what you know you can believe for. Judging this is tricky, I agree. But you have to start somewhere and I believe the Lord will guide you. Many, many times I have wanted to believe, but had to admit I really did not have that big of faith. Don't set yourself up to fail; but don't set your sights too low either. Exercise your faith and it will grow, until you can believe for big miracles.

5) Make it your primary goal to know Christ Jesus. More than anything else, seek to know the Giver rather than the gift. Humble yourself - in your attitude especially - before Him and trust Him to guide you. Remember that love is not a feeling, rather love causes feelings. We know He loves us - just like we know anyone loves us - because He says He does. His love for us is not dependent upon our feelings about it, anymore than our parents love for us was dependent upon our feelings. Realizing this is extremely important in our being able to trust Him, for our trust - our faith - is very much dependent upon our knowing and believing in His love for us in Christ. And we know He loves us because His Word says He does, and God does not lie.

6) Remember we have an enemy and he is a liar! Daniel prayed and even though the Lord heard his prayer the first day, it took 21 days for the answer to come. Pray, believe (because of His Word) that in the Name of Jesus we can be sure that the Father hears and answers our prayers, and then persevere in thanking Him for answering our prayer. The enemy delights in robbing of us of our joy, faith, confidence, peace, etc., as well as the answers to our prayers. Stay the course!

7) Practice listening. Set some time (20-30 minutes) aside each day to sit quietly before the Lord. Ask the Holy Spirit to guide you. Get a notebook and write what you hear inside. Don't worry about getting big revelations - because you probably won't; and don't worry if you don't get anything - because you may not for awhile. Consider it as you would any conversation: both sides talk in a conversation, not just one. So you are allowing the Lord His opportunity to speak to you and not you just talking to Him. And write down what comes to you. And even when you do begin to hear from Him, don't expect some earth-shattering revelations. For a long time the Lord had me practice this, just to learn how to hear Him no matter what was going on around me. And I am still learning. But measure everything you hear against His Word! And seek to be obedient to what He tells you. It is when we are faithful on the little things that He will trust us with bigger things.

8) Seek His will first and always. The Lord will never get in line with us; we must always get in line with Him. In all your prayers - for others as well as for yourself, seek His will.


May the Lord bless others through this, and continue to bless us all in the coming posts from His faithful ones.

LeastOne

leafstone, when I try to spend some quiet time alone, I have thoughts that come into my head that talk to me
I can't really tell if it's from God or not because if I ask God something, something in my mind pops up and I don't know if it's me making it up or if it's God because I think of some weird things
LIke if I try to listen to God, I have a thought that says like "Pick up the cup on the table" or something weird

 

[J4Jesus]

Brother Leastone,
God bless you, my brother. Holy Spirit made you do the thread. You mentioned , to seek guidence from Holy Spirit on every issue. He will guide us to find the truth. but one sould ask for it. Otherwise our eyes will be blind. Holy Spirit is the helper,the guide as said in John 16;13 to 15. He is my guide. I remember you in my prayer.

Amen Jaison
The Holy Spirit is our teacher Although a person can try to teach us, only He was reveal that truth to us

 

[Tigg]

yo

To All:

My reasons for starting this thread are out of obedience to the Lord and because so many of us seem to be struggling to grow in Him. While I in no way know all there is to know of Him, and seek daily to learn from Him - both directly through His Word and His Spirit and from others who sit at His feet in Love - He continues to prompt me to take the risk and share what I have learned.

After He led me to share the following in another thread, He is now telling me to put this here. (In fact, in His gentle way, He will not leave me alone about it!) My constant prayer is to be pleasing to Him always, and be a blessing in some small way to others. And so it is with humility before Him that I offer this.

All I ask is that others will also post here what they have learned and are learning, that we may all grow in Him and come to the unity of faith, bonded together with Him in the Spirit of His great Love.


There was a time in my life when I did not think God liked me very much, when my whole life seemed to go from misery to misery. Yet, I believed; I knew the Bible very well; and I knew there was a love in me for Him. But I could never seem to get close to Him, and never really saw any specific answers to my prayers. I always felt as if I was following Jesus from way back in the crowd; as if I was climbing hills, only to catch a glimpse of Him going over another hill far in front of me. Finally, I just got fed up and told Him, "Lord. I don't care if You like me or not! I am still going to love You!" And right then, I made up my mind to know Him personally.

So what I would like to offer you are some practical steps that He led me to take (although at the time, I did not realize it was Him leading me) that He used to grow me and teach me and help me find Him. And what a difference this has made in my own prayer life.

1) Guard your tongue. Become aware of what you say out loud, for your words can rob you of any blessings He has for you. No matter how you feel, how depressed you get, etc., don't allow yourself to start speaking from those feelings. There are a multitude of scripture in the both the OT and NT which teach this.

2) Praise God. This truly helps in guarding the words of your mouth as well as overcoming negative feelings. You don't have to try to conjure up reasons for praising Him for the situation, just make up your mind to praise Him in the situation. He lead me (and I still do this at times when necessary) to say out loud: "I praise you Father that I am not moved by my feelings, but only by your Word. I praise you Father that I am not moved by what others say about me, but only by your Word." And so on. Truly, praise works!

3) Get His Word from your mind to your spirit. Two ways to help with this are (a) to never read the Bible without praying first, asking the Holy Spirit to guide you in it; to open your heart to receive what He is teaching you; to open your understanding to grasp it. Etc. And (b) go through the NT finding every passage where it talks about who we are in Christ and who He is in us. In other words, everything positive that applies to us being new creatures in Him. Make a tape recording of your own voice saying these passages, applying them to yourself. Our spirits pay attention to what we say, and since it is with our hearts that we believe - not our minds - by saying His Word aloud we can re-program our inner man according to that Word. Example: "I am the Righteousness of God in Christ." Then, play that tape! I would put on headphones at night and play it as I went to sleep, night after night for weeks.

4) Don't try to believe for more than you have faith to believe. Faith is like a muscle; it must be exercised in order to grow. Just as you would not begin lifting weights with the maximum amount - the goal you want to reach - until you built up to it, so don't try to believe too far beyond what you know you can believe for. Judging this is tricky, I agree. But you have to start somewhere and I believe the Lord will guide you. Many, many times I have wanted to believe, but had to admit I really did not have that big of faith. Don't set yourself up to fail; but don't set your sights too low either. Exercise your faith and it will grow, until you can believe for big miracles.

5) Make it your primary goal to know Christ Jesus. More than anything else, seek to know the Giver rather than the gift. Humble yourself - in your attitude especially - before Him and trust Him to guide you. Remember that love is not a feeling, rather love causes feelings. We know He loves us - just like we know anyone loves us - because He says He does. His love for us is not dependent upon our feelings about it, anymore than our parents love for us was dependent upon our feelings. Realizing this is extremely important in our being able to trust Him, for our trust - our faith - is very much dependent upon our knowing and believing in His love for us in Christ. And we know He loves us because His Word says He does, and God does not lie.

6) Remember we have an enemy and he is a liar! Daniel prayed and even though the Lord heard his prayer the first day, it took 21 days for the answer to come. Pray, believe (because of His Word) that in the Name of Jesus we can be sure that the Father hears and answers our prayers, and then persevere in thanking Him for answering our prayer. The enemy delights in robbing of us of our joy, faith, confidence, peace, etc., as well as the answers to our prayers. Stay the course!

7) Practice listening. Set some time (20-30 minutes) aside each day to sit quietly before the Lord. Ask the Holy Spirit to guide you. Get a notebook and write what you hear inside. Don't worry about getting big revelations - because you probably won't; and don't worry if you don't get anything - because you may not for awhile. Consider it as you would any conversation: both sides talk in a conversation, not just one. So you are allowing the Lord His opportunity to speak to you and not you just talking to Him. And write down what comes to you. And even when you do begin to hear from Him, don't expect some earth-shattering revelations. For a long time the Lord had me practice this, just to learn how to hear Him no matter what was going on around me. And I am still learning. But measure everything you hear against His Word! And seek to be obedient to what He tells you. It is when we are faithful on the little things that He will trust us with bigger things.

8) Seek His will first and always. The Lord will never get in line with us; we must always get in line with Him. In all your prayers - for others as well as for yourself, seek His will.


May the Lord bless others through this, and continue to bless us all in the coming posts from His faithful ones.

LeastOne

Thank you. Wonderful post.

-Peace-

 

[vasile]

leafstone, when I try to spend some quiet time alone, I have thoughts that come into my head that talk to me
I can't really tell if it's from God or not because if I ask God something, something in my mind pops up and I don't know if it's me making it up or if it's God because I think of some weird things
LIke if I try to listen to God, I have a thought that says like "Pick up the cup on the table" or something weird

Godsray, I hope Leastone will answer you someday...
What I can say is that when I try to pray, many weird thoughts come into my mind... I know that these are not God's thoughts because they distract me from His presence...