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Post by Cindy on Jan 3, 2017 12:22:01 GMT -5
I was sort of thinking that I had applied what I had read about lying, when I realized that I had been lying to myself, that every morning I suffered from depression....( that was a lie...to myself and to God) because in fact, it was because I am demanding my own way each morning:
Sort of like, wake up....Oh I am in pain ( I demand to not be in pain, I am tired of feeling tired and pain, God didn't do what I demanded...take it away.)
However, I know have been the last few days, replacing that first thought, with your saying that if it is God's way, to bring you closer to Him, than you would rather have pain. That has been helping.
I also think of that when in the morning I realize I am another day older, and more wrinkled, etc. again, the same replacement thought if it helps me to be closer to the Lord, I choose aging ( and in fact, I think of it a little as a baby being born into this world ( toothless, not a lot of hair, weak muscles etc.). It helps to think of it like the birthing process for Heaven 9 I am not saying it is that, but it changes my hurt, anger, discouragement to look at it from a different perspective.
you also pointed out that whatever God is allowing ( aging, pain etc.) is what is best for me here and now.
Oh no I did not mean to say, it was okay to lie to people but not God. I worded it in a strange way......I was meaning to point out that like scripture said, when we lie to people ( that is a sin and a bad thing) we ALSO are lying to God.
I think in my mind I was thinking it is bad, not good, a sin to lie to people but doing so is also lying to God and that made a deeper impression on me, in one sense.
I again do not mean lying to people is in any way good, but in the past, I didn't think of it as lying to God....and that seemed to more than waaaay doubles the sin.
I do think of what I read throughout the day ( some days waaaay more than other days tho.
I am still at the very beginning of building it as a habit, so it is not anywhere near what I want it to be.
I find when I am reading a Christian fiction, I am thinking about the Biblical principles and applications that are in the story, and I forget while reading about what I read in the morning, Or if I am talking to someone, I may put up a prayer for Jesus to give me the right words, but it does not always seem to fit the application I just read, sometimes it does, but like I said....I am in the beginning of a transition, I have spent so many years, not truly loving the Lord with all my heart, but rather myself....and it is a struggle to put self to death..
sometimes, I feel like I don't have the strength physically or even mentally, to try to remember what I read, what the application was even......
Hummmmm.......maybe I should write down my application each day, and put it in my pocket so I can pull it out and read it every hour?
As far as what you're doing not "fitting" the application you got that day goes, that's ok. Remember when I shared what I'd done? I didn't always use that days application on the same day. Some times i used the same one for a number of days in a row....not because I planned it that way, but just because that's the way it happened. As you pay attention to what's going on throughout the day and how it applies to what you have learned recently, (note that I said "recently" not just that day) you'll often discover a pattern and when you do, you'll discover what the Lord is working on within you at that time. Then you can cooperate with Him much better and the learning becomes not only easier, but also exciting because you see yourself as in a partnership with God as He changes you through His Word. That's what I've been looking for in your posts and why I remind you to tell me what's gone on during the day, because I was hoping I'd be able to help you find the pattern of what the Lord is trying to work with you on.
You don't have the strength to remember, that's true, and neither do I. It's good that you realize that. The better news is that God does have the strength and power to remember and to remind you, if you will ask Him to do so. And He will remind you. I'm not saying that we shouldn't do whatever we can to remember it, but only that when we've done all we can and we still can't remember, that's when God's strength takes over and He reminds us. Remember, His strength is made perfect in our weakness.
I decided this summer to try memorizing God's Word again, even though I was afraid I wouldn't be able to do much because of the brain fog and all due to the pain and the meds. But I asked the Lord to help me and He has amazed me at what He has enabled me to do. I know I couldn't do it myself, so I know it's His power at work in me that's done it. So far I've memorized 67 verses and I'm working on more! 
I'm glad that I misunderstood what you meant about lying. I wasn't sure which is why I asked. Plus, whenever something isn't stated clearly I try to clarify it for anyone else who may read this thread.
Well here is a silly application from yesterday I was sneezing and coughing and feeling tired and achy....
but....
I had not changed the hummingbird feeder for at least 5 days. it has been pretty cold for us here.....but I knew from watching the little hummers they were up, it was afternoon, but they were not coming to the feeder ( they are picky little ones).
Then I started thinking, about how even a little thing can be for the Lord and His glory, and I really could get up for a few minutes and wash the feeders, put in sugar water and hang them out.
So I did...and the minute I stepped out side, in flew one little hummingbird who sat watching me on the wire above.
It made me smile and happy to know, he would get some much needed energy cuz like I said, we are having unusual cold weather for these parts.
Also like I said kind of a silly application but I was not very active yesterday, and only other thing was to go next door to daughter's to exchange Christmas gifts cuz grandchildren got back from visiting their dad for Christmas. So I did not do much other than lend our landlord an electric battery charger thingy, cuz since his battery died in his car.
Again I almost didn't do that because I was not feeling well.... nor am I feeling great today, but am awake cuz I am in pain so I thought I would at least start to write something and later do bible study.
“And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.” (Colossians 3:17) “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.” (Colossians 3:23–24) “And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones because he is my disciple, I tell you the truth, he will certainly not lose his reward.”” (Matthew 10:42)
It gives me goosebumps to think of what you did and to remember what our Lord said:
““Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’” (Matthew 25:34–36) ““The King will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.’” (Matthew 25:40)
While Jesus meant what He said literally, He also meant these things to be examples of some of the things we could do for Him, not the "only" things we could do. So by feeding the birds, and by giving the battery charger to your landlord, you helped those who couldn't help themselves even though you didn't feel up to it, and that is what pleases the Lord.
I'm sorry you're not feeling well though. I haven't been either since December 23rd. I caught the virus that my daughter and my husband had, plus I had severe diarrhea for a little over a week straight. I've never had it that bad before. I had to take double the amount of immodium than they say you can take in order to control it at all. And I'm sure you know how badly diarrhea wears you out and makes you feel weak and achy too. So that on top of the virus didn't help at all. It wasn't till after Christmas that I finally realized why I had the diarrhea - it was because the Sjögren's was flaring. It also caused my nose to start running like crazy (besides being stuffed up) so that I had to carry a kleenex around all the time holding it at my nose so it wouldn't drip out. Gross huh? It did the same thing to my eyes too, they were dripping tears constantly so that it looked like I was sobbing, even though I wasn't crying at all. Talk about annoying! Plus it makes the skin around your eyes sore when you have to keep wiping up the tears. The tears and the nose are still happening, as the Sjögren's is still flaring, but I did get the diarrhea stopped at least. On top of all of that, my back began flaring as well. I guess it felt left out of the party LOL. (seriously, I always have a flare up of it toward the end of December into the first part of January) It's kind of funny though because I forgot all about preparing for that flare up like I normally do, as I was so busy dealing with what my body was already doing. I honestly didn't realize my back was flaring until last night. I kept thinking it was hurting a lot more because of storms or anything else I could think of LOL. Then last night, it suddenly hit me what the date was, and when the pain had gotten a lot worse, and I realized it was the regular flare up. 
I did something pretty funny over the holidays due to the pain, but I think I'll start a thread in the pain forum about that and maybe we can share the funniest things we've done LOL
1/3/17
Acts 6:8-15
Stephen Seized
v. 8 is a wonderful character reference to have said about you:
v.8 "Now Stephen, a man full of God’s grace and power, performed great wonders and signs among the people."
I never really noticed before that the opposition against Stephen was called :Synagogue of the Freedmen.....
in any case, "they could not stand up against the wisdom the Spirit gave him as he spoke".
This is one of those cases where ( like the other apostles etc.) my first thought is why would a man ( or men, or even woman) who performed great wonders and signs, and have such wisdom etc. be caught?
However, ( correct me if I am wrong), God plan in allowing them to seize Stephen was for a greater good.
My application is to reflect on how often things that on the surface seem bad, unfair, etc. to me, can be used for good by God.
And in Stephen's trial, v.15 shows how God was with Stephen on what seems an even greater or deeper level as Stephen's face looked like an angel to his enemies.
v. 15
" All who were sitting in the Sanhedrin looked intently at Stephen, and they saw that his face was like the face of an angel."
Let me share what some commentaries says about these verses:
They took him before the same council that had tried Jesus and the Apostles. It was not even necessary for Stephen to speak in order to give witness, for the very glow on his face told everybody that he was a servant of God. Certainly the members of the Sanhedrin would recall Moses’ shining face (Ex. 34:29–30). It was as though God was saying, “This man is not against Moses! He is like Moses—he is My faithful servant! The Bible exposition commentary
The members of this synagogue were from three divergent areas—North Africa (Cyrene and Alexandria were two of its leading cities), Asia (the western portion of modern-day Turkey), and Cilicia. Possibly this was the assembly Paul attended because Tarsus was located in the province of Cilicia. The Bible Knowledge Commentary
Freedmen. Descendants of Jewish slaves captured by Pompeii (63 b.c.) and taken to Rome. They were later freed and formed a Jewish community there. The MacArthur study Bible
The word “Freedmen” is a transliteration of the Latin libertinus and functions differently from the other names, which are of geographical regions. It is the title of the synagogue (not surprising to the audience who might know that some synagogues did take titles; the inscriptional evidence at Corinth & Jerusalem, as well as the literary evidence in y. Meg. 73d.3; b. Meg. 26a; and t. Meg. 3.6) & suggests that at least some members of this synagogue had at one time been enslaved by the Romans. Acts.
The false witnesses had probably misrepresented the intentions & imports of Stephen's statements. The Lord Himself predicted the destruction of the temple, though He never said He would do it. The other half of the allegation against Stephen involved the temporary nature of the Mosaic system. Undoubtedly he saw the theological implications of justification by faith & the fulfillment of the Law in Christ. Furthermore, if the gospel was for the whole world (Acts 1:8), the Law had to be a temporary arrangement. The Bible Knowledge Commentary
Understated but not entirely missing is the note of irony found in the fact that Stephen’s face appears like that “of an angel,” for many of those sitting in the council were no doubt Sadducees who denied the existence of angels (see Acts 23:8). This change in countenance echoes other Jewish texts (Dan 3:92 LXX; Gen 33:10 and the Palestinian Targum on that passage, and, as in the transfiguration of Jesus, emphasizes the divinely endowed authority of the speaker. Acts.
This got my attention: “For we have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place and change the customs Moses handed down to us.”” (Acts 6:14) The part about changing customs etc in Acts 6:14 reminds me of Daniel 2:21 which speaks of God doing this and Daniel 7:25 where it speaks of the antichrist doing this. Since this just spoke of how Jesus changed the regulations & obligations, as He is Lord of the Sabbath, perhaps the antichirst will try to change the same kind of things that Jesus did....
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fearnot
Living With Pain
Posts: 8,399 
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Post by fearnot on Jan 3, 2017 12:59:49 GMT -5
I in no way want you to stop 'nagging me' LOLOL
I did miss that you said I occasionally gave an example of application, so I was pointing out one....but mostly because I was disappointed in the slowness of being able to truly apply and think about what I have read and studied....throughout the day.
So your suggesting I ask the Lord about it is a great idea......you would think, I would have thought of that myself, but I did not.
Notice I did think of a way to try to do it by myself.....
which I suppose is not all bad ( I did in fact, write myself a note and will most likely continue to do so......but
more importantly, I will ask Jesus/God, the Holy Spirit to bring it to my mind throughout the day.
I am so glad you mentioned tho, that it may be that for days the Lord will be bringing some previously read passage of scripture to mind, and that the same might be repeated over days, because indeed it does seem like that is happening.
I loved the way, you said, Jesus may have sent the cute adorable hummingbird to watch as even a reminder that He the Lord was watching.
I never thought of it like that, but I have had such a joy feeding the birds, and in fact, in some strange way, it also feels like a closer walk with the Lord somehow.
I saw several youtube video on crows awhile back and among many of the things there were trying to establish, one was that crows can pick one specific human out of a huge crowd.
and it surely seems like that will all the neighborhood birds.
Some are more shy and cautious, therefore taking longer to not be afraid of me, but others didn't take long at all.
In fact the minute I went out the door today to feed the songbirds some seeds, the hummingbird flew to a wire right over my head, and proceeded to just stay the whole time I put the seeds all over the fence............
of course telling him how cute, adorable, sweet, pretty, a lovely creature of the Lord ( he or she was) and I do believe the wee one just loves to hear my tell he or she how pretty they are ( vanity in such a sweet little bird just does not seem bad but cute)...really tho as hubby pointed out birds are big on vocal communications so it prob just likes to hear humans talk LOL
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Post by evafromgreece on Jan 3, 2017 15:07:16 GMT -5
You're very welcome Eva. You said you were in 2 Corinthians before. I'm just finishing 1 Corinthians 9. I've really enjoyed reading about how Paul put into action in his life the principals he spoke about in the chapter 8. He shows us that we're not to base our decisions on what's best for us, but instead on what Jesus wants and what is best for other believers and the Church as a whole. It's shown me too that even in my personal life, what I do reflects on the Church and affects other believers, so I need to be careful of my decisions on how I act and speak.
I believe this is related with what I was reading in 2nd Corinthians chapters 8-9. It might not talk about the the same topic, but it is similar. In 1 Corinthians 9 Paul was giving up some rights he had in order to help those first Christians mostly spiritually, and in 2 Corinthians ch 8 Paul uses as an example the churches in Macedonia that were generous and willing to offer to the Christians in need in Jerusalem, even though they didnt have much to offer. |
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fearnot
Living With Pain
Posts: 8,399
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Post by fearnot on Jan 3, 2017 18:25:51 GMT -5
Hi Eva:
Hope all is well with you?
Anyway, Cindy I meant to say I was sorry you have been feeling so badly. I wonder if we have a similar cold/flu?
Leonard had a colonoscopy last Thur, and the very next day, he was pretty sick and its still doing its thing.
I have a milder version, but still not feeling great, sneezing, tired etc.
Are you slowly getting better, or is it determined to hang with you? I think you said its already been 2 weeks, so that is not great!
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Post by Cindy on Jan 4, 2017 11:51:20 GMT -5
I in no way want you to stop 'nagging me' LOLOL
I did miss that you said I occasionally gave an example of application, so I was pointing out one....but mostly because I was disappointed in the slowness of being able to truly apply and think about what I have read and studied....throughout the day.
So your suggesting I ask the Lord about it is a great idea......you would think, I would have thought of that myself, but I did not.
Notice I did think of a way to try to do it by myself.....
which I suppose is not all bad ( I did in fact, write myself a note and will most likely continue to do so......but
more importantly, I will ask Jesus/God, the Holy Spirit to bring it to my mind throughout the day.
I am so glad you mentioned tho, that it may be that for days the Lord will be bringing some previously read passage of scripture to mind, and that the same might be repeated over days, because indeed it does seem like that is happening.
I loved the way, you said, Jesus may have sent the cute adorable hummingbird to watch as even a reminder that He the Lord was watching.
I never thought of it like that, but I have had such a joy feeding the birds, and in fact, in some strange way, it also feels like a closer walk with the Lord somehow.
I saw several youtube video on crows awhile back and among many of the things there were trying to establish, one was that crows can pick one specific human out of a huge crowd.
and it surely seems like that will all the neighborhood birds.
Some are more shy and cautious, therefore taking longer to not be afraid of me, but others didn't take long at all.
In fact the minute I went out the door today to feed the songbirds some seeds, the hummingbird flew to a wire right over my head, and proceeded to just stay the whole time I put the seeds all over the fence............
of course telling him how cute, adorable, sweet, pretty, a lovely creature of the Lord ( he or she was) and I do believe the wee one just loves to hear my tell he or she how pretty they are ( vanity in such a sweet little bird just does not seem bad but cute)...really tho as hubby pointed out birds are big on vocal communications so it prob just likes to hear humans talk LOL
I love talking to the birds and critters that come in our yard too!
You're very welcome Eva. You said you were in 2 Corinthians before. I'm just finishing 1 Corinthians 9. I've really enjoyed reading about how Paul put into action in his life the principals he spoke about in the chapter 8. He shows us that we're not to base our decisions on what's best for us, but instead on what Jesus wants and what is best for other believers and the Church as a whole. It's shown me too that even in my personal life, what I do reflects on the Church and affects other believers, so I need to be careful of my decisions on how I act and speak.
I believe this is related with what I was reading in 2nd Corinthians chapters 8-9. It might not talk about the the same topic, but it is similar. In 1 Corinthians 9 Paul was giving up some rights he had in order to help those first Christians mostly spiritually, and in 2 Corinthians ch 8 Paul uses as an example the churches in Macedonia that were generous and willing to offer to the Christians in need in Jerusalem, even though they didnt have much to offer.
Hi Eva:
Hope all is well with you?
Anyway, Cindy I meant to say I was sorry you have been feeling so badly. I wonder if we have a similar cold/flu?
Leonard had a colonoscopy last Thur, and the very next day, he was pretty sick and its still doing its thing.
I have a milder version, but still not feeling great, sneezing, tired etc.
Are you slowly getting better, or is it determined to hang with you? I think you said its already been 2 weeks, so that is not great!
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fearnot
Living With Pain
Posts: 8,399
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Post by fearnot on Jan 4, 2017 14:31:19 GMT -5
We are still struggling ( tho Leonard is pretty bad....I however was so worn down I only woke up around 10:45!
I have really been working on my grumbling nature about age, pain, health etc. and oh winter doesn't seem to help.
When I woke up I immediately thought in addition to my list of woes....that oh I am gaining weight again and need to "move"....
A verse came to mind ( but I can't think which one now arrrggghhhh but was immediately very comforting),
and then I thought, it is not God's fault I am lazy....tho even so, it can be used to draw me closer to Him.
We are way colder than we usually are and it is lasting a lot longer, I am thinking it is the coldest winter we have spent here.
Yet in some ways, I have been ( at times) 'moving' more than other years, I have done some baking and a little cooking, that I had not done in years.
The problem is I used to walk at least a mile ( I can't remember when the last time I walked was). Walking often was uplifting and helped some with weight gain.
In a way I suppose one could 'almost' laugh at one of my grumbles...its bad enough I have thin hair, toothless, wrinkles, etc. and now getting fat-ish....sigh!
Pretty self centered and not thinking about what is lovely, honest, just, true etc. nor a captive thought....yet.
so the taking thoughts captive seems to be several years running focus for me....sometimes it seems like progress, and then, not so much....but I am way more aware of it now!!!
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fearnot
Living With Pain
Posts: 8,399
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Post by fearnot on Jan 4, 2017 14:48:40 GMT -5
1/4/17
Acts 7: 1-10
Stephen’s Speech to the Sanhedrin
The first thing I noticed ( also was an application for me) was when God told Abraham to leave his country and his people.....Abraham obeyed.....half way ( I do that.... but need to do 100%)
.
He did leave but did not go all the way, and tho I am not sure if leave your people meant a general people of his country only....
if it also meant his father etc his immediate family ( then again, he only obeyed 1/2).
That is like me... and my application is to push to obey 100 percent....so far for about a week (I think), I have not watched any of the series I was watching like NCIS.
v. 8 Seemed to apply to Israel to this day ( her neighbors seem to never end their jealousy of her) even tho in this case it was Joseph's own brothers
9 “Because the patriarchs were jealous of Joseph, they sold him as a slave into Egypt.
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fearnot
Living With Pain
Posts: 8,399
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Post by fearnot on Jan 5, 2017 12:16:00 GMT -5
1/5/17
Acts:11-35
17 “As the time drew near for God to fulfill his promise to Abraham, ..."
That sounds like a great thing...only, there were to be still some more sufferings to come first....
I think my application is to realize that even as every day, is closer to the rapture, the evil may increase yet for awhile so that my patience and faith need to hold or grow.
And it must have seemed very strange, odd and near impossible to Moses that He who was so soundly rejected, was not to be a deliver of Israel!!
v.35 "This is the same Moses they had rejected with the words, ‘Who made you ruler and judge?’ He was sent to be their ruler and deliverer by God himself......."
Another application is to not lose sight that God can do what seems impossible, and can turn bad things into good!
I didn't write out any applications yesterday ( tho I did pray that the Lord might bring them to my mind)
I really didn't do much, still not feeling well....watched grandson for about 2 hours, made Leonard and I some ginger tea for cold.flu whatever it is, made some hard boiled eggs, but slept a lot.
This morning Leonard told me hummingbird feeders were frozen, so I quickly made up one at least, and the moment I step out to take down one and hang the new up a hummer zoomed and hovered near me....sort of like it was saying:
the servants sure are getting lazy!!! LOL
I am still very tired and Leonard is still quite sick.
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Post by Cindy on Jan 5, 2017 13:40:55 GMT -5
I wish I could reply to you right now, but I can't. I'll be back tomorrow and reply to your wonderful posts though! I'm so sorry!
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fearnot
Living With Pain
Posts: 8,399
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Post by fearnot on Jan 5, 2017 17:46:57 GMT -5
Oh never feel sorry if you can't post....we are so blessed when you can.
So today I've been working on the affirmation I wrote the other day that even little things can be to God's glory.
I wanted to just sleep, but decided I could do all things thru Christ-Jesus, and so I took a shower ( tho it was so clod out) and I managed to take out garbage, plus feed the birds again....and I did feel better for it.
it was not much, but I kept in mind that even a glass of water can be used by the Lord....
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Post by Cindy on Jan 6, 2017 12:02:44 GMT -5
Here is the first post on the rapture for you:
fresh-hope.com/thread/3141/raptureWe are still struggling ( tho Leonard is pretty bad....I however was so worn down I only woke up around 10:45!
I have really been working on my grumbling nature about age, pain, health etc. and oh winter doesn't seem to help.
When I woke up I immediately thought in addition to my list of woes....that oh I am gaining weight again and need to "move"....
A verse came to mind ( but I can't think which one now arrrggghhhh but was immediately very comforting),
and then I thought, it is not God's fault I am lazy....tho even so, it can be used to draw me closer to Him.
We are way colder than we usually are and it is lasting a lot longer, I am thinking it is the coldest winter we have spent here.
Yet in some ways, I have been ( at times) 'moving' more than other years, I have done some baking and a little cooking, that I had not done in years.
The problem is I used to walk at least a mile ( I can't remember when the last time I walked was). Walking often was uplifting and helped some with weight gain.
In a way I suppose one could 'almost' laugh at one of my grumbles...its bad enough I have thin hair, toothless, wrinkles, etc. and now getting fat-ish....sigh!
Pretty self centered and not thinking about what is lovely, honest, just, true etc. nor a captive thought....yet.
so the taking thoughts captive seems to be several years running focus for me....sometimes it seems like progress, and then, not so much....but I am way more aware of it now!!!
Good grooming is in order, but primping and undue attention to externals betray true manliness and falsely focus on self rather than on Christ, the head of the man. Of course the same thing is true for women: that primping and undue attention to externals (how we look) betray true womanliness and falsely focus on self rather than on Christ. This body is temporary, it's not permanent. It will decay and die, like everything else in this world, because of sin. The only body we need to be concerned about is our permanent body that God will give us at the rapture. THAT body will show on the outside, what we look like on the inside. In other words, all the characteristics we've worked on building up will show on our new bodies; characteristics like gentleness, kindness, love, joy, peace, patience, humility, self control, self discipline, a gentle spirit, etc. So if you're really interested in how you will look, those are the things you need to work on.
1/4/17
: 1-10
Stephen’s Speech to the Sanhedrin
The first thing I noticed ( also was an application for me) was when God told Abraham to leave his country and his people.....Abraham obeyed.....half way ( I do that.... but need to do 100%)
.
He did leave but did not go all the way, and tho I am not sure if leave your people meant a general people of his country only....
if it also meant his father etc his immediate family ( then again, he only obeyed 1/2).
That is like me... and my application is to push to obey 100 percent....so far for about a week (I think), I have not watched any of the series I was watching like NCIS.
v. 8 Seemed to apply to Israel to this day ( her neighbors seem to never end their jealousy of her) even tho in this case it was Joseph's own brothers
9 “Because the patriarchs were jealous of Joseph, they sold him as a slave into Egypt. 1/5/17
Acts:11-35
17 “As the time drew near for God to fulfill his promise to Abraham, ..."
That sounds like a great thing...only, there were to be still some more sufferings to come first....
I think my application is to realize that even as every day, is closer to the rapture, the evil may increase yet for awhile so that my patience and faith need to hold or grow.
And it must have seemed very strange, odd and near impossible to Moses that He who was so soundly rejected, was not to be a deliver of Israel!!
v.35 "This is the same Moses they had rejected with the words, ‘Who made you ruler and judge?’ He was sent to be their ruler and deliverer by God himself......."
Another application is to not lose sight that God can do what seems impossible, and can turn bad things into good!
I didn't write out any applications yesterday ( tho I did pray that the Lord might bring them to my mind)
I really didn't do much, still not feeling well....watched grandson for about 2 hours, made Leonard and I some ginger tea for cold.flu whatever it is, made some hard boiled eggs, but slept a lot.
This morning Leonard told me hummingbird feeders were frozen, so I quickly made up one at least, and the moment I step out to take down one and hang the new up a hummer zoomed and hovered near me....sort of like it was saying:
the servants sure are getting lazy!!! LOL
I am still very tired and Leonard is still quite sick.  Oh never feel sorry if you can't post....we are so blessed when you can.
So today I've been working on the affirmation I wrote the other day that even little things can be to God's glory.
I wanted to just sleep, but decided I could do all things thru Christ-Jesus, and so I took a shower ( tho it was so clod out) and I managed to take out garbage, plus feed the birds again....and I did feel better for it.
it was not much, but I kept in mind that even a glass of water can be used by the Lord.... 
Here is the first post on the rapture for you:
fresh-hope.com/thread/3141/rapture
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fearnot
Living With Pain
Posts: 8,399
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Post by fearnot on Jan 6, 2017 13:16:34 GMT -5
This was just great...I think in some ways the best help yet on this issue:
"In other words, all the characteristics we've worked on building up will show on our new bodies; characteristics like gentleness, kindness, love, joy, peace, patience, humility, self control, self discipline, a gentle spirit, etc. So if you're really interested in how you will look, those are the things you need to work on.
For some reason that really really spoke to me!!!
I know there are very very beautiful women that ALSO have those characteristics, but the may be many many more that do not, beautiful woman who are self-centered, selfish, conceited, lacking compassion etc.
But to think about our future bodies reflecting gentleness, kindness, love, joy, peace, patience, humility, self control, self discipline, a gentle spirit was eye-opening and compelling....thank you
But what about Abram's father?
And wasn't Abram supposed to go all the way, so that their stop in Haran was maybe only a half way obedience...
because he was supposed to have gone to the land God would show him?
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fearnot
Living With Pain
Posts: 8,399
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Post by fearnot on Jan 6, 2017 13:31:24 GMT -5
1/6/17
Acts 7:36-60
v.42 kind of reminds me of our country today which has by and large turned away from God, but astrology etc. is fine
v.42 "But God turned away from them and gave them over to the worship of the sun, moon and stars."
Tho we are to fellowship with each we also need to remember:
v.48 “However, the Most High does not live in houses made by human hands." Churches are fine, they do make it easy to fellowship but God does not live in houses made by man.
But the application for me is that when the time comes ( not before, because I won't need it before then) God may provide comfort in death maybe not the way he did for Stephen but who knows maybe ...
in any case, I will not die alone.
v.55 "But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God."
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Post by evafromgreece on Jan 6, 2017 15:36:31 GMT -5
Hey guys :)
I am ok in general. Except from the cold -extreme cold for me because I am not used to this after living all these past years in Rhodes which is warm generally, and that I started feeling a bit pain because of standing too many hours again during work, generally I am ok. I am sorry guys that you dont feel well :) I pray you get well soon:)
I finished 2nd Corinthians and I was wondering about ch. 12, Paul talks about someone that was lifted and saw heaven, what was this about. Also, in the last chapters I see much tension with the Corinthians. This could apply to today, false teachers are extremely popular, more popular than the ones that spread the truth. But who were those false teachers that were full of pride?
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fearnot
Living With Pain
Posts: 8,399
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Post by fearnot on Jan 7, 2017 12:50:45 GMT -5
Hi Eva how cold is it there? What is the temp there as compared to Rhodes? But besides the cold, are you liking it?
I will leave your questions for Cindy. I will only say I think maybe it was Paul himself who was was lifted up and saw heaven.
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fearnot
Living With Pain
Posts: 8,399
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Post by fearnot on Jan 7, 2017 13:01:32 GMT -5
1/7/17
Acts 8: 1-8
The Church Persecuted and Scattered
I think an application for me is in the first verses. Saul ( Paul) begins to several persecute the church....but as we know He turns out in the end to be even an apostle and perhaps one of the greatest defenders of the faith.
So when I run into adamant atheists, I need to pray for them, because God may yet save them and they might become strong evangelists and defenders of the gospel.
And tho those had to be terrifying times for the believers who scattered all over as a result, God used it for good, in that they spread the good news even further as a result.
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fearnot
Living With Pain
Posts: 8,399
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Post by fearnot on Jan 7, 2017 13:13:33 GMT -5
Yesterday, our car would not start so Leonard could not take our grandchildren to their schools.
Our granddaughter got a ride with a friend to her high school but Devon ( in elementary school) had to stay home, which meant I had to babysit most of the day.
Leonard is still very sick. His eyes even are becoming almost infected from running so much. Also the colonoscopy biopsy looked very suspicious, but he does not want to do another one so soon ( so they can remove totally the offending polyp) so he will most likely do it after the grandchildren leave the end of June.
Anyway, I talked a little to my grandson a little but although he seems to on the one hand understand, on the other, he seemly can't apply it ( like some of the computer games he chooses....I understand the struggle, but I worry about it strong grip).
I ask the Lord to be with me and give me the right words, but I am not sure I did in fact do or say what Jesus would have had me say.
But then, maybe its just a seed planted?
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fearnot
Living With Pain
Posts: 8,399
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Post by fearnot on Jan 8, 2017 12:49:00 GMT -5
1/8/17
cts 8:9-25
Simon the Sorcerer
I am not 100 percent sure I understand this correctly so please correct me and/or add to.
It seems like Simon the Sorcerer ( he reminds me of like someone like many in todays world into the occult or new age) yet I think Simon did in fact, become a true believer, but had not received the Holy Spirit.
Perhaps he was like a new baby Christian and having spent years in the occult, so he had many sins, he had not repent of, and maybe, many sins he wasn't even aware of.
So when the apostles prayed for other new believers to receive the Holy Spirit, Simon in one sense 'seemed' to have part of his heart in the right place, wanting the Holy Spirit also so that he might help others to receive it also.....
but....
he wanted to pay for it, which was a great insult to God,
and Peter said simon's heart was not in fact in the right place!
But Peter did not say that Simon was not saved ,but rather that he needed to repent, not only of that sin but also of bitterness and other sins.
An application for me is to pray that the Lord will help me with the sin of bitterness.
I do seem to have more bitterness than I thought I had....
previously, I thought my bitterness was just concerning my earliest childhood,
but from time to time,
it pops up about health, aging, beauty etc....
However you have been helping me sooooo much with it. I now know I need to be cultivating the beauty of :
Galatians v. 5:22 But the fruit of the Spirit is
love,
joy,
peace,
forbearance,
kindness,
goodness,
faithfulness,
v. 23 gentleness
and self-control..."
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Post by evafromgreece on Jan 8, 2017 17:19:30 GMT -5
Hi Eva how cold is it there? What is the temp there as compared to Rhodes? But besides the cold, are you liking it?
I will leave your questions for Cindy. I will only say I think maybe it was Paul himself who was was lifted up and saw heaven. Hey Barbara :) Lets say in Rhodes in the coldest periods of the year it was around 10 celcius degrees, in extreme cases we went to 4 to 5 degrees. Now these past days in Thessaloniki we are below 0... Yesterday from the bus to work I saw -9, but this week is an extreme case. Normally when its cold we are around 0 to 4 degrees, but comparing to the 10 degrees in Rhodes its really different. I like here that I dont face extreme situations with people at work. It seems like I move forward from were I was, sad all the time. It seems to be ok. And I am saying it seems, because after all these years of facing this kind of problems I am a bit frightened, but by having God with me I know I will be safe. I faced horrible working conditions in Rhodes at both of the companies I worked for. Maybe the people are more spoiled there with money and everything. Its a rich place still, people take everything for granted. Maybe this was part of a reason. We live in the world, surrounded by unbelievers no matter were we are... I dont know if this was Paul who saw Heaven, it seems like he was talking about somebody else. But, if it was Paul he might mean the vision he had and that led him stop chasing Christians, the voice of God "Saul, Why Do You Persecute Me?". But I am not sure |
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fearnot
Living With Pain
Posts: 8,399
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Post by fearnot on Jan 9, 2017 11:56:20 GMT -5
Hi Eva:
If I calculated right, Rhodes was around 50 degrees, whereas where you live now at -9C ....would be 15 degrees (more or less)....
so yeah that sounds like a BIG change!!!
Is it pretty where you live now? Rhodes seemed very pretty and lots of ocean....can you see the ocean where you live in Thessaloniki?
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Post by Cindy on Jan 9, 2017 13:15:10 GMT -5
This was just great...I think in some ways the best help yet on this issue:
"In other words, all the characteristics we've worked on building up will show on our new bodies; characteristics like gentleness, kindness, love, joy, peace, patience, humility, self control, self discipline, a gentle spirit, etc. So if you're really interested in how you will look, those are the things you need to work on.
For some reason that really really spoke to me!!!
I know there are very very beautiful women that ALSO have those characteristics, but the may be many many more that do not, beautiful woman who are self-centered, selfish, conceited, lacking compassion etc.
But to think about our future bodies reflecting gentleness, kindness, love, joy, peace, patience, humility, self control, self discipline, a gentle spirit was eye-opening and compelling....thank you
But what about Abram's father?
And wasn't Abram supposed to go all the way, so that their stop in Haran was maybe only a half way obedience...
because he was supposed to have gone to the land God would show him?
1/6/17
Acts 7:36-60
v.42 kind of reminds me of our country today which has by and large turned away from God, but astrology etc. is fine
v.42 "But God turned away from them and gave them over to the worship of the sun, moon and stars."
Tho we are to fellowship with each we also need to remember:
v.48 “However, the Most High does not live in houses made by human hands." Churches are fine, they do make it easy to fellowship but God does not live in houses made by man.
But the application for me is that when the time comes ( not before, because I won't need it before then) God may provide comfort in death maybe not the way he did for Stephen but who knows maybe ...
in any case, I will not die alone.
v.55 "But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God."
Hey guys :) I am ok in general. Except from the cold -extreme cold for me because I am not used to this after living all these past years in Rhodes which is warm generally, and that I started feeling a bit pain because of standing too many hours again during work, generally I am ok. I am sorry guys that you dont feel well :) I pray you get well soon:) I finished 2nd Corinthians and I was wondering about ch. 12, Paul talks about someone that was lifted and saw heaven, what was this about. Also, in the last chapters I see much tension with the Corinthians. This could apply to today, false teachers are extremely popular, more popular than the ones that spread the truth. But who were those false teachers that were full of pride?
As far as who the false teachers were in Paul's day, I can't give you all their names anymore than I can give you the names of all the false teachers today. We do know many of the false things they taught back then, all of which are being taught today too. But I can't give you their names except for a couple maybe.... “Alexander the metalworker did me a great deal of harm. The Lord will repay him for what he has done. You too should be on your guard against him, because he strongly opposed our message.” (2 Timothy 4:14–15) “holding on to faith and a good conscience. Some have rejected these and so have shipwrecked their faith. Among them are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I have handed over to Satan to be taught not to blaspheme.” (1 Timothy 1:19–20) “Their teaching will spread like gangrene. Among them are Hymenaeus and Philetus,” (2 Timothy 2:17)
Eva, when you study each day, are you finding a way to apply what you have studied each day? It's important that we not only study His word but that we ask the Lord every day to show us how we can apply what we have learned that day to our own life. If you read Barbara's posts you will see that she talks about what her application is and how she has tried to apply it that day. I'd like to hear what you have learned from what you have studied and how you are applying it to your life.
I started the thread about the rapture last week if you want to see it: fresh-hope.com/thread/3141/rapture
Hi Eva how cold is it there? What is the temp there as compared to Rhodes? But besides the cold, are you liking it?
I will leave your questions for Cindy. I will only say I think maybe it was Paul himself who was was lifted up and saw heaven.
1/7/17
Acts 8: 1-8
The Church Persecuted and Scattered
I think an application for me is in the first verses. Saul ( Paul) begins to several persecute the church....but as we know He turns out in the end to be even an apostle and perhaps one of the greatest defenders of the faith.
So when I run into adamant atheists, I need to pray for them, because God may yet save them and they might become strong evangelists and defenders of the gospel.
And tho those had to be terrifying times for the believers who scattered all over as a result, God used it for good, in that they spread the good news even further as a result.
Yesterday, our car would not start so Leonard could not take our grandchildren to their schools.
Our granddaughter got a ride with a friend to her high school but Devon ( in elementary school) had to stay home, which meant I had to babysit most of the day.
Leonard is still very sick. His eyes even are becoming almost infected from running so much. Also the colonoscopy biopsy looked very suspicious, but he does not want to do another one so soon ( so they can remove totally the offending polyp) so he will most likely do it after the grandchildren leave the end of June.
Anyway, I talked a little to my grandson a little but although he seems to on the one hand understand, on the other, he seemly can't apply it ( like some of the computer games he chooses....I understand the struggle, but I worry about it strong grip).
I ask the Lord to be with me and give me the right words, but I am not sure I did in fact do or say what Jesus would have had me say.
But then, maybe its just a seed planted? 1/8/17
cts 8:9-25
Simon the Sorcerer
I am not 100 percent sure I understand this correctly so please correct me and/or add to.
It seems like Simon the Sorcerer ( he reminds me of like someone like many in todays world into the occult or new age) yet I think Simon did in fact, become a true believer, but had not received the Holy Spirit.
Perhaps he was like a new baby Christian and having spent years in the occult, so he had many sins, he had not repent of, and maybe, many sins he wasn't even aware of.
So when the apostles prayed for other new believers to receive the Holy Spirit, Simon in one sense 'seemed' to have part of his heart in the right place, wanting the Holy Spirit also so that he might help others to receive it also.....
but....
he wanted to pay for it, which was a great insult to God,
and Peter said simon's heart was not in fact in the right place!
But Peter did not say that Simon was not saved ,but rather that he needed to repent, not only of that sin but also of bitterness and other sins.
An application for me is to pray that the Lord will help me with the sin of bitterness.
I do seem to have more bitterness than I thought I had....
previously, I thought my bitterness was just concerning my earliest childhood,
but from time to time,
it pops up about health, aging, beauty etc....
However you have been helping me sooooo much with it. I now know I need to be cultivating the beauty of :
Galatians v. 5:22 But the fruit of the Spirit is
love,
joy,
peace,
forbearance,
kindness,
goodness,
faithfulness,
v. 23 gentleness
and self-control..."
As far as Simon the Sorcerer goes, he most likely was not saved. I can say this because first of all, he didn't believe what Philip said, he believed in the miracles. In other words, he was caught up in signs and wonders, which is why he did them in the first place, and that's what got his attention, not what Philip said. Remember that the people had all looked up to him and had even given him a divine title! He thought of himself that way too and he loved all the attention he got. The word translated "believe" in this verse doesn't always refer to saving faith: “Simon himself believed and was baptized. And he followed Philip everywhere, astonished by the great signs and miracles he saw.” (Acts 8:13) It just means he saw and believed that the miracles happened, like the Jew's who saw the miracles Jesus did, or even the demons in James 2:19 for that matter. Plus, Luke never says that Simon received the Holy Spirit (Acts 8:17–18). Simon didn't change. He continued to have a self centered interest in what he might be able to do, not in Jesus or how he could be saved. Finally, look at this verse: “Repent of this wickedness and pray to the Lord. Perhaps he will forgive you for having such a thought in your heart.” (Acts 8:22) the word translated "repent" is one that's normally used for the lost, not for someone who's saved and is confessing a sin. Also in “Peter answered: “May your money perish with you, because you thought you could buy the gift of God with money!” (Acts 8:20) the word "perish" is a very strong version of it. The kind used when people are dying in their sins. Finally, the description of him in verse 23 is the way you'd describe someone who's lost, not someone who's saved...not even a baby Christian. “For I see that you are full of bitterness and captive to sin.”” (Acts 8:23) I say that because before we are saved, we are captive to Satan and sin, but after we are saved, while we will still sin, we are no longer captive to it. We have a choice and they don't. So while you or I or anyone who is saved, may have some bitterness in their heart that they have to deal with Jesus about, we CAN overcome it and be rid of it with our Lord's help. But if we were not saved, we wouldn't even want to be rid of it. We'd want to be bitter about those things and couldn't imagine not being so! See what I mean?
I too have had to deal with bitterness. I think we all do at some point. Because we are so self centered, we tend to see everything as either being for us or against us personally and also we generally don't see how we could have possibly brought any of it on ourselves due to our own sins against God and others. We also tend to hold other people to a standard that we couldn't possibly attain ourselves if we were honest with ourselves. And, because of our self centeredness, we also blame God for a lot more things than we generally will admit to ourselves that we do, and we tend to think that we deserve much better than we got from Him. It's kind of funny in an ironic way, but even when we admit to our sins we will often kind of clean them up some so that they don't appear anywhere near as bad as they really are, if you know what I mean. But with other people, we see their sins in all their ugliness. We're really not very nice people are we? However, when we take it all to the Lord in prayer, and then really take the time to reflect on it all we discover all kinds of things! And the main thing we discover is that we have absolutely no reason to be bitter at all! It's like a light bulb being turned on in a dark room, and suddenly we see ourselves and those circumstances in a totally different light. We see them as they really are and not the way the world, our flesh and Satan would like us to think that they are. When that happens, the bitterness is gone for good and our hearts are made soft and can love even more than before. God is so very very good to us and never treats us the way our sin deserves! Thank You Lord!Hi Eva how cold is it there? What is the temp there as compared to Rhodes? But besides the cold, are you liking it?
I will leave your questions for Cindy. I will only say I think maybe it was Paul himself who was was lifted up and saw heaven. Hey Barbara :) Lets say in Rhodes in the coldest periods of the year it was around 10 celcius degrees, in extreme cases we went to 4 to 5 degrees. Now these past days in Thessaloniki we are below 0... Yesterday from the bus to work I saw -9, but this week is an extreme case. Normally when its cold we are around 0 to 4 degrees, but comparing to the 10 degrees in Rhodes its really different. I like here that I dont face extreme situations with people at work. It seems like I move forward from were I was, sad all the time. It seems to be ok. And I am saying it seems, because after all these years of facing this kind of problems I am a bit frightened, but by having God with me I know I will be safe. I faced horrible working conditions in Rhodes at both of the companies I worked for. Maybe the people are more spoiled there with money and everything. Its a rich place still, people take everything for granted. Maybe this was part of a reason. We live in the world, surrounded by unbelievers no matter were we are... I dont know if this was Paul who saw Heaven, it seems like he was talking about somebody else. But, if it was Paul he might mean the vision he had and that led him stop chasing Christians, the voice of God "Saul, Why Do You Persecute Me?". But I am not sure
Yes dear, there is no doubt that Paul was speaking of himself. He was being sarcastic when he spoke to them because they were acting like children. But the Lord gave him many revelations including the one about heaven. However, God did not allow Paul to tell us what he saw in heaven, but He did allow him to tell us about some of his other visions. The very first verse tells us that he is speaking about himself, just as he had been in the previous chapter when he spoke of all his trials: “I must go on boasting. Although there is nothing to be gained, I will go on to visions and revelations from the Lord.” (2 Corinthians 12:1) This vision of heaven is not what caused him to stop persecuting Christians and be saved. In Acts 9:3-19, and Acts 22:4-16 and Acts 26:11-8 we are told the story of when our Lord Jesus appeared to Paul on the road to Damascus. This was not a vision, Jesus actually appeared to Paul, which is how he was able to be an apostle, because he saw Jesus after he had been raised and ascended.
He was not taught about the gospel by the other apostles or any one else, but it was revealed to him by Jesus Himself: “I want you to know, brothers, that the gospel I preached is not something that man made up. I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it; rather, I received it by revelation from Jesus Christ.” (Galatians 1:11–12) “But when God, who set me apart from birth and called me by his grace, was pleased to reveal his Son in me so that I might preach him among the Gentiles, I did not consult any man, nor did I go up to Jerusalem to see those who were apostles before I was, but I went immediately into Arabia and later returned to Damascus.” (Galatians 1:15–17) “I was personally unknown to the churches of Judea that are in Christ. They only heard the report: “The man who formerly persecuted us is now preaching the faith he once tried to destroy.”” (Galatians 1:22–23) Remember though that Paul already had the best education there was on the Old Testament and knew it very well, before the Lord revealed the gospel to him.
Jesus also revealed the oneness of the Jew's and Gentiles to Him: “Surely you have heard about the administration of God’s grace that was given to me for you, that is, the mystery made known to me by revelation, as I have already written briefly.” (Ephesians 3:2–3) as well as other things.
In Acts 9:12 he had his first vision, and saw that Ananias would come and restore his sight.
In Acts 16:9–10 he had a vision showing him where he was to go next.
In Acts 18:9–10 he had a vision telling him to stay where he was and continue teaching.
In Acts 22:17–21 he had another vision of the Lord telling him where to go.
In Galatians 2:1–2, he goes to Jerusalem again because of a vision of the Lord.
I'm not sure if this was a vision or a direct appearance of our Lord but it sounds more like another appearance He made to Paul as we are not told anywhere that it was a vision: “The following night the Lord stood near Paul and said, “Take courage! As you have testified about me in Jerusalem, so you must also testify in Rome.”” (Acts 23:11) When Paul was about to be in a shipwreck, He sent an angel who appeared to Paul: “Last night an angel of the God whose I am and whom I serve stood beside me and said, ‘Do not be afraid, Paul. You must stand trial before Caesar; and God has graciously given you the lives of all who sail with you.’” (Acts 27:23–24) The Lord appeared to him another time: “But the Lord stood at my side and gave me strength, so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed and all the Gentiles might hear it. And I was delivered from the lion’s mouth.” (2 Timothy 4:17)
As you can easily see, Paul had many visions, many revelation, and the Lord appeared to him many times, and also sent angels to appear to him or help him many times. All these visions, and revelations, including the vision of heaven, would have caused Paul to become proud and to prevent that God gave him a "thorn" to keep him humble. Paul led an amazing life!
You are missing the thread about the rapture that I thought you wanted to hear about:
fresh-hope.com/thread/3141/rapture
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fearnot
Living With Pain
Posts: 8,399
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Post by fearnot on Jan 9, 2017 18:25:31 GMT -5
Thank you so much Cindy.
I really was not at all sure about Simon's state of salvation or not,
so you really clarified it.
This was very helpful also:
"...we are captive to Satan and sin,
but after we are saved,
while we will still sin,
we are no longer captive to it"
And how that applies to Peter saying to Simon:
For I see that you are full of bitterness
and
'captive to sin'.” (Acts 8:23)
One very tiny upbeat thing happened with my grandson today. ( he was sick and stayed home so I was staying with him).
At one point , he wanted to show me some game on his kindle,
and after that I said,
Did you know kindle was for reading books and you can order them free?
Yes, he said.
Then, I said:
They have kids books too.
Really!!!???? he replied
So I showed him Amazon free kids books....
he started looking and immediately saw a Christian one about Genesis chapter one.
So we ordered it right then,
and
he read it to me.
He LOVED it!!
And the illustrations were gorgeous also!!!
So that was so nice!!!
I also found it so heartwarming when you said the Lord will provide exactly what I need if I die before the rapture!!
Further, I never knew Paul had soooooo many visions!!! When you listed them all I was astounded!!!
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fearnot
Living With Pain
Posts: 8,399
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Post by fearnot on Jan 9, 2017 19:12:46 GMT -5
1/9/17
acts 8:26-40
Philip and the Ethiopian
The Holy Spirit sent Philip to help the Ethiopian with a passage of scripture he could not understand.
The application for me, is that although God the Holy Spirit is capable of teaching me anything in scripture....
God has also provided some people with the gift of teaching ( yet eventually all Christians can mature to be able to teach others also)
Nevertheless, He may also provide human teachers for me ( such as you) to explain difficult passages
So tho I can pray and ask the Lord to give me the wisdom, knowledge, application etc etc. Himself, that He wants me to know
I can see from this passage that I need not to fear asking a Godly teacher for help either.
As time passes, I may find that I may be able to help as a teacher slowly on, bit by bit.
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Post by Cindy on Jan 10, 2017 10:56:21 GMT -5
Thank you so much Cindy.
I really was not at all sure about Simon's state of salvation or not,
so you really clarified it.
This was very helpful also:
"...we are captive to Satan and sin,
but after we are saved,
while we will still sin,
we are no longer captive to it"
And how that applies to Peter saying to Simon:
For I see that you are full of bitterness
and
'captive to sin'.” (Acts 8:23)
One very tiny upbeat thing happened with my grandson today. ( he was sick and stayed home so I was staying with him).
At one point , he wanted to show me some game on his kindle,
and after that I said,
Did you know kindle was for reading books and you can order them free?
Yes, he said.
Then, I said:
They have kids books too.
Really!!!???? he replied
So I showed him Amazon free kids books....
he started looking and immediately saw a Christian one about Genesis chapter one.
So we ordered it right then,
and
he read it to me.
He LOVED it!!
And the illustrations were gorgeous also!!!
So that was so nice!!!
I also found it so heartwarming when you said the Lord will provide exactly what I need if I die before the rapture!!
Further, I never knew Paul had soooooo many visions!!! When you listed them all I was astounded!!!
That's great that he found a good book right away! There are many good fiction Christian books for children available, as well as great children's bibles too. I have The Action Bible Easter Story (Action Bible Series) on my kindle for the kids. It's 99 cents now, but I got it for free at the time. I'm sure they'll have it for free again sooner or later though.
1/9/17
acts 8:26-40
Philip and the Ethiopian
The Holy Spirit sent Philip to help the Ethiopian with a passage of scripture he could not understand.
The application for me, is that although God the Holy Spirit is capable of teaching me anything in scripture....
God has also provided some people with the gift of teaching ( yet eventually all Christians can mature to be able to teach others also)
Nevertheless, He may also provide human teachers for me ( such as you) to explain difficult passages
So tho I can pray and ask the Lord to give me the wisdom, knowledge, application etc etc. Himself, that He wants me to know
I can see from this passage that I need not to fear asking a Godly teacher for help either.
As time passes, I may find that I may be able to help as a teacher slowly on, bit by bit.
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fearnot
Living With Pain
Posts: 8,399
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Post by fearnot on Jan 10, 2017 13:05:29 GMT -5
1/10/17
Acts 9:1-19
Saul's Conversion
This passage is rather encouraging because it shows that even the most ardent hater of Christ, can be turn and converted.
It also is an example of courage because although Ananias was afraid of Paul, he did what the Lord asked of Him......which is an application for me, of trusting Jesus even in the hard things.
I am sitting with grandson again, as he is home a 2nd day of being sick.
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Post by Cindy on Jan 11, 2017 12:40:35 GMT -5
1/10/17
Acts 9:1-19
Saul's Conversion
This passage is rather encouraging because it shows that even the most ardent hater of Christ, can be turn and converted.
It also is an example of courage because although Ananias was afraid of Paul, he did what the Lord asked of Him......which is an application for me, of trusting Jesus even in the hard things.
I am sitting with grandson again, as he is home a 2nd day of being sick.
When we read about all of this, we tend to skim over dates and things that can be used to date when something happened, like who was ruling the area at the time, etc. But by this time, 10 years had passed since Pentecost.
In Acts 9:5, Jesus asks Paul, "why do you persecute Me?" which is really amazing when you think about it! I'm sure Paul must have been thinking "I haven't done anything to you!" But by His question, the Lord lets us know that anything that happens to us, anything that's said to us, is the same as if it was said or happened to Him! This is something that's really interesting to reflect on! This shows the intimacy we have with Jesus, just like He said we would. ““He who receives you receives me, and he who receives me receives the one who sent me.” (Matthew 10:40) ““The King will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.’” (Matthew 25:40) ““He will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’” (Matthew 25:45) etc. So no matter what you are doing, thinking, saying, etc. or what's being said to you or done to you, our Lord is right there with you - not just observing, but actually sharing in it with you! When one of us suffers (for any reason) our Lord suffers right along with us! After all, He's dwelling within you, so that makes sense doesn't it? Like I said, this is something we all need to reflect on for there will never be a time that we are separated from Him.
Paul’s experience of seeing Jesus on the road to Damascus and being saved is an example of how Israel will be saved when Jesus Christ returns and reveals Himself to them. ““And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and supplication. They will look on me, the one they have pierced, and they will mourn for him as one mourns for an only child, and grieve bitterly for him as one grieves for a firstborn son.” (Zechariah 12:10) (also Matt. 24:29ff; 1 Tim. 1:12–16 etc) This is another reason why Paul's conversion is so important, which shows us that God tends to have many reasons for doing things the way He does them, and all His reasons are always good ones.
God using Ananias to restore Paul's sight, shows us that even the most insignificant person can and is used by God for good. We would have never heard about Ananias if God hadn't told him to go to Paul at that time and we never hear about him again. Yet behind many of the major players, are many who may be totally unknown and yet have influenced them.
“I will show him how much he must suffer for my name.”” (Acts 9:16) This shows us that suffering is not the exception but the norm for those who are saved. The words in the original language imply successful bearing of a great burden and suffering. It shows us that it is because of "the Name", our Lord, that we will suffer. We will suffer because He suffered, but unlike Him, we won't bear it alone, for He will bear the major portion of it for us. Remember, Jesus told us that His yoke was easy and light. That's because He carries the hard part of it when we are living in Him. (In other words, when we are living our life for Him and not for ourselves; or to put it another way, when we are dwelling in His Word and applying it to our lives daily because we love Him and want to please Him.
Notice what Ananias says to Paul: “Then Ananias went to the house and entered it. Placing his hands on Saul, he said, “Brother Saul, the Lord—Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you were coming here—has sent me so that you may see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit.”” (Acts 9:17) Paul has just been through a huge trauma and is still totally blind, which I'm sure must have been really scary for him. He's gone from killing Christians to becoming a Christian in the span of just a few moments which must have been a huge change for him to deal with. He must have had all kinds of questions going through his mind at the time, including questions of how people would react to him now that he was a Christian too. He wasn't naive, and I'm sure he figured that no one would want to be anywhere near him as they would hate him for what he'd done, since that's how so called "normal" people would react toward someone who had killed their loved ones and wanted to kill them, even if they had changed. And how would his old friends react toward him now...the ones who still wanted to kill Christians? Would they now hate him? These and many other questions like them must have been going through his mind. Then Ananias comes - and the first thing out of his mouth is "Brother Saul". Those words must have been so sweet to his ears and his heart. He was accepted, and not just barely, but as a brother! Talk about edifying each other! Ananias surely did that!
In verse 18 we see that Ananias baptized Paul. Ananias wasn't a priest, or a pastor, or a disciple or apostle, yet he baptized Paul. We need to remember that God has made us ALL priests and we all have the right to do these things:
“you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.” (1 Peter 2:5) and “But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.” (1 Peter 2:9)
Finally, on a different subject, I wanted to share one of my notes in my own bible study time today with you. It's from “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” (2 Timothy 3:16–17)
The better we know the Word, the better we are able to live & work for God. The purpose of Bible study is not just to understand doctrines or to be able to defend the faith, as important as these things are. The ultimate purpose is the equipping of the believers who read it. It is the Word of God that equips God’s people to do the work of God. The times are not going to get better, but we Christians can become better people, even in bad times. We must separate ourselves from that which is false, devote ourselves to that which is true, & continue in our study of the Word of God. The Bible exposition commentary
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fearnot
Living With Pain
Posts: 8,399
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Post by fearnot on Jan 11, 2017 14:26:41 GMT -5
So many great things you wrote/posted etc.
This really hit me on a deeper level. Its so weird, sometimes I 'know' something but its on the surface....
it has no real meaning
but as time goes by and I read it again, someone like you expounds on it and suddenly it has more true meaning, a deeper impact, it is no longer a surface knowing ( which is hardly knowing at all)...like this that you wrote:
1)"... anything that happens to us, anything that's said to us, is the same as if it was said or happened to Him!"
I knew it but it never applied to me.
2) "suffering is not the exception but the norm for those who are saved....it is because of "the Name", our Lord, that we will suffer. We will suffer because He suffered, but unlike Him, we won't bear it alone, for He will bear the major portion of it for us."
And this was great also:
3)"The times are not going to get better, but we Christians can become better people, even in bad times.
We must separate ourselves from that which is false,
devote ourselves to that which is true,
& continue in our study of the Word of God."
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fearnot
Living With Pain
Posts: 8,399
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Post by fearnot on Jan 11, 2017 15:01:28 GMT -5
1/11/17
Acts 9:19-31
Saul in Damascus and Jerusalem
Paul's life as a believer proves that suffering is the norm as you put it. It seems like where ever he went, trouble was sure to be there.
However, at the same time, he had love, fellowship, and compassion shown to him, like when the believers helped him escape death by lowering in a basket.
In Jerusalem they were afraid of him, but Barnabas stood up for him.
This passage made me think of what you said about suffering, its the norm, Jesus suffers with us, and He takes the brunt of it....and so my application, is to consider that when I feel I am suffering.
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Post by Cindy on Jan 12, 2017 10:20:37 GMT -5
So many great things you wrote/posted etc.
This really hit me on a deeper level. Its so weird, sometimes I 'know' something but its on the surface....
it has no real meaning
but as time goes by and I read it again, someone like you expounds on it and suddenly it has more true meaning, a deeper impact, it is no longer a surface knowing ( which is hardly knowing at all)...like this that you wrote:
1)"... anything that happens to us, anything that's said to us, is the same as if it was said or happened to Him!"
I knew it but it never applied to me.
2) "suffering is not the exception but the norm for those who are saved....it is because of "the Name", our Lord, that we will suffer. We will suffer because He suffered, but unlike Him, we won't bear it alone, for He will bear the major portion of it for us."
And this was great also:
3)"The times are not going to get better, but we Christians can become better people, even in bad times.
We must separate ourselves from that which is false,
devote ourselves to that which is true,
& continue in our study of the Word of God."
1/11/17
Acts 9:19-31
Saul in Damascus and Jerusalem
Paul's life as a believer proves that suffering is the norm as you put it. It seems like where ever he went, trouble was sure to be there.
However, at the same time, he had love, fellowship, and compassion shown to him, like when the believers helped him escape death by lowering in a basket.
In Jerusalem they were afraid of him, but Barnabas stood up for him.
This passage made me think of what you said about suffering, its the norm, Jesus suffers with us, and He takes the brunt of it....and so my application, is to consider that when I feel I am suffering.
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fearnot
Living With Pain
Posts: 8,399
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Post by fearnot on Jan 12, 2017 11:37:40 GMT -5
I don't think I have ever said that prayer: Father Glorify Your Name!
I am definitely going to!!!
This morning it was coooold out! Leonard as he was going off to drive the grand kids to school, poked his head back in, and said:
your little hummingbird is out sitting on a branch.
I knew I should give he or she, some new food....but I wanted to stay in where it was nice and toasty warm!!! And sit!!
But I got up and made some food, plus put some suet out for the song birds.
I was glad I made the effort tho, as the little hummer sat listening to me tell her how cute and adorable she is....
and then she flew hopped closer and closer and finally took a little fly about very close....it was so sweet.
Like she was saying hello,
then she got back on the branch so I could tell her more about how pretty she was.
I also told her ( as I often do with wild creatures):
that everything that has breath, praise the Lord.
Since it was so cold and she just wanted to listen to my voice, but I know they have to eat every 15 mins in the best of weather, I went in so she could go back to eating.
Several song birds flew in to eat while this exchange with hummie was going on.
But it was cold out there!!!
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!!
