Our Daily Time With The Lord 2

Cindy
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Waiting for Jesus to come back and take us all to be with Him forever!

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Our Daily Time With The Lord 2 Jun 19, 2017 10:04:06 GMT -5

Post by Cindy on Jun 19, 2017 10:04:06 GMT -5

Jun 14, 2017 12:28:47 GMT -5 Cindy said:

you said: "Well, I will maybe go back and re-read the psalms you suggested and will post on the first one today...until I better understand what I am to do.....
I am used to reading a chapter or a psalm etc. and posting on it....I am not sure if you were saying as I talk to the Lord about His gift of joy and reflect on it...if I am to read all the psalms again you suggested and post on all of them today ( well tomorrow, since I am doing just one today). Joy is still a little elusive,but in general, I mostly feel more peaceful, more trusting, and less worrying."

No, that's not what I wanted you to do. This is what I actually said:
What I'd like you to do now is to talk to the Lord about His gift of joy. Not just in general, but His gift of it to you personally. Reflect on His joy and how it's related to praise, and thankfulness and even contentment. Consider how joy is related to love and peace which God also gives us and which are all things that grow as we grow in our faith. As you talk to Him about all of this and reflect on it, be going over some of the psalms with Him, especially the great Hallel's. Psalm 113–118 are the Egyptian Hallel, then there's The Great Hallel (Psalm 120–136) and lastly, The Final Hallel (Psalm 145–150). Then let me know what you've discovered that you can apply to your life that will bring God's joy to you so that you can overcome that last bit of being down that happens when you first wake up.
Now, I'll try to say it in another way.... All of this is to be done at the same time in one day. BUT you could also take the first day and spend it going over the notes I gave you and see what you get from them. If you do that, then be sure to ask the Lord to guide you and show you what He wants you to learn from them first. As far as posting goes, if you do this first, just post and let me know that's what you're doing (or have done). You can also share what you got out of them for yourself too. Then, the next day do what I suggested and what I'll now try to put in a different way for you:

1. Open your bible to one of these Psalms (it doesn't matter which one, just whichever one you want to) Psalm 113, 114, 115, 116, 117, 118, Psalm 145, 146, 147, 148, 149, or 150. (I removed the Great Hallel as it's got so many in it.)
2. Talk to the Lord asking Him to guide you to what He wants you to learn. Then talk to Him about His gift of joy - not in general, but His gift of joy to you personally.
3. Go to any scripture(s) that come to mind as you're talking to Him, read them and talk to Him about how they relate to what you're talking about with Him.
4. Consider how joy is related to love and peace which God also gives us and which are all things that grow as fruit as we grow in our faith, talking to the Lord about this.
5. As you talk to Him about all of this and reflect on it, be going over some of the above psalms with Him,
6. When you're done, come to FH to post and let me know what you've discovered that you can apply to your life that will bring God's joy to you so that you can overcome that last bit of being down that happens when you first wake up.
7. If you're worn out, or just out of time, after your time with the Lord on either of those days, then just post and let me know you'll tell me about it the next day. What's important is the time you spend with the Lord learning from Him, not what you do here. So if it would be easier for you to post about your time the day afterward, that's fine too.

You might also spend some time or a whole day going over some of the notes on the psalms that I wrote for you and talk to the Lord about them as well.

When you do post, I don't want to know what any of the psalms say - we already did that. What I want you to post about is what the Lord tells you from His Word that will personally help you overcome your problem. When I say things like "what the Lord tells you" I don't mean that I expect you to hear a voice in your head. The Lord speaks to us from His Word.

Let me give you an example of what might happen: Let's say you chose to start with Psalm 145, so you open your bible to that psalm. You ask the Lord to guide you to what He wants you to learn and then you talk to Him about what happens to you some mornings as you wake up and ask Him to help you overcome that and to show you what you need. You talk to Him about how He gives us the gift of Joy and mention that you'd really like to experience that, and again ask His help in doing so. You begin to read the psalm slowly. As you read, verse 5 seems to stand out to you, and it talks about meditating on His wonderful works. You talk to Him about that and continue to read. Verse 9 stands out to you too, speaking of how the Lord is so compassionate toward us. You think about His compassion toward you in the past, and even right this moment as He guides you to what you need to know and works with you to experience His joy. You begin to feel a great love for Him swell up within you. That causes you to begin worshiping Him. The more you think about how much He loves you and how He is always ready to listen and can't wait to see you every morning, your love for Him feels like it's overflowing and you realize that you're also feeling His love for you. As you sit and relish the feeling of His love around you, you suddenly realize that you're not just feeling love, (both His for you and you for Him) but that you're feeling joy too! You have the one thing that every human being needs in order to be fulfilled - God, and you will have Him always and forever!

Jun 13, 2017 15:41:37 GMT -5 fearnot said:

6/13/17
Psalm 113

It is kind of neat to be going back and re-reading some of the psalms! And as usual, I am seeing different things this time around that stand out today to me.

We as His servants are to praise God, now and forevermore. ( we are also more than servants but that's another story).

But as you have pointed out, this is not a chore that we ( I) 'have' to do, in fact, it is we ( I) who end up getting all manner of benefits from praising our God and Savior.

In fact, we ought, should, could praise Him all the time....not because of the benefits we will surely get, but because He is worthy, there is none like Him.

But speaking of benefits, my God does not just give them to the rich and mighty, but He is more apt to raise the poor and the needy up....and works miracles ( now and later in time and eternity).

My (our) God is worthy to be praise, and it will bring me ( us) joy, and peace.

That's well said hon, but not what I wanted you to do, as I've already explained. I really want you to take plenty of time and go over the notes and talk to the Lord about what will help you personally, and then spend time in His Word in the psalms again talking to the Lord about it all. To start I'd like you to read about Joy itself in what I've written below for you:

JOY. Closely related to gladness and happiness, although joy is more a state of being than an emotion; a result of choice. One of the fruits of the spirit (Gal 5:22–23). Having joy is part of the experience of being a Christian. Joy occurs frequently in songs of praise, most frequently in the book of Psalms (1 Chr 16; Pss 20; 33; 47). The prophets speak of joy, both its being taken away on account of exile (Ezek 24:25; Joel 1:12) and of the joy that will return when the people are restored (Isa 35:10; Jer 31:13).
In the New Testament, joy is still used for victory, as shown by the disciples returning with joy since even the evil spirits listened to them (Luke 10:17). However, the victory focuses more on salvation (Luke 15:7)—the presence of Christ, the bridegroom, gives reason for joy (John 3:29). In the New Testament letters, joy is a desired attribute of Christians. Paul expressed frequently the joy he had regarding the salvation of those he was writing to and prayed that they might be full of joy.
Joy is one of the fruits of the Spirit; it is expected of Christians because it is the natural result of having received salvation. The joy comes on account of what Christ has done, irrelevant of whatever other circumstances are happening in one’s life.
The Lexham Bible Dictionary

JOY State of delight and well being that results from knowing and serving God. A number of Greek and Hebrew words are used to convey the ideas of joy and rejoicing. We have the same situation in English with such nearly synonymous words as joy, happiness, pleasure, delight, gladness, merriment, felicity, and enjoyment. The words “joy” and “rejoice” are the words used most often to translate the Hebrew and Greek words into English. Joy is found over 150 times in the Bible. If such words as “joyous” and “joyful” are included, the number comes to over 200. The verb “rejoice” appears well over 200 times.
Joy is the fruit of a right relation with God. It is not something people can create by their own efforts. The Bible distinguishes joy from pleasure. The Greek word for pleasure is the word from which we get our word “hedonism,” the philosophy of self-centered pleasure seeking. Paul referred to false teachers as “lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God” (2 Tim. 3:4 HCSB).
The Bible warns that self-indulgent pleasure seeking does not lead to happiness and fulfillment. Ecclesiastes 2:1–11 records the sad testimony of one who sought to build his life on pleasure seeking. The search left him empty and disillusioned. Proverbs 14:13 offers insight into this way of life, “Even in laughter a heart may be sad” (HCSB). Cares, riches, and pleasures rob people of the possibility of fruitful living (Luke 8:14). Pleasure seeking often enslaves people in a vicious cycle of addiction (Titus 3:3). The self-indulgent person, according to 1 Tim. 5:6, is dead while seeming still to be alive.
Many people think that God is the great killjoy. Nothing could be a bigger lie. God Himself knows joy, and He wants His people to know joy. Psalm 104:31 speaks of God Himself rejoicing in His creative works. Isaiah 65:18 speaks of God rejoicing over His redeemed people who will be to Him “a joy.”
Luke 15 is the most famous biblical reference to God’s joy. The Pharisees and scribes had criticized Jesus for receiving sinners and eating with them. Then Jesus told three parables—the lost sheep, the lost coin, and the lost son. The explicit theme of each parable is joy over one sinner who repents.
The joy of God came to focus in human history in Jesus Christ. The note of joy and exultation runs through the entire biblical account of the coming of Christ (Luke 1:14, 44; Matt. 2:10). The most familiar passage is the angel’s announcement of “good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people” (Luke 2:10 KJV). Jesus spoke of His own joy and of the full joy He had come to bring to others (John 15:11; 17:13). He illustrated the kingdom of heaven by telling of the joy of a man who found treasure (Matt. 13:44). Zacchaeus was in a tree when Jesus called him, but he quickly climbed down and received Jesus joyfully (Luke 19:6). He had found life’s ultimate treasure in Christ.
As Jesus’ death approached, He told His followers that soon they would be like a woman in labor, whose sorrow would be turned into joy (John 16:20–22). Later they understood when the dark sorrow of the cross gave way to the joy of the resurrection (Luke 24:41). Viewed from this perspective, eventually they came to see that the cross itself was necessary for the joy to become real (Heb. 12:2). Because of His victory and the promise of His abiding presence, the disciples could rejoice even after the Lord’s ascension (Luke 24:52).
The book of Acts tells how joy continued to characterize those who followed Jesus. After Philip preached in Samaria, the people believed and “there was great joy in that city” (Acts 8:8). After the work of Paul and Barnabas in Antioch of Pisidia, “the disciples were filled with joy and the Holy Spirit” (Acts 13:52 HCSB). Paul and Barnabas reported such conversions to other believers, “and they created great joy among all the brothers” (Acts 15:3). After the conversion of the Philippian jailer, he “rejoiced because he had believed God with his entire household” (Acts 16:34).
Joy in the Christian life is in direct proportion as believers walk with the Lord. They can rejoice because they are in the Lord (Phil. 4:4). Joy is a fruit of a Spirit-led life (Gal. 5:22). Sin in a believer’s life robs the person of joy (Ps. 51:7–8, 12).
When a person walks with the Lord, the person can continue to rejoice even when troubles come. Jesus spoke of those who could rejoice even when persecuted and killed (Matt. 5:12). Paul wrote of rejoicing in suffering because of the final fruit that would result (Rom. 5:3–5). Both Peter and James also echoed the Lord’s teachings about rejoicing in troubles (1 Pet. 1:6–8; James 1:2).
Joy in the Lord enables people to enjoy all that God has given. They rejoice in family (Prov. 5:18), food (1 Tim. 4:3–5), celebrations (Deut. 16:13–15), fellowship (Phil. 4:1). They share with other believers the joys and sorrows of life: “Rejoice with those who rejoice; weep with those who weep” (Rom. 12:15 HCSB). Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary

Jun 14, 2017 17:09:41 GMT -5 fearnot said:

It's 3:00 and I only just got on the net and was able to read what I was supposed to have done......I had a feeling, I didn't understand, and I was right about that anyway LOL

So I will first write down ( in case the net or our server goes down again, this has been going on for over a week or more)
the praise psalms you suggested and ask the Lord about the mornings, and see what He shows me from them.
Another day, (tomorrow....if I can get online) I will read your notes.
I will post either tonight or tomorrow on the psalms....but it seems like our server or whatever is going on, almost always goes down at night....but today it was all morning and 1/2 of the afternoon.

Also I have strangely been very tired the last couple of days. I was hoping as summer very slowly creeps in, I might find more energy, but so far, the last couple of days, it's not been happening.
I can hardly stay awake.

However, when the net is up I listen to praise and worship songs for an hour or so, and I have been peaceful and very joy filled.

I'm sorry you've been so tired lately and hope you get your energy back soon....

Jun 15, 2017 18:09:10 GMT -5 fearnot said:

I have not yet re-read your notes but I did go back and re-read Psalms 113-118
and 145-150

And I took some notes.

Before I forget tho, I wanted to say, one thing that really helped was when you wrote, that the Lord is excited to see me each morning.

So I am still not sure I understand 100 percent,
but I will write what I have so far, and if I need to go back over them and expand, I will do so.

Psalm 113
v. 2 speaks of praising the Lord for now and forever more.....
and I realized since my joy is not where I think it ought to be (sort of more minimal and iffy....kind of like our computer network/server whatever...on again off again),

means I do not spend enough time with the Lord, and/or praising him.

Psalm 114
V,2 I am indwelled by God the Holy Spirit but me as a church, is often more empty church due to my spending only a small amount of real quality time with the Lord....and thus a small amount of joy.....it is certainly more than it was when I first joined FH of course and I have more peace, and thankfulness....but since I am working mostly on the joy factor.....

Psalm 115

v. 1 I need to focus more on God's love and faithfulness to me. I also need to once again, spend less time with the world and it's false idols ( less news etc. which is mostly downers and not joy bringing.....yes it points to how close we are getting to the end.....but in a way, that goes without saying, I KNOW every day is a day closer, and there is no question the world is going down the drain.
I also need to think on how He is my help and will bless me, plus being more thankful for his love, now, and forevermore.

Psalm 116

v.1 I can have joy because God heard my cry for mercy, and I can call on Him for as long as I live.

v.3,5 I can rejoice that whenever I have been ( or will be) overcome by trouble, sorrow or in great need, the Lord is compassionate, and has ( and will) deliver me......esp. my soul from the 2nd death.

v.16 Jesus has freed me from my chains and I could be joyful and give a sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving.

Psalm 117

Joy and peace because His love towards me is great and His faithfulness endures forever ( forever is a joy filled word to me).

Psalm 118

v.1 is like Ps. 117 Joy = the fact that God's love for me endures forever!

v.5 Jesus has set me free of fear-what can man do to me? ( I actually am free from fear waaaaaaay more than I ever was, but I still do have moments when fear tries to overcome me, because of how crazy people in the world are becoming.
But the Lord has let me live in this small coastal village, where we have been very insulated from the madness of big cities and I am so grateful.
v. 14 reminds me I can be joyful because I do not need to be strong in myself, but the Lord God is my strength.
v. 17 I will not die ( well my body yes, but even then I will get a new body....that is a joyful thought!!!)
v.24 kind of goes along as an antidote to my morning depression because it says: this is the day the Lord has made....rejoice ( Joy) and be glad in it.

Hummmmm I forgot to write what Ps I was looking at LOL
Opps!

I wrote I can praise His greatness, majesty, goodness, compassion, love, and look forward to His kingdom with joy also His faithful promises to me, can bring joy.
v. 14 He will uphold me when I fall
v. 18 He is near when I call which also is a reason to be joy filled ( He is not far away).

I think I will take a short break and do 145-150 later.

This is all things we've already discussed hon. I'm not sure why you're doing this....

Jun 16, 2017 14:30:55 GMT -5 fearnot said:

6/16/17
Psalms 145-150

Today I will do Psalms 145-150 and then start working on re-reading your notes.

Psalm 145

In order to have joy I need to lock in my mind v.1 to praise my Savior with my heart, spirit, mind....forever and ever.

v.8 another reason to feel joyful is that Jesus has been compassionate and loving to me.
v. 13 and trustworthy and faithful, providing for my needs all of my life.

v. 19 a cause for joy is He heard my cry and saved me.

Psalm 146

I can praise the Lord God all my life as long as I live and sing praises ( and He inhabits the praises of His people)
6. Joy for creating everything
and
v.7 for setting me free
and
v.8 giving me 'sight'
and
v.9 sustained me when I was fatherless
and
v.10
He reigns.....forever!!!

Psalm 147

v.3 Joy because He healed my broken heart
v.5 because He is all knowing ( I don't want to be all knowing myself, it is more fun and joyful to know, that my God, can forever surprise me, and give more more and more knowledge and wisdom, forever and ever.

v.10 I don't have to be 'strong' either, for Him to love me, His love for me is unfailing ( and just like He is all knowing, it is a joyful truth that He is all powerful! He can over come anything, but He can also give me strength for eternity.

v.18 and His word is powerful!

Psalm 148

v. 14 In praising Him, I join with a multitude of brother and sister believers, and all He has created, which brings me close to his heart.

Psalm 149

v.4 It is a joy to know that the Lord delights in me!

Psalm 150

I can praise Him in many different ways, words, song, dance etc.

ok, yes there are many reasons we can praise Him....

Jun 17, 2017 10:23:33 GMT -5 fearnot said:

Today I am going to start reading your notes from the beginning of this thread.

About our weird internet problem.....finally ( because the landlord and his family came last night,
and everyone but us told them about intermittent or very little internet, and they themselves could not get online.....he then called the server.)

The server tried to fix the problem from the office to no avail and told him they would have to order a new modem and install it, in order to fix the problem....I think they will bring it out once they get it, but don't know how long that will take.

So, I may just start putting up some notes in a post

which I will continue to add to as an edit

and then

go back and organize it

because I never know when or how long we will be on......it seems like we can still be on, an hour or two and then off for 4 or more hours and on again for an hour....but not always even that much.

So that is why I am going to be posting in such a strange way

if you happen to come and just see some random sentences or partial sentences even....I just want to get some of your ideas up and will organize later....as long as I can even continue to get on for some time anyway.

I never intended you to read all the notes on this thread Barbara. I only meant the last few notes I'd written; I guess I didn't make that very clear.

Jun 17, 2017 11:01:39 GMT -5 fearnot said:

So now I will begin posting some of your notes I am re-reading that are helpful to me ( well they all are LOL but you know what I mean.

"it may take time for it to go away completely and for you to accept the changes the Lord has made within you, so that the old feeling is replaced with a new good one. It depends on you and the Lord really, and how much time you spend in His Word daily."

"This is the day the Lord has made and I will rejoice and be glad in it"

I pray for people I see on the street, or in the store, just whoever the Lord points out to me. I pray for the people I hear about on the news....all the regular members of FH....neighbors, my own family, the body of Christ in general."

"It's hard for us to truly understand godly beauty when all we've been exposed to is earthly or worldly beauty. Plus, just as importantly, remember what the Lord tells us that we will find exactly what we are searching for. if we are searching to find ugliness, then that's what we'll find. If we are searching for beauty, then that's what we'll find....grandma's equal love and love is beautiful... God calls grey hair a crown...

Worldly beauty is one of the idols that many Americans have...poisonous lies...
beautiful is someone without makeup who you can see is innocent of those lies, someone who, like a child, accepts themselves the way the Lord made them and simply enjoys the life they've been given.

Spiritual food can seem unsatisfying at first, but have you ever had someone say to you, “I love you”? Wouldn’t you gladly pass on a buffet in order to hear such words?

a fed spirit is satisfied for this life and the life to come.

It’s true I’m feeling bad. It’s only unpleasant, however; it’s not doomsville.
2.‎ It’s not doomsville because I’m not letting it be. I'll allow some good healthy pain, but I won’t allow anguish, misery, woe, & disaster.
3. ‎I’m in control here. God has created me as an emotional being, so I can expect to have emotions. But God has also given me the fruit of the Spirit: self-control. So I'll control my feelings & they can’t control me.
4. I am angry. I can, however, handle anger in a biblical, healthy manner. I don't lie to myself about this emotion & I don't try to squelch it or hold it in. I'm also not a person of temper tantrums. I choose self-control.

Two misbeliefs undergird this kind of despair:

1. God is not the source of life. Man is.
‎When we're despondent over loss, we're telling ourselves that the person or thing we lost is crucial to our lives & happiness.
‎The untruth lies in the fact that nothing & nobody but God is crucial to anyone.

2. Since I lost X, my world has nothing of any significance in it.

A person can lose his/her health, reputation, vision, hearing, legs, hands, even family members, money, homes, physical attractiveness, life goals & plans & yet recover & go on living a wonderfully rewarding & meaningful life. When you suffer a loss, you're going to feel the sting; but the key to recovery is not to repeat that someone or something is of such importance that you cannot go on after losing it. You can go on. You are important. ‎Part of the self-talk of nearly all depressives includes the statement, “The future is hopeless.

Instead:

“Even though I feel I have no hope, my recovery is assured. Thank God, these feelings of depression won’t last.”

Freedom from lies we tell ourselves

even when we're asleep - unaware of what's really going on - God takes tender, loving care of us, always giving abundantly...protecting her and considers her precious.

Jun 18, 2017 12:11:47 GMT -5 fearnot said:

I have a feeling that I will need several more days or longer to finish all your notes.
I am about 3/5 thru the first page.

However, today is Hossanah's birthday and father's day.
Then we have the grandchildren home and we may have to split being with Devon about 4 1/2 hours ea.
plus Tue we will have to start cleaning the apt.
for landlord Brent ( and these guests 2 adults,
2 children, and a dog....almost certainly means all beds will need tending, crumbs and dog hair everywhere, and all towels used....

So tho I will be able to spend a couple hours each day, I still don't think, I will get thru all the pages before the end of the week......

Oh and the fact, that our internet is still on the blink a lot.....we are waiting for the server to put in a new modem....so we never know when we may be able to get on , nor for how long....

and I sometimes feel better, but then sometimes,
I am in pain and very very tired.

But I am truly enjoying going over the notes.....some of it is like brand new, I either don't remember very well or it is just making a much stronger impact.

I also have been listening to a lot of gospel praise and worship music which really does life my soul and spirit!!! a LOT!!!!

It's fine if you want to go through the notes and save them for your notebook, but again that's not at all what I asked you to do.
That's something you should have been doing each day as we went along. I'm glad you're listening to a lot of praise and worship music though. that's very good for us.

Jun 18, 2017 14:33:52 GMT -5 fearnot said:

I am putting this note in because it is true and holds true even to this day....I still hold in a lot of stuff. It's funny, at one time I was diagnosed among other things as catatonic because I refused to be vulnerable ( yes, you were right it was a temper tantrum) I just shut down all together, because then no one could hurt me....but that didn't last tooo long but on a smaller scale I still will often freeze when scared,(perhaps also a "paralysis of self-pity")..... which is why I need to find more joy in the Lord who is strong and who loves me
This is the first note that caught my eye today....not exactly about joy, but perhaps a lack of it, has to do with a temper tantrum even now.

"In a way it was probably your way of throwing a tantrum. You simply held everything inside yourself, which is a very, very unhealthy way to deal with emotions. But since you didn't get the love you needed when you showed them, you just kept them inside. That's something you most likely have to deal with to this day."

And you mentioned not to deny God our true feelings.

"David was, or how sick or tired, he always told the Lord and then before he was done, he'd wind up praising God, which is exactly what we need to learn to do every day. "

But we can also dishonor God if we have inappropriate feelings and out of control actions and call it a moving of the Holy Spirit.

A joy stealer is self-pity and at "The heart of self-pity is envy....

The mind becomes engrossed in a morbid, temporal perspective."

"Instead of leaving the hurt in the past they continue to hurt us as we relive the event.....

what he (I) needed was a new way of understanding it.....The new perspective was that of being able to look at the situation as God did.

If you want to understand what's going on, you spend time with the One who knows. You talk to Him, you reaffirm your love for Him, your commitment to Him, regardless of whether or not you get the full answer....
If He doesn’t tell us the answer to the question we're asking, then we know that either it's not for us to know or it's not time for us to know it."

And that would help allow joy to come in, I am thinking

"When Jesus was on earth He experienced every kind of struggle that we do. He was physically and verbally abused, abandoned by friends & family, ridiculed..."

"We can leave the hurt or the person who hurt us in God’s hands..."

"We will not know God intimately unless we know His Word.....

the purpose of fasting isn't so much going without food as it is to have more time to spend with God

Everything turns inward in depression
Like a boomerang that always returns, no matter how hard you try, you can’t get away from yourself. Pain is like that.

But there are choices.

Your decision is between calling out to the Lord or not.

When we engage in self-pity we are in a position of pride & mistrust.....

we say through our self-pity, ‘I am too good for this’, or, ‘I don’t deserve this’.
It is mistrust in that we are not trusting in the providence of God....

Every time I am tempted to entertain the old feelings of self-pity I remind myself, & God, that I do not own that situation any more. I have given it to God & I must refuse to take it back.

Self pity= Joy snatcher

It's not our place to be concerned whether someone else has a better pilgrimage than we do.
Our pilgrimage is unique & the task for us is to accept what happens, as our journey is designed to make us more like our Savior.
So whether the road is rough or smooth we work at being content & faithful to follow God wherever He leads.
If you are a Christian you will suffer.....

the righteous on his worst day is far better off than the unrighteous on his best day...

Be assured that God will be your counselor & friend; He will guide you; He will direct all your ways.

God himself will receive you to glory—you! Wandering, erring, straying, yet he will bring you safe at last to glory! This is your portion; live on it this day, & if perplexities should surround you, go in the strength of this text straight to the throne.

His 2nd coming assures us that we will live & reign with Him forever. Such a hope keeps this life from becoming “tedious & tasteless”—regardless of the seasons or situations.

‎The ultimate source of inner joy is God Himself

We are pilgrims, living on God’s promises, and His promises never fail.

The jealous God will not permit the righteous to be alienated from Him.

Sin another joy stealer

The greater our nearness to God, the less we are affected by the attractions of sin.

Oh ha I just read an answer to something I didn't see and you asked why did I stay in a room alone when at my aunt's. Well, my mom would never let me cook with her....she did not want the mess and clean up from a young child.....she let me dust at home, and later I ironed but she never once, let me or tried to teach me to cook.
Once she did say once when I was older, that she would rather I read, and prepare for a job like being a teacher....than learning to cook....I could always do that later.

Ok I am on page 2 so I am going to do a few things....I am not sure if I will get back here later on today or not....

Well, if you're going to keep doing this, I'll give you a few more days. When you're done, maybe then you can do what I'd suggested:

you said: "Well, I will maybe go back and re-read the psalms you suggested and will post on the first one today...until I better understand what I am to do.....
I am used to reading a chapter or a psalm etc. and posting on it....I am not sure if you were saying as I talk to the Lord about His gift of joy and reflect on it...if I am to read all the psalms again you suggested and post on all of them today ( well tomorrow, since I am doing just one today). Joy is still a little elusive,but in general, I mostly feel more peaceful, more trusting, and less worrying."

No, that's not what I wanted you to do. This is what I actually said:
What I'd like you to do now is to talk to the Lord about His gift of joy. Not just in general, but His gift of it to you personally. Reflect on His joy and how it's related to praise, and thankfulness and even contentment. Consider how joy is related to love and peace which God also gives us and which are all things that grow as we grow in our faith. As you talk to Him about all of this and reflect on it, be going over some of the psalms with Him, especially the great Hallel's. Psalm 113–118 are the Egyptian Hallel, then there's The Great Hallel (Psalm 120–136) and lastly, The Final Hallel (Psalm 145–150). Then let me know what you've discovered that you can apply to your life that will bring God's joy to you so that you can overcome that last bit of being down that happens when you first wake up.

Now, I'll try to say it in another way.... All of this is to be done at the same time in one day. BUT you could also take the first day and spend it going over the notes I gave you and see what you get from them. (meaning the notes on this page) If you do that, then be sure to ask the Lord to guide you and show you what He wants you to learn from them first. As far as posting goes, if you do this first, just post and let me know that's what you're doing (or have done). You can also share what you got out of them for yourself too. (in other words, if you decide to go over these last notes, just post and say, "I've decided to go over the notes today." When you're done going over them, you can post and tell me what you got out of them. Not reposting the notes, but simply saying what you learned in your own words.) Then, the next day do what I suggested:
What I'd like you to do now is to talk to the Lord about His gift of joy. Not just in general, but His gift of it to you personally. Reflect on His joy and how it's related to praise, and thankfulness and even contentment. Consider how joy is related to love and peace which God also gives us and which are all things that grow as we grow in our faith. As you talk to Him about all of this and reflect on it, be going over some of the psalms with Him, especially the great Hallel's. Psalm 113–118 are the Egyptian Hallel, then there's The Great Hallel (Psalm 120–136) and lastly, The Final Hallel (Psalm 145–150). Then let me know what you've discovered that you can apply to your life that will bring God's joy to you so that you can overcome that last bit of being down that happens when you first wake up. All of this is to be done at the same time in one day

I'll now try to put in a different way for you:

1. Open your bible to one of these Psalms (it doesn't matter which one, just whichever one you want to) Psalm 113, 114, 115, 116, 117, 118, Psalm 145, 146, 147, 148, 149, or 150. (I removed the Great Hallel as it's got so many in it.)
2. Talk to the Lord asking Him to guide you to what He wants you to learn. Then talk to Him about His gift of joy - not in general, but His gift of joy to you personally.
3. Go to any scripture(s) that come to mind as you're talking to Him, read them and talk to Him about how they relate to what you're talking about with Him.
4. Consider how joy is related to love and peace which God also gives us and which are all things that grow as fruit as we grow in our faith, talking to the Lord about this.
5. As you talk to Him about all of this and reflect on it, be going over some of the above psalms with Him,
6. When you're done, come to FH to post and let me know what you've discovered that you can apply to your life that will bring God's joy to you so that you can overcome that last bit of being down that happens when you first wake up.
7. If you're worn out, or just out of time, after your time with the Lord on either of those days, then just post and let me know you'll tell me about it the next day. What's important is the time you spend with the Lord learning from Him, not what you do here. So if it would be easier for you to post about your time the day afterward, that's fine too.

When you do post, I don't want to know what any of the psalms say - we already did that. What I want you to post about is what the Lord tells you from His Word that will personally help you overcome your problem. When I say things like "what the Lord tells you" I don't mean that I expect you to hear a voice in your head. The Lord speaks to us from His Word.

Let me give you an example of what might happen:

Let's say you chose to start with Psalm 145, so you open your bible to that one psalm. You ask the Lord to guide you to what He wants you to learn and then you talk to Him about what happens to you some mornings as you wake up and ask Him to help you overcome that and to show you what you need. You talk to Him about how He gives us the gift of Joy and mention that you'd really like to experience that, and again ask His help in doing so. You begin to read the psalm slowly. As you read, verse 5 seems to stand out to you, and it talks about meditating on His wonderful works. You talk to Him about that and continue to read. Verse 9 stands out to you too, speaking of how the Lord is so compassionate toward us. You think about His compassion toward you in the past, and even right this moment as He guides you to what you need to know and works with you to experience His joy. You begin to feel a great love for Him swell up within you. That causes you to begin worshiping Him. The more you think about how much He loves you and how He is always ready to listen and can't wait to see you every morning, your love for Him feels like it's overflowing and you realize that you're also feeling His love for you. As you sit and relish the feeling of His love around you, you suddenly realize that you're not just feeling love, (both His for you and you for Him) but that you're feeling joy too! You have the one thing that every human being needs in order to be fulfilled - God, and you will have Him always and forever!

OK, we'll pretend that's what happened when you talked to the Lord about this, so now what would you post?

You'd tell me that you started out in Psalm 145 but you wouldn't post any of it. You would share with me that vs 5 stood out to you, so you felt that the Lord was telling you that was important for you to know and apply in your life. Therefore you intend to spend more time reflecting on all the wonderful things He's done for you each day, as well as reflecting on how glorious, pure, Holy, and how great the splendor of His majesty is, as the Lord indicated that would help bring you His Joy. You'd explain that verse 9 also spoke to you about His compassion for you and His love for you. Maybe that reminded you of 1 Peter 1:8–9 and you went to to read there and discovered it was indeed all about love and joy. Then you'd tell me about how it made you remember that he's always ready to listen to you and can't wait to see you each morning; you'd tell me that you felt your love for Him swelling up in you and His love for you filling you up as well, and then you realized you were feeling joy.

Those are just pretend examples of what I wanted you to do. It's mainly about talking to the Lord, listening to the Lord, reading His Word and following where He leads you and reflecting on whatever stands out to you. Thanking Him for guiding you and helping you understand His Word, and accepting by faith that you have understood what He wants you learn. It's also about taking the time to simply be with Him and enjoy His love and being able to talk to Him about anything at all that's on your heart. It's following His lead as I said. So if you have praise music playing in the background and you feel led to stop and spend some time worshiping Him, then by all means do so, but then after a time, come back to His Word and finish what you started.

I know this is a little scary for you, but I promise the Lord won't bite lol

fearnot
Living With Pain

Posts: 8,397

Our Daily Time With The Lord 2 Jun 19, 2017 12:09:28 GMT -5

Post by fearnot on Jun 19, 2017 12:09:28 GMT -5

I misunderstood again! I was thinking I was to re-read all the psalms you mentioned....instead of just ONE like you said

"Open your bible to 'one' of these Psalms (it doesn't matter which one, just whichever one you want to) Psalm 113, 114, 115, 116, 117, 118, Psalm 145, 146, 147, 148, 149, or 150. (I removed the Great Hallel as it's got so many in it.)"

I think seeing the list, I thought I was to do all of them, and you just only gave me an example of one, but seeing the list meant I was to re-read all ....even tho you wrote: ( "(it doesn't matter which one, just whichever one you want to))

and then I misunderstood yet again because when you wrote let's say you start with ( I assumed that meant I should do more than one because I would 'start' with and then go on to all the others

"Let's say you chose to start with Psalm 145"

and I compounded it because when I saw:

"You would share with me that vs 5 stood out to you....
You'd explain that verse 9 also spoke to you about His compassion for you and His love for you"

So that's what I 'thought' I was supposed to be doing
and
I even 'thought' that was what I was doing, with ALL of the psalms
( you suggested only one but like I explained I misunderstood and thought I was too do all of them based on your saying: You might START with 145 ( and I thought that meant, to mean I would go on to all the others, because I would be just starting with 145...and since that was just an example, and you started the list at 113....and you only picked 145 as an 'example' only....but really I was to actually start at 113 LOL Oh vey!!!

I just forgot about the pick just one.....after I read: START with

So I started re-reading at 113 and wrote what stood out to me about joy and how the Lord would have me look at it.

But then to add to it, I did not understand that you meant go over just the last few notes on joy..... but rather THE notes.....I thought that meant, ALL the notes.

I must not be tracking very well lately and/or I am not good at following directions because I don't read carefully enough.....

I missed or rather dismissed the word: ONE as in pick ONE....

I just saw a list, and
assumed' ( even if I read the word ONE) that I was to re-read the whole list.....

like even if I read the word ONE first,
the list
then took precedence and negated the word ONE.

Just like I overlooked: "re-read the last couple or few notes on joy" to mean, re-read them all!

Like I said, I've been a bit sleepy and I guess this is the proof arrrggghhh
Either that or my brain is atrophying....sigh.

So now I am afraid to even try again cuz I am thinking at the rate I am going, I will not get it right...yet again

Anyway, I am hoping I understand to just re-read the notes on joy on this page

and then

even tho you wrote this about one psalm.... I think maybe it might apply to the notes as well????

"Reflect on His joy and how it's related to praise, and thankfulness and even contentment. Consider how joy is related to love and peace which God also gives us and which are all things that grow as we grow in our faith. As you talk to Him about all of this and reflect on it,"

And also

what God wants me to learn about it
and
Then let me know what you've discovered that you can apply to your life that will bring God's joy to you?

I have a feeling that is not quite right either....I am not sure why I am not getting it?

But since I don't want to have a day of not posting, because it helps me at the very least be in the Word, and posting is a way for me to stay accountable
( tho perhaps I would stay accountable to the Lord mostly because I want to spend time with Him.........
even tho or IF I never posted again....like because the internet went poof).

Anyway, I will go over the notes on joy....on this page....pray about it, and talk to Lord, and see how they can be applied to my life....but I may keep it short ( unless the Lord speaks a book to me ) cuz I am not sure I am yet getting it.....and you won't have to go thru an endless bunch of blather......like right now.

Last Edit: Jun 19, 2017 12:18:29 GMT -5 by fearnot

fearnot
Living With Pain

Posts: 8,397

Our Daily Time With The Lord 2 Jun 20, 2017 0:37:35 GMT -5

Post by fearnot on Jun 20, 2017 0:37:35 GMT -5

I am not sure I read all of the notes you meant or if I read too many or if I have yet the right idea......

So I will mention the very first thing that really stood out to me in the notes about JOY.
You wrote joy is a choice!

I think all this time, I expect to 'fall into it'.
I wrote fall into because I remember you have said in the past that we don't "fall in love"....we may fall in lust, but love is also a choice!

And then I realized that love and joy were the first two spiritual fruits and both were a choice.
It I love Jesus, I will have joy itself, and no matter what my circumstances, peace ( not that things around me may always be peaceful....it could even be a war.....but having the love of Jesus,
and loving him and choosing joy and love....I will have peace because I can trust that no matter what happens to me, it will be for my best ( it may hurt but make me strong, or it may bring me into the presence of God if I die).

I took other notes, but I don't want to write more unless I know this is what you meant.

I did pray and ask the Lord about joy and the above is the first I thought I heard from the Lord about it.

I will mention one other somewhat odd thing....a Christian novel I am reading had this sentence in it.....and it too struck me, because I could relate to it in a way, and it was about joy of all things.

"She supposed in some way she convinced herself that she didn't deserve joy....."

Cindy
Administrator

Waiting for Jesus to come back and take us all to be with Him forever!

Posts: 8,639

Our Daily Time With The Lord 2 Jun 20, 2017 9:23:37 GMT -5

Post by Cindy on Jun 20, 2017 9:23:37 GMT -5

Jun 19, 2017 12:09:28 GMT -5 fearnot said:

I misunderstood again! I was thinking I was to re-read all the psalms you mentioned....instead of just ONE like you said

"Open your bible to 'one' of these Psalms (it doesn't matter which one, just whichever one you want to) Psalm 113, 114, 115, 116, 117, 118, Psalm 145, 146, 147, 148, 149, or 150. (I removed the Great Hallel as it's got so many in it.)"

I think seeing the list, I thought I was to do all of them, and you just only gave me an example of one, but seeing the list meant I was to re-read all ....even tho you wrote: ( "(it doesn't matter which one, just whichever one you want to))

and then I misunderstood yet again because when you wrote let's say you start with ( I assumed that meant I should do more than one because I would 'start' with and then go on to all the others

"Let's say you chose to start with Psalm 145"

and I compounded it because when I saw:

"You would share with me that vs 5 stood out to you....
You'd explain that verse 9 also spoke to you about His compassion for you and His love for you"

So that's what I 'thought' I was supposed to be doing
and
I even 'thought' that was what I was doing, with ALL of the psalms
( you suggested only one but like I explained I misunderstood and thought I was too do all of them based on your saying: You might START with 145 ( and I thought that meant, to mean I would go on to all the others, because I would be just starting with 145...and since that was just an example, and you started the list at 113....and you only picked 145 as an 'example' only....but really I was to actually start at 113 LOL Oh vey!!!

I just forgot about the pick just one.....after I read: START with

So I started re-reading at 113 and wrote what stood out to me about joy and how the Lord would have me look at it.

But then to add to it, I did not understand that you meant go over just the last few notes on joy..... but rather THE notes.....I thought that meant, ALL the notes.

I must not be tracking very well lately and/or I am not good at following directions because I don't read carefully enough.....

I missed or rather dismissed the word: ONE as in pick ONE....

I just saw a list, and
assumed' ( even if I read the word ONE) that I was to re-read the whole list.....

like even if I read the word ONE first,
the list
then took precedence and negated the word ONE.

Just like I overlooked: "re-read the last couple or few notes on joy" to mean, re-read them all!

Like I said, I've been a bit sleepy and I guess this is the proof arrrggghhh
Either that or my brain is atrophying....sigh.

So now I am afraid to even try again cuz I am thinking at the rate I am going, I will not get it right...yet again

Anyway, I am hoping I understand to just re-read the notes on joy on this page

and then

even tho you wrote this about one psalm.... I think maybe it might apply to the notes as well????

"Reflect on His joy and how it's related to praise, and thankfulness and even contentment. Consider how joy is related to love and peace which God also gives us and which are all things that grow as we grow in our faith. As you talk to Him about all of this and reflect on it,"

And also

what God wants me to learn about it
and
Then let me know what you've discovered that you can apply to your life that will bring God's joy to you?

I have a feeling that is not quite right either....I am not sure why I am not getting it?

But since I don't want to have a day of not posting, because it helps me at the very least be in the Word, and posting is a way for me to stay accountable
( tho perhaps I would stay accountable to the Lord mostly because I want to spend time with Him.........
even tho or IF I never posted again....like because the internet went poof).

Anyway, I will go over the notes on joy....on this page....pray about it, and talk to Lord, and see how they can be applied to my life....but I may keep it short ( unless the Lord speaks a book to me ) cuz I am not sure I am yet getting it.....and you won't have to go thru an endless bunch of blather......like right now.

It's ok Barbara, really. It could happen to either of us. I really do understand what it's like to be in pain and to be really tired and still try and follow directions....directions that were written by another person that's in pain and tired! :lol:

So don't be blaming yourself or thinking you're "bad" for doing what you did. For one thing, the Lord probably wanted you to do what you did. He uses everything we do, quite literally, "everything" for His purpose - which is to conform us to the image of His Son, and for His glory.

I'm glad you're willing to keep trying. That takes a lot of courage. Many would just give up, so again it shows the Lord at work in you! I know you'll do just fine!

Jun 20, 2017 0:37:35 GMT -5 fearnot said:

I am not sure I read all of the notes you meant or if I read too many or if I have yet the right idea......

So I will mention the very first thing that really stood out to me in the notes about JOY.
You wrote joy is a choice!

I think all this time, I expect to 'fall into it'.
I wrote fall into because I remember you have said in the past that we don't "fall in love"....we may fall in lust, but love is also a choice!

And then I realized that love and joy were the first two spiritual fruits and both were a choice.
It I love Jesus, I will have joy itself, and no matter what my circumstances, peace ( not that things around me may always be peaceful....it could even be a war.....but having the love of Jesus,
and loving him and choosing joy and love....I will have peace because I can trust that no matter what happens to me, it will be for my best ( it may hurt but make me strong, or it may bring me into the presence of God if I die).

I took other notes, but I don't want to write more unless I know this is what you meant.

I did pray and ask the Lord about joy and the above is the first I thought I heard from the Lord about it.

I will mention one other somewhat odd thing....a Christian novel I am reading had this sentence in it.....and it too struck me, because I could relate to it in a way, and it was about joy of all things.

"She supposed in some way she convinced herself that she didn't deserve joy....."

You got it!!!!!!!!!!!! That's one of the most important things that I really wanted you to get out of all of this: that joy isn't a feeling, it's a choice. And then I wanted you to be able to compare it to the first three fruit of the spirit and you did! Praise God!!!! Even your quote from the book was relevant and I'm sure the Lord caused you to notice it and remember about it because we often refuse God's joy for various reasons, one being that we decide that we don't deserve it. Another is simply because we want to be miserable. OK, I know that sounds weird, but that happened to me just yesterday!

I was upset and the lord immediately reminded me of His love, joy and peace, but I wouldn't accept them. I was hurt and angry and felt like giving up. Basically I was throwing a temper tantrum. And I knew that's that I was doing. Then the Lord reminded me of Satan and how he uses our emotions (by reminding me of verses about Satan). That's when I finally gave in and accepted the Lord's comfort. He was so very sweet to me, especially since I most certainly didn't deserve it at all. He kept reminding me of His compassion and then He kept showing me His compassion. He did that by controlling the weather and doing it very, very obviously lol. I'll explain: Ever since reading the farmers almanac forecast for our summer that warned that we'd have some terrible storms that would cause tornadoes etc. I've been praying against that and asking the Lord to keep the storms away from our area. Well with the mood I was in yesterday, I forgot to pray about that, and didn't remember until I noticed the weather report on my kindle saying we were in for some very severe thunderstorms. So I said a quick prayer then. That was just after all this other had happened. Then Bruce came home and turned on the news. The weather man was saying how awful and destructive the storms were and that they should hit us anytime now. And also how it was strange that the ones that were supposed to have already hit us, somehow seemed to turn at the very last minute and missed us! But there was another very dangerous line of them heading for us right then and we were under warning till 8pm. I asked Bruce what the weather man said as I wanted to be sure I heard it right, and he said the same thing. But instead of getting darker, the sky kept getting lighter LOL. We didn't have any storm at all, just a little rain...enough to water our plants well is all! So no damage from wind, lighting, or flooding, and no tornadoes came anywhere near us. They always turned away from us at the very last minute! The weather man was scratching his head! But I knew the Lord had done it for me to show me His compassion and reassure me. (plus I'm sure He had other good reasons for doing it too) I thought it was extra special of Him to do that though and especially to be so obvious about it LOL.

Keep up the good work, you're doing great!

fearnot
Living With Pain

Posts: 8,397

Our Daily Time With The Lord 2 Jun 20, 2017 10:49:01 GMT -5

Post by fearnot on Jun 20, 2017 10:49:01 GMT -5

Thank you Cindy!
When I wrote I 'thought' it was really more like the Holy spirit tied the 'thought' of both Love and Joy being choices....
I had sort of given up in a way. I had read the notes ( but I only wrote Joy is a choice as my first note).....
Anyway, rather than write, I decided to take a nap LOL ( as I was a bit discouraged in myself, and fearful, I still wasn't understanding....so a nap is always good LOL)

But it was just seconds before I fell asleep, the thought that you had also said, love is a choice came.....I was only thinking, about Joy being a choice...not about love, the fruits of the spirit or that I had been waiting to fall into joy ( kind of like being hit by lightening, and it just was not happening that way).

I think you mean I can go on with what else I got out of reading the notes on joy?
So today, I will write them all....not that they are super extensive.....but they are more than what I wrote yesterday.....

I was suppose to do it all in one day, but I didn't think it would be fair to you to write a lot if it wasn't really what you were asking and you would have to wade thru it all.

I am so glad the storms missed you again.

It's kind of funny, I almost always pray that the west coast fault line out in the ocean, does not cause the earthquake they are always warning about.....with it's massively deadly tsunami.

Cindy
Administrator

Waiting for Jesus to come back and take us all to be with Him forever!

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Our Daily Time With The Lord 2 Jun 21, 2017 10:14:25 GMT -5

Post by Cindy on Jun 21, 2017 10:14:25 GMT -5

yep, that's how the Lord speaks to us; that's great! I look forward to hearing what else you got out of all of this that you think may help you. you should still be spending time with the Lord as we do this, either reading a psalm or whatever the Lord points you to. I'm sure if He guides you to read something it will be something that will help you with this too. I'll assign something else when we're done with this ok?

fearnot
Living With Pain

Posts: 8,397

Our Daily Time With The Lord 2 Jun 21, 2017 16:53:01 GMT -5

Post by fearnot on Jun 21, 2017 16:53:01 GMT -5

I read all the verses on joy yesterday, which was interesting to be sure.

I can't believe it....I cannot find my notes on your posts on joy.....I have looked and looked

I do sort of remember one being about how we were created to praise God, which results in joy, doing what I was created to do.

I don't think this was in your notes, but I was thinking tho joy is a choice, when we sin, we must cancel out joy, until we repent and get into fellowship with Jesus again.

I just can't think of where the notes would have gone....I sit in the same place and so the notes should be within a foot somewhere on the table by my chair.

Perhaps the stuck to a paper plate or maybe if I threw out a newspaper and they got stuck to either one, and thus were throw out, but it would be a first!! :-(

Should I go back and re-read the notes, and take notes again and try one more time?

This is like a comedy of errors only.....not a very funny comedy arrgghh.

We also had a few interruptions....at 8:30 our grandson came over informing us we had to watch him because Vanessa was going with a friend to clean an apt.

We had to rearrange our schedule because I am cleaning today, and have to go to the hospital for blood test etc. tomorrow, so I also had to wash our clothes ( to have something clean to wear) and I should take a shower and wash my hair, Leonard had to go pick up Hossanah and so on and on.

And I am still tired....but I have been having some victory over depression. Really hymns, praise and worship music has indeed helped a whole lot as well as all the scriptures ( of course) and your notes....which I am thinking I prob. should read a third time.....it most likely would not hurt.

Sort of like how you suggested reading scripture....once all at once, then more verse by verse, then all at once again.

Anyway, I do need my notes to write ( I know I had them last night, at one point!)

Cindy
Administrator

Waiting for Jesus to come back and take us all to be with Him forever!

Posts: 8,639

Our Daily Time With The Lord 2 Jun 22, 2017 10:57:30 GMT -5

Post by Cindy on Jun 22, 2017 10:57:30 GMT -5

Jun 21, 2017 16:53:01 GMT -5 fearnot said:

I read all the verses on joy yesterday, which was interesting to be sure.

I can't believe it....I cannot find my notes on your posts on joy.....I have looked and looked

I do sort of remember one being about how we were created to praise God, which results in joy, doing what I was created to do.

I don't think this was in your notes, but I was thinking tho joy is a choice, when we sin, we must cancel out joy, until we repent and get into fellowship with Jesus again.

I just can't think of where the notes would have gone....I sit in the same place and so the notes should be within a foot somewhere on the table by my chair.

Perhaps the stuck to a paper plate or maybe if I threw out a newspaper and they got stuck to either one, and thus were throw out, but it would be a first!! :-(

Should I go back and re-read the notes, and take notes again and try one more time?

This is like a comedy of errors only.....not a very funny comedy arrgghh.

We also had a few interruptions....at 8:30 our grandson came over informing us we had to watch him because Vanessa was going with a friend to clean an apt.

We had to rearrange our schedule because I am cleaning today, and have to go to the hospital for blood test etc. tomorrow, so I also had to wash our clothes ( to have something clean to wear) and I should take a shower and wash my hair, Leonard had to go pick up Hossanah and so on and on.

And I am still tired....but I have been having some victory over depression. Really hymns, praise and worship music has indeed helped a whole lot as well as all the scriptures ( of course) and your notes....which I am thinking I prob. should read a third time.....it most likely would not hurt.

Sort of like how you suggested reading scripture....once all at once, then more verse by verse, then all at once again.

Anyway, I do need my notes to write ( I know I had them last night, at one point!)

I don't know. You need to do what you feel the Lord would have you do. Maybe He didn't want you to use your notes for this post and wanted to have you speak from your heart. He does that to me at times - so much so that I now try to do that first lol. I suspect those notes will turn up sooner or later.

I'm honestly not feeling very well myself today. Sometimes it seems like I feel badly more often than I feel OK. So I hate to even mention it since it's really nothing new. Maybe I should say I feel worse than usual LOL. Anyway, let's get back on track. The whole purpose of this was to concentrate on things the Lord tells us that will help you overcome the last of your depression, right? You've hit the nail on the head with a couple of things you've said:

First, Joy isn't just something we feel, but like love, is a choice. We have to choose to have God's Joy. It's also linked with love and peace all through the bible, and especially in Gal 5:22 as the first 3 fruits of the spirit. Therefore we can say that all three of them are a choice. (like so many other things the Lord tells us, such as the "secret" Paul learned about how to be content - contentment is also a choice!)

Anyway, for you then, you must choose to have God's Joy instead of being depressed. You do that by first realizing that it's a choice, Second by realizing that God has given you His gift of Joy and that His gifts are irrevocable. He will never ever take it away from you. We can and do muddy the waters so to speak, when we have sinned and haven't yet repented and asked for forgiveness. The joy hasn't been taken away from us, but we tend to not see it because we feel badly about our sin. And that's good. It should drive us to repent immediately and then the joy is once again immediately available to us. Past sins cannot affect our joy, for they've all been forgiven. Even our future sins have been forgiven. God doesn't cause us not to feel joy when we sin, that's just a normal reaction, and one that should not prevent us from feeling tremendous joy the instant we repent of our sin, for we know we're forgiven.

Lastly, depression, when it's gone on for many years, becomes a habit. For you that habit seems to be stuck around when you wake up each morning. Satan doesn't want to give up his ground, and isn't going to let go easily. We have to prove that we mean business and that we're willing to work hard to have all that the Lord has promised us. And He promised us life to the full, or in abundance. A life of Joy. How do you break a habit? You replace the habit you want to break with a different one, a habit you want to have. Then you insist on your new habit by doing it every single day until the old one gives way to the new one.

I'd like to give you some other scriptures to reflect on. First the one from Galatians. Paul couldn't believe that they'd turned from the truth he had taught them back to the law. His first comment to them about that was: “What has happened to all your joy? ” (Galatians 4:15) Because they'd turned from the truth of the gospel back to the law, they had lost their joy. Paul could tell just from that alone that something was very wrong, even if he hadn't known what had caused it.

“Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” (Hebrews 12:2)

For at least some of these, I'm going to post them in context for you:

““As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father’s commands and remain in his love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you.” (John 15:9–12)

“Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete.” (John 16:24)

“I will remain in the world no longer, but they are still in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name—the name you gave me—so that they may be one as we are one. While I was with them, I protected them and kept them safe by that name you gave me. None has been lost except the one doomed to destruction so that Scripture would be fulfilled. “I am coming to you now, but I say these things while I am still in the world, so that they may have the full measure of my joy within them.” (John 17:11–13) probably should read the whole first 13 verses here.

“However, do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.” At that time Jesus, full of joy through the Holy Spirit, said, “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. Yes, Father, for this was your good pleasure.” (Luke 10:20–21)

“The prospect of the righteous is joy, but the hopes of the wicked come to nothing.” (Proverbs 10:28)

“A cheerful look brings joy to the heart, and good news gives health to the bones.” (Proverbs 15:30)

“You have made known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand.” (Psalm 16:11)

“When I said, “My foot is slipping,” your love, O LORD, supported me. When anxiety was great within me, your consolation brought joy to my soul.” (Psalm 94:18–19) this was one of your memory verses

“Light is shed upon the righteous and joy on the upright in heart. Rejoice in the LORD, you who are righteous, and praise his holy name.” (Psalm 97:11–12)

“Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.” (Romans 12:12)

“For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit,” (Romans 14:17)

“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” (Romans 15:13)

“Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God.” (Romans 5:1–2)

“But let all who take refuge in you be glad; let them ever sing for joy. Spread your protection over them, that those who love your name may rejoice in you.” (Psalm 5:11)

“May your priests be clothed with righteousness; may your saints sing for joy.”” (Psalm 132:9)

“You will go out in joy and be led forth in peace; the mountains and hills will burst into song before you, and all the trees of the field will clap their hands.” (Isaiah 55:12) (This will happen when the children of God are revealed Romans 8:19)

“Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy,” (1 Peter 1:8)

“May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and by his grace gave us eternal encouragement and good hope, encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good deed and word.” (2 Thessalonians 2:16–17)

“Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit. Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (Ephesians 5:18–20)

Again, notice that peace, love, and joy are often linked, as is hope, as in our blessed hope.

Go over these in your bible with the Lord and talk to Him about them and how they apply to you and your situation. Read them in context, going back as far as you feel you need to in order to get the context and going ahead too if needed. You don't have to do them all in one day. Just do what you can and do more each day until you're done them all. Let me know what you get from them that will help you overcome your problem. OK? Normally I don't like to jump around like this as it smacks too much of scripture "proofing", but that's not what we're doing and we don't have time to go over all of them otherwise.

fearnot
Living With Pain

Posts: 8,397

Our Daily Time With The Lord 2 Jun 22, 2017 18:53:48 GMT -5

Post by fearnot on Jun 22, 2017 18:53:48 GMT -5

I think you were right that God maybe did not want me to work from the notes, because it's 4:38 and I have just been able to get on the net ( so I could not go back and redo the notes, which I have not found....LOL)....so yeah!

I read thru the new joy scriptures ( I don't think I know what scripture 'proofing' is?)

But I will go back and read them more carefully and slowly but while the net is working ( supposedly next Tue they will come and put in a new modem for our complex....we shall see....)

But with the first read thru, a few things jump out and spoke to me.....

That if I remain in His love, so that HIS joy may be in me, and will be complete

Another thing was I can have joy in the fact that my name is written in Heaven ( I never thought of that before)

Also, I can have joy in His presence.....it's weird,
more and more, I feel like Jesus is with me really really....when I go for a walk, or listen to praise,
worship and/or hymns ( I will look up often and talk to Him about the music, the scenery, the animals, and birds)

I realize that some might think me schizophrenic ....like a non believing psych doctor...they would think either I am hallucinating or talking to some imaginary 'friend'.....

But the truth is, Jesus IS always there....and it is they who are confused.

Oh and the last one was I can have joy in hope ( hope of things not seen right now with physical eyes of mine, but are nevertheless real).

It's funny, some of them might think me 'specially gifted"....if instead of talking to Jesus, I said I was talking to aliens, who were in a 5th dimension....now that many would believe was 'real'

well, 'aliens' may in fact be real...only they are not aliens in the way science would like, but fallen angels/demons.

But the more and more I am able to talk with and to Jesus, the more 'joy' I find I am having.

I am going to post this now, quick before the net crashes again.....just for our little complex.

Cindy
Administrator

Waiting for Jesus to come back and take us all to be with Him forever!

Posts: 8,639

Our Daily Time With The Lord 2 Jun 23, 2017 10:20:01 GMT -5

Post by Cindy on Jun 23, 2017 10:20:01 GMT -5

Jun 22, 2017 18:53:48 GMT -5 fearnot said:

I think you were right that God maybe did not want me to work from the notes, because it's 4:38 and I have just been able to get on the net ( so I could not go back and redo the notes, which I have not found....LOL)....so yeah!

I read thru the new joy scriptures ( I don't think I know what scripture 'proofing' is?)

But I will go back and read them more carefully and slowly but while the net is working ( supposedly next Tue they will come and put in a new modem for our complex....we shall see....)

But with the first read thru, a few things jump out and spoke to me.....

That if I remain in His love, so that HIS joy may be in me, and will be complete

Another thing was I can have joy in the fact that my name is written in Heaven ( I never thought of that before)

Also, I can have joy in His presence.....it's weird,
more and more, I feel like Jesus is with me really really....when I go for a walk, or listen to praise,
worship and/or hymns ( I will look up often and talk to Him about the music, the scenery, the animals, and birds)

I realize that some might think me schizophrenic ....like a non believing psych doctor...they would think either I am hallucinating or talking to some imaginary 'friend'.....

But the truth is, Jesus IS always there....and it is they who are confused.

Oh and the last one was I can have joy in hope ( hope of things not seen right now with physical eyes of mine, but are nevertheless real).

It's funny, some of them might think me 'specially gifted"....if instead of talking to Jesus, I said I was talking to aliens, who were in a 5th dimension....now that many would believe was 'real'

well, 'aliens' may in fact be real...only they are not aliens in the way science would like, but fallen angels/demons.

But the more and more I am able to talk with and to Jesus, the more 'joy' I find I am having.

I am going to post this now, quick before the net crashes again.....just for our little complex.

Scripture proofing is when you say that the bible teaches something, like that Jesus died so we'd be healed of our diseases and then quote one or more disconnected scriptures to "prove" it. In that case they'd quote 1 Peter 2:24 and Psalm 103:3. As we know though the bible does not teach that, and those scriptures don't really say that. It's only when they're viewed apart from the rest of the bible that you can make them say that.

What you have said about joy and how you can experience it is perfect Barbara! I want to jump up and down and praise the Lord for you! I hope that you will write down in your notebook what you said about Joy in this post and also what you said about it being something we choose etc in your last one too. That way you won't forget it.

You've grown so very much and it's been so exciting for me to have the honor of getting to watch you blossom and grow the way you have. I love that your relationship with the Lord has grown so much, and I know He is loving it too! It's pretty neat to know that we can make our Lord happy just by being close to Him and talking to Him and realizing that He really is right there with us all the time, loving us and wanting to help us. He never gives up, (thankfully lol) even though we're often like a little 2 year old who is always saying, "I wanna do it myself!" instead of realizing that we can't and looking to our Lord for His help. I know that for me, just knowing that He is anxiously waiting for me to wake up so we can chat and start our day together is a wonderful way to wake up. It wouldn't surprise me at all to have Him show up by the side of my bed one morning with a cup of coffee in His hand for me saying, "come on, wake up, and come see the beautiful day I've arranged for you!"

Now, I have some questions for you that I'd like you to take the time to really think hard about and talk to the Lord about them too. Study His word, wherever you feel led to go, and see what He has to say about this as well. OK, here they are:

If you woke up tomorrow and the problem was gone, what would be the first thing you'd notice?
What would others first notice?
How would it affect your day?
How would it affect your personality?
How would it affect how you view yourself?
What can we do to make that happen?
How is God working in all of this?

I don't remember if I mentioned this to you before, but it blew me away when I read it. I was studying the history of the church and discovered that Martin Luther first mentioned that we have to take our thoughts captive and replace them with God's truth back in the early 1500's! He also counseled people who were depressed to not only take their thoughts captive but to listen to hymns and worship music 24/7. The other thing he'd tell them was that laughter was the best medicine and that they needed to find things to laugh about several times each day. (Of course he meant good clean things to laugh about, not dirty jokes etc) I don't know why it surprises me to read things like that, but it always does. I know that the Lord always teaches His children the Truth from His Word and that there will always be some in every decade that will teach the truth. I guess the reason it surprises me is that He chose to teach me the same things He taught great pastors and teachers all through they centuries.

fearnot
Living With Pain

Posts: 8,397

Our Daily Time With The Lord 2 Jun 23, 2017 21:12:51 GMT -5

Post by fearnot on Jun 23, 2017 21:12:51 GMT -5

That was interesting about Luther.....I never thought of him as bad as some do.....

If you woke up tomorrow and the problem was gone, what would be the first thing you'd notice?

I know this sounds sort of obvious, but the first thing I would notice was I was not depressed, but rather happy and looking forward to the day.

What would others first notice?

Without depression, I am thinking they might notice a smile of joy.

How would it affect your day?

Again without starting the day of depressed, down, a little scared, with self-pity, I think my day would be filled with eagerness to see what the Lord had for me, but I am not saying a happy sort of 'pollyanna outlook, would mean there would never be sorrows or pain, but I would know that Jesus would be with me, even in a 'bad' day, and would work it out for my good ( either in this life or the next) so I could have hope instead of depression.

How would it affect your personality?

I think it would affect my health in a good way ( not a cure, but perhaps depression takes a lot out of a body, ) and the lack of depression, might give me some more energy.

How would it affect how you view yourself?

This is a bit trickier.....because among other self-pity things I think about myself, you know how I struggle with vanity and don't take wrinkles, loose skin, mottled skin, grey hair, etc. well....which affect how I view myself and how other view me.....and adds to depression.

But I think, I might not see myself as a 'victim' ( in many ways...aging just one thing) and trust that God loves me no matter how I 'look' and I might see myself as having some use ( that God may still find use for me here).

What can we do to make that happen?

I tired smiling first thing this morning.

I would like to hear more about how to have more control of dreams.....because i have so little control of them....... and to wake up from strange, weird, scary dream....they sometimes sort of carry over for a short while into a waking reality.

I have had the most dreams ever.... that may have scripture in them etc. ,
but they are not what I would wish ( not as many or as often).

How is God working in all of this?

He provided you as a sister in the Lord, to show me some hope, in scriptures, and ideas.[/font][/b]

Last Edit: Jun 24, 2017 13:31:21 GMT -5 by fearnot

fearnot
Living With Pain

Posts: 8,397

Our Daily Time With The Lord 2 Jun 24, 2017 18:52:40 GMT -5

Post by fearnot on Jun 24, 2017 18:52:40 GMT -5

We may have hit over 100....unheard of here.....it definitely was in the 90's but already the ocean breeze is picking up and its cooling down fairly fast Yeah!

I wasn't feeling well in the heat for sure.

I wasn't sure if I needed to write more on your questions, but I am reading proverbs today.

It's hard to think when its hot.

fearnot
Living With Pain

Posts: 8,397

Our Daily Time With The Lord 2 Jun 26, 2017 10:23:35 GMT -5

Post by fearnot on Jun 26, 2017 10:23:35 GMT -5

I re-read the post on joy and noticed that joy being.....besides a choice.....

well, it IS a choice, to spend time with the Lord,

but

the more time spent with the Lord, the greater the joy.

Today, the guy is supposed to come and put in a new modem......sooooo maybe after today, we won't have such intermittent ability to get on and stay on the net....we shall soon see.....prayerfully. :-)

We are finally back to 60's temps....a little of that hot stuff goes a Looooooong way LOL

Cindy
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Waiting for Jesus to come back and take us all to be with Him forever!

Posts: 8,639

Our Daily Time With The Lord 2 Jun 26, 2017 13:30:07 GMT -5

Post by Cindy on Jun 26, 2017 13:30:07 GMT -5

I'm going to answer inside your post for now, otherwise it would get confusing...

Jun 23, 2017 21:12:51 GMT -5 fearnot said:

That was interesting about Luther.....I never thought of him as bad as some do.....

Luther, bad? Which Luther are you thinking of? I'm talking about the one responsible for the reformation that started the protestant churches. The only people who hate him are the Catholics! I thought you'd realize that when I put down the year he wrote that.

If you woke up tomorrow and the problem was gone, what would be the first thing you'd notice?

I know this sounds sort of obvious, but the first thing I would notice was I was not depressed, but rather happy and looking forward to the day.

So you'd be happy and looking forward to the day, right? What kind of things would you be looking forward to, as opposed to what you don't look forward to now?

What would others first notice?

Without depression, I am thinking they might notice a smile of joy.

So you would smile more, right? How do you think they'd react to that?

How would it affect your day?

Again without starting the day of depressed, down, a little scared, with self-pity, I think my day would be filled with eagerness to see what the Lord had for me, but I am not saying a happy sort of 'Pollyanna outlook, would mean there would never be sorrows or pain, but I would know that Jesus would be with me, even in a 'bad' day, and would work it out for my good ( either in this life or the next) so I could have hope instead of depression.

OK, that makes sense. Besides depression, feeling down, and self pity, you also mentioned feeling a little scared. What is scary about starting a new day? Also you mentioned a "Pollyanna outlook" but seem to see that in a negative way. What's wrong with a Pollyanna outlook?

How would it affect your personality?

I think it would affect my health in a good way ( not a cure, but perhaps depression takes a lot out of a body, ) and the lack of depression, might give me some more energy.

That's true. It wouldn't cure you in any way, but it would most likely give you more energy, if not instantly, then eventually.

How would it affect how you view yourself?

This is a bit trickier.....because among other self-pity things I think about myself, you know how I struggle with vanity and don't take wrinkles, loose skin, mottled skin, grey hair, etc. well....which affect how I view myself and how other view me.....and adds to depression.

But I think, I might not see myself as a 'victim' ( in many ways...aging just one thing) and trust that God loves me no matter how I 'look' and I might see myself as having some use ( that God may still find use for me here).

That's good because now we're uncovering more of the stuff you've kept hidden away. How do you still see yourself as a victim? Why? Do you really think that God might not love you because of how you look? Why? And do you really see yourself as useless? Why? Read the rest of this and then please answer all my questions and discuss all I say in your next posts.

I know that you know at least intellectually that if you are alive (and you most certainly are!) that means that God has a purpose for your life. When He no longer does, when you have fulfilled all the good works that He has planned for you to walk in, then it will be time for you to go Home to Him, as your life here will be done.

I also know that you are aware that God Himself created you, exactly as you are and when He did, He called His creation "good". He doesn't create things He dislikes, He creates things and people that He loves, and He loves you. Obviously since we live in a world that's been broken by sin which causes disease, aging, wrinkles, age spots, deformities, birth defects, etc. and ultimately death, God didn't create that in you, sin did. Not your sin necessarily, but sin in general that permeates this world. However, God doesn't look at us the way we do. He tells us over and over that He sees us clothed in the righteousness of His Son and what we will be like when our body has been redeemed. God is not trapped in time like we are, so in other words, He sees us as we will be, when we have our perfect body, the one He intended us to have. When you look in the mirror, what you are seeing is like an illusion, not the Truth. (I was going to give you scriptures, but there's too many) It's yet one more thing that we have to take captive and replace with the truth. I found one that would be very good for you to spend a lot of time reflecting on with the Lord: “For while we are in this tent, we groan and are burdened, because we do not wish to be unclothed but to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. Now it is God who has made us for this very purpose and has given us the Spirit as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come. Therefore we are always confident and know that as long as we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord. We live by faith, not by sight. We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord. So we make it our goal to please him, whether we are at home in the body or away from it.” (2 Corinthians 5:4–9)

What can we do to make that happen?

I tired smiling first thing this morning.

That is an excellent thing to do! In fact, your "homework" is to make yourself smile every morning as soon as you wake up and you're also to say good morning to the Lord right away. In other words, you wake up, open your eyes, realize that Lord is standing there watching over you and waiting for you to wake up, so you smile at Him and wish Him a good morning. Then, starting right away, you are to smile at everyone you see, each time you see them, throughout the day. For example, after waking up and smiling at the Lord, you see your husband, so you smile at him; then you see one of your grandkids so you smile at them. Then you see the postman and you smile at him. You smile because you love them, and because you are an ambassador for Jesus and you represent Him to everyone who sees you. Jesus loves them and desires the best for them and wants us to encourage and edify others. The best way we can do that for starters is by simply offering them a smile when we see them. Finally, you're also to smile every time you think of the Lord or His Word.

I would like to hear more about how to have more control of dreams.....because i have so little control of them....... and to wake up from strange, weird, scary dream....they sometimes sort of carry over for a short while into a waking reality.

I have had the most dreams ever.... that may have scripture in them etc. ,
but they are not what I would wish ( not as many or as often).

What are the ones with scripture in them like? Again, even your dreams are part of the "habit" you've formed throughout your life. It will take time to change them. They will change as you get more and more control of your conscious mind. Once you eliminate all the victim, "I'm bad", "no one loves me", "I'm going to go eat worms" and "I'm useless" etc out of your conscious mind, it will also leave your subconscious mind and you won't have those kind of dreams.

How is God working in all of this?

He provided you as a sister in the Lord, to show me some hope, in scriptures, and ideas.

That's nice and is true, but how is He working in the things you've been going through over the last few years, or even just over the last year? Is He punishing you? Is He encouraging you? Is He disciplining you? Is He teaching you? Guiding you toward something? Is He working within you to help you and to grow your faith and bring you to spiritual maturity? Could He be preparing you for the works He has planned for you to do?

You should probably plan to take one whole day to reply to all I've written above and we'll continue from there afterward. Before you reply to my questions though, make sure you ask the Lord to help you and guide you in your answers. Also make sure that you've read something from His Word after asking for His help and guidance. You might want to read

Jun 24, 2017 18:52:40 GMT -5 fearnot said:

We may have hit over 100....unheard of here.....it definitely was in the 90's but already the ocean breeze is picking up and its cooling down fairly fast Yeah!

I wasn't feeling well in the heat for sure.

I wasn't sure if I needed to write more on your questions, but I am reading proverbs today.

It's hard to think when its hot.

Proverbs is good to read. Interestingly the Lord had me reading some of them to share with you over the last two days as well!

Jun 26, 2017 10:23:35 GMT -5 fearnot said:

I re-read the post on joy and noticed that joy being.....besides a choice.....

well, it IS a choice, to spend time with the Lord,

but

the more time spent with the Lord, the greater the joy.

Today, the guy is supposed to come and put in a new modem......sooooo maybe after today, we won't have such intermittent ability to get on and stay on the net....we shall soon see.....prayerfully. :-)

We are finally back to 60's temps....a little of that hot stuff goes a Looooooong way LOL

Very true! The better we know the Lord, and the better we know His Word (because we can't know Him without also knowing His Word) the more joy we will have simply because we'll have access to more of the spiritual resources He has given us in His Word.

I'm glad the weather has gotten better for you now.

Here are some scriptures about "works" and what kind of works we're to do, some are specifically about women:

“For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” (Ephesians 2:10)

“In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.” (Matthew 5:16) One way to let our light shine is simply by putting a smile on our face!

“And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.” (2 Corinthians 9:8)

“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)

“I also want women to dress modestly, with decency and propriety, not with braided hair or gold or pearls or expensive clothes, but with good deeds, appropriate for women who profess to worship God.” (1 Timothy 2:9–10)

“Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share.” (1 Timothy 6:18)

“No widow may be put on the list of widows unless she is over sixty, has been faithful to her husband, and is well known for her good deeds, such as bringing up children, showing hospitality, washing the feet of the saints, helping those in trouble and devoting herself to all kinds of good deeds.” (1 Timothy 5:9–10)

“So I counsel younger widows to marry, to have children, to manage their homes and to give the enemy no opportunity for slander.” (1 Timothy 5:14)

“This is a trustworthy saying. And I want you to stress these things, so that those who have trusted in God may be careful to devote themselves to doing what is good. These things are excellent and profitable for everyone.” (Titus 3:8)

“And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds.” (Hebrews 10:24)

“for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose.” (Philippians 2:13)

“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)

“Likewise, teach the older women to be reverent in the way they live, not to be slanderers or addicted to much wine, but to teach what is good. Then they can train the younger women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled and pure, to be busy at home, to be kind, and to be subject to their husbands, so that no one will malign the word of God.” (Titus 2:3–5)

We tend to think of our good works that God has planned for us to do as something big. Mainly because we want to do something big for the Lord. But for 99% of us, they aren't big things. Even the 1% that have bigger things planned for them also have many "little things, normal things" that God has planned for them to do. We also need to realize that God Himself gives us the will to do the things He's planned for us and then He causes us to do them. It's really not up to us! For most women our good works are loving our husbands, loving our children, and our grandchildren, and teaching our daughters and granddaughters to love their husbands and children, to be self controlled, (that should be taught to all our children and grandchildren as should staying pure - no sex before marriage and some of these others) to stay pure, and to stay busy at home, to be kind and to submit to their husbands; not to gossip or slander others, not to drink more than occasionally and then moderately, and we should train them to know the Lord and His Word. Obviously, we must learn those things ourselves before we can begin to teach them. Now, about training and teaching our grandchildren: in the time that this was written, families lived together and it was the norm for the grandparent to do a lot of the teaching and training of the children. Much more so than today. Today as well as then, much of the training and teaching was done by example and we can still do that. And sometimes, that's all we can do. We must not worry about a child or grandchild that we can't teach or train. Remember the Lord is the one that will cause us to do it. It's not something we have to figure out how to do or when to do. Basically we have to learn how to live our own life now and show our children and grandchildren by example what being a Christian looks like in real life. Other than that, the Lord will open any other ways He wants us to use to teach or train them in. Obviously too, many people even when this was written, were not saved until after their children were grown. Again, the Lord is well aware of things like that. He doesn't want us to beat ourselves up over lost time and lost chances. Instead He wants us to concentrate on NOW, and do what we can to grow and show others what a godly Christian woman looks like today.

I'm running way behind as this took me several hours to write because my computer messed up and was going real slow. I had to restart it eventually and then had to take up where I left off. Thankfully I was able to save what I'd already written.

fearnot
Living With Pain

Posts: 8,397

Our Daily Time With The Lord 2 Jun 26, 2017 14:13:21 GMT -5

Post by fearnot on Jun 26, 2017 14:13:21 GMT -5

I will re-read and answer probably tomorrow.

But I just meant that a lot of people claim Martin Luther hated Jews and therefore was bad. I know he said some things that might have seemed that way and other things that were down right hard, and yet I read he wished for them to be saved....which is different from hating them purely on the basis of blood.

I really don't know what to think about that but it seems (even if it were true, it would have been a terrible sin) but some throw the baby out with his dirty bath water....all of the reformation and even most of his biblical commentaries ( minus those on the Jewish people....if he really did hate them). That was what I was referring to.

One thing you said, that I am really going to reflect on about looks that impacted me strongly was this:

"When you look in the mirror, what you are seeing is like an illusion, not the Truth."

Especially because as you said, god not living in time as we are, sees us as already in our new redeemed body.

I sooooooo know what you mean that you were glad the site saved what you had written......because our internet provider's modem is dying, it must sometimes cause a glitch so this site does not save what I have written.
But since I am so used to it saving, I forget to copy before posting ( cuz like I said, it does not always...especially if we are no longer us when I hit post.....the little graphic shows all the bars as full...even when we are in fact disconnected, so that is no help either!

Hopefully the guy will be here in an hour or two and it won't take hi for ever to install a new modem....arrrggghhh!
Another reason I most likely won't be posting today....plus, I have to go clean the apt now......

I really was helped by what you said about grandchildren too....even tho mine live next door we don't always get to do or say nearly what we might like.

However, we almost got to take Devon to church...the first time Hossanah was ok with it ( as long as he did not go to children's sunday school but stayed the whole time with us....)only it did not happen but maybe next Sunday.....

fearnot
Living With Pain

Posts: 8,397

Our Daily Time With The Lord 2 Jun 26, 2017 21:54:15 GMT -5

Post by fearnot on Jun 26, 2017 21:54:15 GMT -5

The guy came and put in the new modem and it 'seems'...so far, so good, to have fixed the problem....yeah!

I actually did smile at Jesus and then hubby first thing this morning....I did NOT smile at our friend Doug.....because well it's complicated, but I did not want him to think I was flirting or some weird thing.
However, I did smile at one of the tenants father and he smiled back. I am kind of unused to doing that so it felt a bit odd or a little phoney but he seemed to think I was just being friendly and started talking about the weather LOL

I will make sure to smile at Jesus first thing tomorrow...unless I've gone on to glory....then I might never stop smiling....or if the tsunami came or something like that I might forget to....but barring those sort of things.....

Cindy
Administrator

Waiting for Jesus to come back and take us all to be with Him forever!

Posts: 8,639

Our Daily Time With The Lord 2 Jun 27, 2017 10:14:04 GMT -5

Post by Cindy on Jun 27, 2017 10:14:04 GMT -5

Jun 26, 2017 14:13:21 GMT -5 fearnot said:

I will re-read and answer probably tomorrow.

But I just meant that a lot of people claim Martin Luther hated Jews and therefore was bad. I know he said some things that might have seemed that way and other things that were down right hard, and yet I read he wished for them to be saved....which is different from hating them purely on the basis of blood.

I really don't know what to think about that but it seems (even if it were true, it would have been a terrible sin) but some throw the baby out with his dirty bath water....all of the reformation and even most of his biblical commentaries ( minus those on the Jewish people....if he really did hate them). That was what I was referring to.

One thing you said, that I am really going to reflect on about looks that impacted me strongly was this:

"When you look in the mirror, what you are seeing is like an illusion, not the Truth."

Especially because as you said, god not living in time as we are, sees us as already in our new redeemed body.

I sooooooo know what you mean that you were glad the site saved what you had written......because our internet provider's modem is dying, it must sometimes cause a glitch so this site does not save what I have written.
But since I am so used to it saving, I forget to copy before posting ( cuz like I said, it does not always...especially if we are no longer us when I hit post.....the little graphic shows all the bars as full...even when we are in fact disconnected, so that is no help either!

Hopefully the guy will be here in an hour or two and it won't take hi for ever to install a new modem....arrrggghhh!
Another reason I most likely won't be posting today....plus, I have to go clean the apt now......

I really was helped by what you said about grandchildren too....even tho mine live next door we don't always get to do or say nearly what we might like.

However, we almost got to take Devon to church...the first time Hossanah was ok with it ( as long as he did not go to children's sunday school but stayed the whole time with us....)only it did not happen but maybe next Sunday.....

As far as Luther goes, if we listed the sins of every pastor and teacher, even mine, no one would be allowed to teach and that includes the apostles as well! No one ever suggested he was infallible, in fact that's one of the things he fought against the RCC about. I simply found it interesting that the Lord had shown him the same thing He showed me and has shown many other pastors and teachers about taking our thoughts captive.

That's great that you may be able to take him to church. It's even better that he has to stay in church and not go to Sunday School, because children learn more in Church than they do in Sunday School anyway.

I'm glad some of what I said helped you. I'll be looking forward to what you have to say when you're ready to post hon.

In the meantime, what did you read in your bible yesterday and today? If you don't have anyplace else to read, you might start in Ephesians.

fearnot
Living With Pain

Posts: 8,397

Our Daily Time With The Lord 2 Jun 27, 2017 12:02:12 GMT -5

Post by fearnot on Jun 27, 2017 12:02:12 GMT -5

So you'd be happy and looking forward to the day, right? What kind of things would you be looking forward to, as opposed to what you don't look forward to now?

Without being depressed about age etc. almost anything I might do would be something to look forward to ( without that concern over my head) gardening, shopping, taking a walk, etc.

What would others first notice?

OK, that makes sense. Besides depression, feeling down, and self pity, you also mentioned feeling a little scared. What is scary about starting a new day? Also you mentioned a "Pollyanna outlook" but seem to see that in a negative way. What's wrong with a Pollyanna outlook?

I am still vexed from time to time...often, for only a second , when a feeling of imminent death comes over me, but the enemy says: No you are not saved, you are going to Hell. I know it's from satan and take that thought captive, but the immense power of that hits so hard when it happens, it steals any small amount of joy I may have had, for awhile...thus I am never sure when it will strike again, and that is a little scary. I suppose, it may also make me stronger and faster to fight the lies.....but it's like if someone was going to continually cut you, but you never know when, and each time you have to deal with the pain and recovery...it doesn't take the enemy long to cut...just a second, but it hurts none the less....and sometimes I still will have a minute wondering....could it be true....and then I have to take that thought captive also.

I don't think anything is really wrong with a Pollyanna outlook, but I am pretty certain, someone must have pounced on it as foolishness sometime when I was young.

I do remember my adopted mom, correcting me in a practical way, about my wishing to think of work as fun, or interesting....she set me straight that is was just hard work.

I think, she got a lot of that going up as a child in the 1890's, and then having a really hard bitter nursing instructor in the early 1900's ( maybe 1915 or 1920's).
She never wanted me to even consider being a nurse, because of how extremely hard it was.

How would it affect how you view yourself?

That's good because now we're uncovering more of the stuff you've kept hidden away. How do you still see yourself as a victim? Why?

A victim in the sense of getting old both looks. ever limiting abilities lessening, pain, etc.

Do you really think that God might not love you because of how you look?

No not really....but when depression strikes, almost everything negative seems possible.....just the reverse of pollyanna or......truth ( I can do all things in Christ Jesus)

And do you really see yourself as useless?

It's kind of like you said....wishing I could do big things for the Lord....and yet, I know you are right, small things count just as much.
Again I do remember talking to a secular woman councilor once, and she ask me would I rather be very good at something or be the 'best'.....I said at that time, the best. Perhaps because I thought that is the only way, someone would want me? But also it was most likely about pride and ego....all about me, instead of pleasing the Lord.

“For while we are in this tent, we groan and are burdened, because we do not wish to be unclothed but to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. Now it is God who has made us for this very purpose and has given us the Spirit as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come. Therefore we are always confident and know that as long as we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord. We live by faith, not by sight. We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord. So we make it our goal to please him, whether we are at home in the body or away from it.” (2 Corinthians 5:4–9)

What can we do to make that happen?

I tired smiling first thing this morning.

Finally, you're also to smile every time you think of the Lord or His Word. ( I forgot to mention this was a great help....something I never thought of doing on purpose before)!

What are the ones with scripture in them like? Again, even your dreams are part of the "habit" you've formed throughout your life. It will take time to change them. They will change as you get more and more control of your conscious mind. Once you eliminate all the victim, "I'm bad", "no one loves me", "I'm going to go eat worms" and "I'm useless" etc out of your conscious mind, it will also leave your subconscious mind and you won't have those kind of dreams.

This too was very helpful....but will it happen in however much time I have left, I wonder, but any improvement would be a blessing!

How is God working in all of this?

.

That's nice and is true, but how is He working in the things you've been going through over the last few years, or even just over the last year?

Even tho I do still struggle for time to time with flashes of depression, it is almost a totally flip flop of what it used to be! I used to say I was depressed 95-98 % of the time, and happy ( Joy filled) 2-5 % of the time...now it the reverse.

Is He punishing you?

I don't think God is punishing me, in fact, He has poured blessings upon blessing out to me. But there are still times when I think He should....again they are momentary and I know Jesus took my punishment for me.....but i will have moments when it doesn't seem right that Jesus should have suffered for me evil sins. However, I know there is no way, I could have ever paid for them on my own and only His love saved me.

Is He encouraging you?
Yes
Is He disciplining you?
Yes
Is He teaching you?
yes
Guiding you toward something?
Something, but I am not sure what exactly....to be loving, compassionate, Holy. joyful, serving, giving, ready to be with Him forever

Is He working within you to help you and to grow your faith and bring you to spiritual maturity?
yes, but I seem to be an ultra slow learner

Could He be preparing you for the works He has planned for you to do?

Well yes but I guess I am going to be like Moses, or Caleb at this rate ( 80 years old before being really used of the Lord).

Last Edit: Jun 27, 2017 12:12:29 GMT -5 by fearnot

fearnot
Living With Pain

Posts: 8,397

Our Daily Time With The Lord 2 Jun 27, 2017 12:16:25 GMT -5

Post by fearnot on Jun 27, 2017 12:16:25 GMT -5

Thanks for suggesting Ephesians I was sort of floundering around, re-reading scriptures you posted and reading some proverbs but it felt a little like no real direction....

maybe that is something we can work on at some point....how ( if anything happened.....no more internet for example)
do I determine a plan of bible study.

Cindy
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Waiting for Jesus to come back and take us all to be with Him forever!

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Our Daily Time With The Lord 2 Jun 28, 2017 11:23:47 GMT -5

Post by Cindy on Jun 28, 2017 11:23:47 GMT -5

Jun 27, 2017 12:02:12 GMT -5 fearnot said:

So you'd be happy and looking forward to the day, right? What kind of things would you be looking forward to, as opposed to what you don't look forward to now?

Without being depressed about age etc. almost anything I might do would be something to look forward to ( without that concern over my head) gardening, shopping, taking a walk, etc.

Without what concern? What does age have to do with gardening, shopping, taking a walk, etc? I can certainly understand health being a concern as far as anything goes, since our health can prevent us from doing those things for as long as we want to, or even from doing them at all, but age has nothing at all to do with that. People who live to be over 100 years old and are blessed with good health can and do do those things regularly today. It's only those who don't have good health that can't do those things. So please, could you explain what you mean by age being a concern about those things?

What would others first notice?

OK, that makes sense. Besides depression, feeling down, and self pity, you also mentioned feeling a little scared. What is scary about starting a new day? Also you mentioned a "Pollyanna outlook" but seem to see that in a negative way. What's wrong with a Pollyanna outlook?

I am still vexed from time to time...often, for only a second , when a feeling of imminent death comes over me, but the enemy says: No you are not saved, you are going to Hell. I know it's from satan and take that thought captive, but the immense power of that hits so hard when it happens, it steals any small amount of joy I may have had, for awhile...thus I am never sure when it will strike again, and that is a little scary. I suppose, it may also make me stronger and faster to fight the lies.....but it's like if someone was going to continually cut you, but you never know when, and each time you have to deal with the pain and recovery...it doesn't take the enemy long to cut...just a second, but it hurts none the less....and sometimes I still will have a minute wondering....could it be true....and then I have to take that thought captive also.

First, when does the feeling of imminent death come over you? During your sleep or when you're awake? It sounds like it happens when you're awake since you said you take it captive. But, if you're taking it captive, you should immediately also feel joy as soon as you take it captive because you KNOW you're victorious over that and that it's an absolute lie from the pit of hell. Remember, joy is a choice and so are other emotions. But joy is something that God gives us, and never takes away from us. We can choose to feel joy and should, especially when we're putting Satan's lies in their place! I have a feeling that this has been with you a very long time. Do you remember when or about when you first had this thought, and what may have caused it? Was it because of something you heard or something someone said or did? If someone was cutting you with a knife, and you knew they might continue to do so, you'd have a very real reason to fear, but you don't have a real reason to fear this lie, because it IS a lie. Continuing to fear it, gives it power over you, and that's the last thing you want to do. There is no fear in love and God is love, and He is your God and He loves you. He's not going to allow anything to happen to you and has promised that you will find joy in His presence and eternal pleasures at His right hand. (Psalm 16:11)

I don't think anything is really wrong with a Pollyanna outlook, but I am pretty certain, someone must have pounced on it as foolishness sometime when I was young. That's quite likely, but there really isn't anything wrong with it and it's something we could all do with more of. So that's something you may want to reflect on with the Lord at times, perhaps reflecting on how you could have more of that kind of attitude and reflect that to others. It would be showing others that the things you keep in your mind are in line with Phil 4:8. Or perhaps you could also reflect on how to show others what kind of things you dwell on and how they reflect God's Word....

I do remember my adopted mom, correcting me in a practical way, about my wishing to think of work as fun, or interesting....she set me straight that is was just hard work. No, she didn't set you straight, she set you very wrong in that. You were doing what the Lord would want us to do. And that explains your attitude about Pollyanna lol. I'm glad you remembered that because now you can correct your thinking concerning that and other things like it. God doesn't want us to be sour and/or serious all the time. He wants us to enjoy our life, now and during eternity. He has no desire to prevent us from having fun, not as children or as adults. In fact, His desire is for us to have a life full of joy - a life of abundant joy in fact - and that includes at work and at everything we do. Our joy isn't conditional upon what's happening like it is for people of the world, because even if bad things happen, the Lord still gives us reasons to be filled with Joy, mainly because He is our Father and dwelling within us and promises us an eternity of everlasting joy!

I think, she got a lot of that going up as a child in the 1890's, and then having a really hard bitter nursing instructor in the early 1900's ( maybe 1915 or 1920's).
She never wanted me to even consider being a nurse, because of how extremely hard it was.

Barbara, it wasn't the time she grew up in that caused her to be like that. It was because of how she interpreted things. There were many people that grew up during that time and although they had very little materially, and worked very hard, they still had lives filled with joy and love. This is true of every human being in all times, since the beginning and until the end of time itself. How we react to life is due to how we choose to perceive it. Even when others tell us something, like when she told you work wasn't fun, we choose whether or not we will accept it.

About work specifically, I also want to mention that the Lord ordained that we should work, and when we get to Heaven we'll all have work to do there as well. Remember, Adam and Eve had a job to do in the garden and they loved it and enjoyed it. It wasn't until the fall that work became hard. In Heaven, our jobs will be doing something we love to do and will enjoy doing, and work will never be hard again but instead will always produce wonderful results.

How would it affect how you view yourself?

That's good because now we're uncovering more of the stuff you've kept hidden away. How do you still see yourself as a victim? Why?

A victim in the sense of getting old both looks. ever limiting abilities lessening, pain, etc.

So God is a bully and you're the victim of His curse? Do you really think it would have been kinder of God to allow Adam and Eve and all the rest of humanity to live forever as sinners and never be saved? The only way He could save us so we could live with Him for eternity was to make sure that they didn't live forever, that their bodies would die so He could give them a new body, and of course to send Jesus to live a righteous life for us and then die to pay for our sins. Don't you think it's time to give this whole thing up? I'm sorry to be harsh about this, but I'm trying to jolt you enough to help you get this all out of your system once and for all.....cause I love you and hate to see you do this to yourself.

I know looks are important to you, but I'm not even going to go there right now because I've said more than enough about that over the last 5 years and you know it's vain and because it's vain, it's sin. You've made your looks into an idol, just as you've made your age an idol. You know that both are really an illusion because you're going to have a brand new beautiful body that is pure and without sin, and will never age and you will live forever. So you're buying into Satan's illusion that these things are important or should even concern us at all.

Again, age has nothing at all to do with limiting abilities or even pain. That's caused by your health, not your age. Age does cause SOME of the changes in our looks but the majority of those changes are caused by our health and not by our age. That's why you see some people who are in their 80's or older with clear skin without wrinkles, with their own teeth, and beautiful hair etc. People who look like they might be 40 and who you'd never in a million years think they might be anywhere near their real age of 80 plus. So if you must blame something, blame the right thing, your health, not your age.

Now, as far as lessening abilities, that again is caused by your health, not your age. (yes, I know doctors will say it's age too but then they don't know how to explain 80, 90 and 100 year olds that don't look or act their age either. it's another thing that shows their wisdom is corrupted) God is in control of everything, including your health, your age, your abilities etc. So by being discontent with what you can or can't do, you're fighting God not your human nature. God tells us that we are not to complain and that we are to be content at all times. You show that you aren't at all content with your age or your health or with what you can and can't do - therefore your life. Yet God is the one who has ordained your lot, just as He has mine. Another part of that same psalm I quoted before says: “LORD, you have assigned me my portion and my cup; you have made my lot secure. The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; surely I have a delightful inheritance.” (Psalm 16:5–6) Why can we say that even when things seem bad? Because God Himself is our portion and our lot and He has made that very secure! It can't be taken from us. Remember in the OT when God divided up the land? He gave every tribe a portion for their inheritance right? Every tribe except for the priests! Why? He told them it was because He was their inheritance! (Numbers 18:20) And we are Priests! (1 Peter 2:5) Because he knows he is secure in the Lord he ended the Psalm with, “You have made known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand.” (Psalm 16:11)

As far as being content goes, the secret Paul learned was the being content with our circumstances is a choice, just like love and joy and peace are. We choose to be content because we know that the Lord knows what He's doing and that everything He does and all that He allows is done out of love for us and because He wants the very best for us. We may not understand it, or even like it, but we can be content and learn to like something about it simply because we love our Father and know it's in our best interest. Believe me when I say that I can completely understand what you mean and how you feel. I too can no longer do the things I used to do when I was healthy. In fact, I can't even do the things I used to do the first 15 years I was disabled. It sometimes seems I can do less every day. Just last week I was talking to the Lord about it because I feared that I might soon have to be in a wheel chair. So I do understand! Really! But I remind myself of all the things I've told you and I talk to the Lord about it whenever the thoughts come to mind, whenever I begin to think, "I wish I could work in my garden" or (whining) "I can't even walk the full length of my little mobile home anymore without terrible pain!" Or worse yet, when it gets to the point where I start to think, "why me?" At any of those times I do the same thing I tell you to do. I take the thought captive and remind myself that my Father knows exactly what He's doing and I'm in His loving hands. Therefore I need to change my thinking and begin to think not about what I can't do, but instead about what I can do. I can still study His Word, and I can still talk to you online about Him; I can still pray and that alone is a huge and very important job! I can show love to others, and I can talk to people on the phone or when they come to see me, and even once in a while when I can go outside. It may cause me pain, but I can still cook and do the dishes, and other chores around the house. So I'll gladly do them and do my very best knowing that I'm working for the Lord and showing others His love. I'll be grateful for every little thing I can do and think on those, and think a lot about how I'll someday be in Heaven without pain and with my Lord and be filled with joy!

Do you really think that God might not love you because of how you look?

No not really....but when depression strikes, almost everything negative seems possible.....just the reverse of pollyanna or......truth ( I can do all things in Christ Jesus)

Ok, important question, when does this depression tend to strike most often? Is there more than one time?

And do you really see yourself as useless?

It's kind of like you said....wishing I could do big things for the Lord....and yet, I know you are right, small things count just as much.
Again I do remember talking to a secular woman councilor once, and she ask me would I rather be very good at something or be the 'best'.....I said at that time, the best. Perhaps because I thought that is the only way, someone would want me? But also it was most likely about pride and ego....all about me, instead of pleasing the Lord.

Do you think having that attitude is helping you or hurting you? What can you do to counter that attitude?

What can we do to make that happen?

I tired smiling first thing this morning.

Finally, you're also to smile every time you think of the Lord or His Word. ( I forgot to mention this was a great help....something I never thought of doing on purpose before)!

I'm glad you're dong both of those things, but you left one of them out. I also said: "Then, starting right away, you are to smile at everyone you see, each time you see them, throughout the day."

What are the ones with scripture in them like? Again, even your dreams are part of the "habit" you've formed throughout your life. It will take time to change them. They will change as you get more and more control of your conscious mind. Once you eliminate all the victim, "I'm bad", "no one loves me", "I'm going to go eat worms" and "I'm useless" etc out of your conscious mind, it will also leave your subconscious mind and you won't have those kind of dreams.

This too was very helpful....but will it happen in however much time I have left, I wonder, but any improvement would be a blessing!

You forgot to tell me what your dreams that have scripture in them like? If I know it might give me a clue to help you with them. Whether or not it will happen "in the time you have left" is up to you hon. How hard are you really willing to work to have the life that God wants you to have and that you want to have?

How is God working in all of this?

That's nice and is true, but how is He working in the things you've been going through over the last few years, or even just over the last year?

Even tho I do still struggle for time to time with flashes of depression, it is almost a totally flip flop of what it used to be! I used to say I was depressed 95-98 % of the time, and happy ( Joy filled) 2-5 % of the time...now it the reverse.

That's awesome! So now I have some other questions for you LOL

Have others noticed the change in you? If so how, (have they said anything about it or in some way indicated that they've noticed it?) and if not, why not?

Is He punishing you?

I don't think God is punishing me, in fact, He has poured blessings upon blessing out to me. But there are still times when I think He should....again they are momentary and I know Jesus took my punishment for me.....but i will have moments when it doesn't seem right that Jesus should have suffered for me evil sins. However, I know there is no way, I could have ever paid for them on my own and only His love saved me.

Good!

Is He encouraging you?
Yes
Is He disciplining you?
Yes

How is he disciplining you?

Is He teaching you?
yes

Guiding you toward something?
Something, but I am not sure what exactly....to be loving, compassionate, Holy. joyful, serving, giving, ready to be with Him forever

First you said you weren't sure but then you showed a number of things He's doing... so what is it you're not sure of? His Word says He is making us to be just like Jesus. That doesn't mean to look like Jesus did or does, it means for us to be loving, (and all the others you mentioned which are characteristics of God) and having all the characteristics of God and living a life that shows those characteristics, like Jesus did.

Is He working within you to help you and to grow your faith and bring you to spiritual maturity?
yes, but I seem to be an ultra slow learner

Is there a specific reason that you think you're an ultra slow learner? Could you learn faster? If so how? The only way I can think of is by spending more time in study, prayer, and reflection with Him throughout the day. But how realistic is that? Only you and the Lord know that. Since the Lord is the one who gives us our talents and abilities and our intelligence and since we can't learn anything from Him or the Bible without His direct intervention and teaching, do you think you might be being a little hard on yourself?

Could He be preparing you for the works He has planned for you to do?

Well yes but I guess I am going to be like Moses, or Caleb at this rate ( 80 years old before being really used of the Lord).

So you don't think the Lord has been using you all along, even though His Word says He has? I can think of a number of ways He's used you since I've known you and I know there's a whole lot more that I'm unaware of. What do you think some of them are? Again you're thinking of some huge thing, but to God helping one person is more important than some of those huge things are.

Jun 27, 2017 12:16:25 GMT -5 fearnot said:

Thanks for suggesting Ephesians I was sort of floundering around, re-reading scriptures you posted and reading some proverbs but it felt a little like no real direction....

maybe that is something we can work on at some point....how ( if anything happened.....no more internet for example)
do I determine a plan of bible study.

yep, we can. For now can I get you to skip to yet another place, because I wanted to talk to you about it today but I see that it would make this too long if I tried to do it now. So for tomorrow could you please read and talk to the Lord about Galatians Galatians 4:21–31? See you then! Have fun!

fearnot
Living With Pain

Posts: 8,397

Our Daily Time With The Lord 2 Jun 28, 2017 14:13:13 GMT -5

Post by fearnot on Jun 28, 2017 14:13:13 GMT -5

You asked:

"could you explain what you mean by age being a concern about those things?

Actually, I meant more that being depressed about aging ( both from the vanity and ability to do things side) was the 'concern hanging over my head' that took away joy and to some extent even energy to do things like gardening, shopping, taking a walk etc.

Not that I have the type of depression I used to, but even a little can be debilitating. In the far distant past age was not a part of depression of course, that just got added in as time went on.

Before I go on, I don't know an easy way to keep the colors for each of us, without out copying the whole code each time either of us speaks....is there an easier way?

So instead today I am just saying what you said and answering to avoid endless changing the color code arrgghhh

So then you asked:
"First, when does the feeling of imminent death come over you? During your sleep or when you're awake? I have a feeling that this has been with you a very long time. Do you remember when or about when you first had this thought, and what may have caused it? Was it because of something you heard or something someone said or did?"

First I only just understood about joy being a choice so before when taking the imminent death feeling captive I didn't choose joy as a victory because I didn't know I could.

But yes, mostly awake...tho it has happened in dreams on occasion.
I am pretty sure the first time came when I picked up the foster parent's brand new baby who was crying fitfully outside. I did not realize I was choking her, my only intention was to get her to her mom so the mom could help her.
I thought all would be well and happy, but out of the blue the father grabbed me took me inside holding me in the air by one arm and then started beating me screaming that he would kill me...that that was his intention, that I was an evil child and when he tired and threw me in a closet and I cried about being scared of the spiders, he opened the door and told me I was not to make another sound, not to say another word, or he would in fact, finish what he intended to do and he would kill me.

I think I associated death with being an evil person who deserved to die ( right at that time....it was the first time I remember hearing that I should die)...
and later on I knew hell was where evil people went...so they all seemed to go together.

And tho I know that Jesus has paid for my sins, and thus I am not going to hell.....
still at odd moments I will get this overwhelming feeling......

but I have never tried to see what exactly was going on just before and to see if there was any sort of connection.

In a way, it's more because I don't know when it going to happen....it seems to not have any particular cycle...but what you said about fearing it, is another thing to consider and even more important was when you said this:

"There is no fear in love and God is love, and He is your God and He loves you. He's not going to allow anything to happen to you and has promised that you will find joy in His presence"

And as I have said before that even when the man was screaming and beating me, I didn't really feel it, til the end ( which was strange considering I was greatly bruised but even the next day, I was not in pain) so it was not the physical pain that was the issue....

but being accused of being a murderer, evil, ( when that was absolutely not what I intended at all...tho my 'good intentions' had bad results ( I have no idea how bad) for the baby....

and also to be hated so much the man really truly wanted me to die to be dead..... and the suddenness of death combined with hatred

Yet, God was there, and I think He may have taken all the blows so I did not feel them..( except for one)

Also he kept me quite so I did not make another sound, and the man did not drag me out to finish what he swore to do..

Plus, the very next day, the Lord arranged for me to go to my adopted home.....where they would never beat me or scream at me

So I think maybe satan pounced on that incident and tho when I feel 'death' and I am evil, and hell....it is not going back to that time in memory....it may have started then
Plus, feeling all alone as a child going from foster home to foster home....I do not feel alone 98% of the time now ( only when that hits me) because I know Jesus is with me, but I did not know that as a child....even tho He in fact was, and was protecting me all along.

I don't know why I did have enough sense to let the baby cry and just run inside and tell the mom? I never thought to do that....it makes me sometimes feel like I don't make good choices right from the start.

perhaps that is being hard on myself but it is also a fact. It seems I made an inordinate amount of bad, foolish, stupid choices....which may have been why for a time, I just stop.....stop everything and became semi catatonic ( this was before I came back to Jesus).....again, giving into fear....fear of once again doing something wrong that could have terrible consequences
I don't actually live like that now, because God has given me so much help ( and you have also helped sooooo much) as to what to do what is wrong to do as well as what is right....for sure I still sin....but having God's forgiveness
I wish I could have asked that man for forgiveness, but i was soooo happy when they came outdoors. I thought yes! the baby has her mom and will be well, plus I was afraid I would be getting the baby's feet dirty as she was sooooo heavy ( no oxygen so was dead weight and heavy)
and when the man lifted me up by one arm and carried me all the way to house, I thought he was having fun with me, like it was a game or something and I laughed ( but he thought I was an evil child laughing that I had killed or tried to kill their baby)
So I never got to tell him how sorry I was and ask his forgiveness for causing him so much pain.....and also to explain I didn't know, and I really was not trying to kill their baby.
I know that baby was also in God's hands...I pray she was not brain damaged and even if she was that her parents continued to love her.....as I am sure the Lord did.....but I might have in fact, caused her brain damage for lack of oxygen....that's not a great thing to have done at age 5 even if by accident...that child would have to live with that all her life.
Anyway, I do think maybe satan has also picked up on that to hit me with from time to time....and I know Jesus has forgiven me, even if the man and his wife could not.
But when I feel death I do not think of that incident at all....it seems seperate but the fear of death in a concrete way might have started then.
and also depression.

Well this is plenty long.....so maybe I will wait till you wade thru all of this before going on.....and I will go read the Galatian scripture you suggested

I may come back and write a bit more on some of the other questions after reading but I will do another post since this is pretty long already.

fearnot
Living With Pain

Posts: 8,397

Our Daily Time With The Lord 2 Jun 28, 2017 23:06:11 GMT -5

Post by fearnot on Jun 28, 2017 23:06:11 GMT -5

So I really liked when you wrote this:
"Our joy isn't conditional upon what's happening like it is for people of the world, because even if bad things happen, the Lord still gives us reasons to be filled with Joy, mainly because He is our Father and dwelling within us and promises us an eternity of everlasting joy! "

Even tho I drug up that old childhood stuff, I don't really camp on it anymore. In fact, I don't think of it as poor me very much at all when I do think of it which is seldom....tho it was only the last few years I started to pray for the baby and what might have happened to her. But I think I have given it up to Jesus.....He took care of her ( she was hurt and maybe severely or maybe not, but in any case he paid for my sin and took care of her.

But tho I don't think I ever thought of it very much even when I was younger, it wasn't like I thought, well, I will keep this forefront in my mind and rehearse it over and over daily. Yet I think it had an effect, not one I consciously planned out, to be a miserable glum person...I think I was too young to make such a plan....in fact, I was surprised when I was an adult my mom mentioned it.....it was like I had totally forgotten it....yet being depressed about things present and future stole a lot of joy.

But it seems God is determined to bring joy into my life now and forever more ( and He has been at it for a long time) and I am glad....but every now and then.....its like satan ( the father of lies) whispers lies to me....God does not love you and you are going to Hell.....it is scary for a moment.....

the verse tho that always comes to mind is:
I am fearfully and wonderfully made and that I know right well.....

I know I am waaay tooooo complex to be an accident.
It's funny satan wants me to believe hell is real, but not God or Heaven.

However, I know the devil did NOT make me....tho I have sinned greatly, I am made in God's image and more than that, He does love me...even when I was glum.

I was just thinking about when you wrote:
"It wasn't until the fall that work became hard."

That maybe in one sense mom was right...work did become hard......but she was missing the part about joy is a choice and even in the hardest work, one can find joy.....as in doing it as unto the Lord, and finding pleasure in the results, or even in the process. I know some people think weeding is a drudgery or pruning roses etc. and I am always amazed they think that, because with weeds it a game of tug of war, and a sense of competitiveness...me against the weed...aha I won again weed!!!
Plus it looks so nice when it is nice and tidy ( tho I know some 'weeds' can be very health benefitting but you know what I mean about certain weeds)
and pruning is art....it's making the roses stand out in their best beauty as in a painting ( plus, it makes the bush much healthier) and so I imagine that could be done with any work.
The 'hard' part is if a person is soooo tired, and aching and still has to work that it becomes harder.

When you wrote this

"So God is a bully and you're the victim of His curse? Do you really think it would have been kinder of God to allow Adam and Eve and all the rest of humanity to live forever as sinners and never be saved? The only way He could save us so we could live with Him for eternity was to make sure that they didn't live forever, that their bodies would die so He could give them a new body, and of course to send Jesus to live a righteous life for us and then die to pay for our sins. Don't you think it's time to give this whole thing up? I'm sorry to be harsh about this, but I'm trying to jolt you enough to help you get this all out of your system once and for all.....cause I love you and hate to see you do this to yourself."

( I did know this, but when the dread of death and hell comes I forget. )

But that is another reason I am writing as much as I am.....trying to get rid of it for once and for all, by getting it all out....

tho I can't stop the enemy from trying to drag me back down...

but If I become a fighter instead of a 'victim', he might not find it as satisfying to vex me.

I don't think I feel or felt so much the 'victim' of God as.... some people, my sinful choices, and satan.

Sorry these are so long but I am hoping to be done with it....I think I have come a long long way...

and I never am thinking about my past ( not any of it) when I am hit with death, depression and hell and lack of faith for a few moments.....

but it may be the foundation, or at least a part, that I then ,,built and built on it so much, that I don't see the foundation but it may still be there.

It always seems not related but it might me.....

it often just seems like a demonic entity comes around at a totally random time, and smacks me....but I do have a lot more, ways to fight with God's truth and His word and His love.

Last Edit: Jun 28, 2017 23:10:42 GMT -5 by fearnot

fearnot
Living With Pain

Posts: 8,397

Our Daily Time With The Lord 2 Jun 29, 2017 10:58:23 GMT -5

Post by fearnot on Jun 29, 2017 10:58:23 GMT -5

You asked concerning wanting to be best instead of good at something:

"Do you think having that attitude is helping you or hurting you? What can you do to counter that attitude?

That was a long time ago when I said that, I do think I have mostly overcome that. I think perhaps that was close to satan's wanting to be God....it's a major pride attitude, and wanting praise and adoration for myself, rather than putting my focus on the Lord, and doing my best ( not being the best) for Him. So that attitude is hurtful.
Not only is it ego centered pride, but it sets me up for disappointment, because it is unattainable in any case ( apart from being a sin)
There will always be someone better.
And when I don't reach the goal, one choice is to give up altogether.
It takes the joy out of the fact, I can always grow more, and to be happy, I have a good skill ( no matter what the skill may be).
I am already happy, that I have a God that is in fact perfect in everything, and infinitely so.....because I will always be learning and improving and that is a joy.
For me to actually be the best, would mean no where else to go....perhaps for a short while that might seem grand, but it seems like we are made for adventure, to have the joy of improving, learning more, what is around the corner on a hike sort of need.....having done it all would be left with no more joy in those things.
I know God is all those things, but He is God and perhaps having perfect love surpasses everything...perhaps part of His joy is to watch us on our journey with Him. I don't know, but I only know for me, when I really think about it, being the best, would end up being the worst.

You said this about dreams and it was helpful....I had never realized the connection.

"They will change as you get more and more control of your conscious mind."

I am not exactly sure how the Lord is disciplining me but I am pretty sure He is....I think thru His word.....things I might have just done in the past, are stopped by remembering His word, and also I pray a LOT more, before doing many things...sometimes even when talking< I will quickly note I am drifting into gossip...and I dial back on what I was about to say. I realize it would be hurtful and it's just to show off what I know, in order to be important, and sometimes to be accepted....but it never felt/feels good ( discipline?).

You asked:

"First you said you weren't sure but then you showed a number of things He's doing... so what is it you're not sure of?"

I was thinking of doing something 'big' for the Lord ( instead of being content with smaller things.....not to mention that being more like Him is the biggest thing ever).

Also you wrote/asked:

"So you don't think the Lord has been using you all along, even though His Word says He has? I can think of a number of ways He's used you since I've known you and I know there's a whole lot more that I'm unaware of. What do you think some of them are? "

I think God let me be a part of helping a few people come to Him in the past. He used me to be kind or comfort a few people ( I always want to preface it with a 'put down'....like saying it wasn't much or not enough....but I am working on taking those negative poor me thoughts captive.....because I really don't know, how much or little any gesture's effect might have had....if the Lord was in it, than He will give the increase.
Even a smile could change a person's day, and a kind word can go a long way, speaking of a biblical doctrine or quoting a scripture could send a person to Jesus. I remember reading about how someone came to the Lord, because another person only pointed a finger upward ( as in pointing to God in Heaven) for some reason ( I can't remember now) that incredibly small movement, changed this person's whole path.
There may be other things, I am unaware of, but God may have used me, and I didn't know it ( like maybe someone overheard me talking about Jesus to someone else, and started them on a different path).

Oh I did read Galatians and it sort of spoke to me because I was talking about a kind of 'persecution' ( whether self inflicted, people inflicted, of demonic inflicted, it kind of seemed to fit in a way) when it said the son of the 'flesh' persecuted the son of the spirit, when they were children.

Cindy
Administrator

Waiting for Jesus to come back and take us all to be with Him forever!

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Our Daily Time With The Lord 2 Jun 29, 2017 12:41:26 GMT -5

Post by Cindy on Jun 29, 2017 12:41:26 GMT -5

Before I begin to read your reply, I just want to say that this is what I love doing! I love it because it (hopefully) helps you, and it also helps me a great deal as well. It's where we put the pedal to the metal so to speak. It's really and truly applying God's Word to our lives in order to live the way He wants us to, not so we can be saved, but so we can have a life of victory here and now. It doesn't mean that we won't have trials, or wrong thoughts or that we'll by any means be perfect, but it means that we will be becoming more like Christ and depending on Him more and more, for more and more things, all the time. Know what I mean? Because you and I are so much alike, when I find things in God's Word that help me, I figure they'll probably help you too, and when we're working on a specific thing like we are now, the things I find to help you, are always things that I also need to hear and remember and of course apply to my life as well. I get a kick out of it because it always reminds me of that saying, "You teach best what you most need to know." I've found that to be so very true! I hope you realize this too and realize that the things I say when I'm posting, even though I'm directing them to you, are also things I'm having to do, learn, and apply. Often, like you, I may have "known about them" to some extent, but simply not put it all together yet or in a certain way or something like that. I don't know how to explain it, but I'm pretty sure you know what I mean lol. Because I know you know a lot of this too, but it's putting it together and applying it in a certain way that makes it work the way the Lord intends it to. And sometimes it's just stuff we need to be reminded of. Anyway, thank you so much for letting me help you with this because it's really helping me a lot too! I feel like we both grew a whole lot last year and are both growing a whole lot more now because of it!

Jun 28, 2017 14:13:13 GMT -5 fearnot said:

You asked:

"could you explain what you mean by age being a concern about those things?

Actually, I meant more that being depressed about aging ( both from the vanity and ability to do things side) was the 'concern hanging over my head' that took away joy and to some extent even energy to do things like gardening, shopping, taking a walk etc.

Not that I have the type of depression I used to, but even a little can be debilitating. In the far distant past age was not a part of depression of course, that just got added in as time went on.

Before I go on, I don't know an easy way to keep the colors for each of us, without out copying the whole code each time either of us speaks....is there an easier way?

All I do is quote you and then type my reply in whatever color it comes out as, and then I change my reply to whatever color I want it to be.... Is that what you mean?

So instead today I am just saying what you said and answering to avoid endless changing the color code arrgghhh

That's fine too! I just do it here so it's easier for you to see my reply to you. If you want to, you can always just delete the parts you don't need after you quote something. I've done that too. Just do whatever is easiest for you though, and don't worry about it ok?

So then you asked:
"First, when does the feeling of imminent death come over you? During your sleep or when you're awake? I have a feeling that this has been with you a very long time. Do you remember when or about when you first had this thought, and what may have caused it? Was it because of something you heard or something someone said or did?"

First I only just understood about joy being a choice so before when taking the imminent death feeling captive I didn't choose joy as a victory because I didn't know I could.

But yes, mostly awake...tho it has happened in dreams on occasion.
I am pretty sure the first time came when I picked up the foster parent's brand new baby who was crying fitfully outside. I did not realize I was choking her, my only intention was to get her to her mom so the mom could help her.
I thought all would be well and happy, but out of the blue the father grabbed me took me inside holding me in the air by one arm and then started beating me screaming that he would kill me...that that was his intention, that I was an evil child and when he tired and threw me in a closet and I cried about being scared of the spiders, he opened the door and told me I was not to make another sound, not to say another word, or he would in fact, finish what he intended to do and he would kill me.

I think I associated death with being an evil person who deserved to die ( right at that time....it was the first time I remember hearing that I should die)...
and later on I knew hell was where evil people went...so they all seemed to go together.

And tho I know that Jesus has paid for my sins, and thus I am not going to hell.....
still at odd moments I will get this overwhelming feeling......

but I have never tried to see what exactly was going on just before and to see if there was any sort of connection.

OK, let's stop here for a moment and work on this much first. We've picked this apart before and discussed it so don't need to do that again, but I can see where this would have been such a traumatic experience for you that it would cause that idea/thought/feeling to come over you at times. Keeping in mind that you were NOT to blame for what you did, and that it was NOT your fault, that you did nothing "bad" or even "wrong", because you didn't know any other way to hold a baby. Most children learn how to do that by playing with their baby dolls and their mothers showing them with the doll how to hold the baby; then when the mother has another child, she then puts her new baby in the older child's arms and again shows them the proper way to hold the baby; always staying right with her child and helping her hold the new baby, because all adults know that little ones aren't generally capable of picking up and holding a baby correctly and safely on their own. Going on from there, as I said it was a very traumatic experience for you and trauma like that, tends to add tremendous force to our feelings and thoughts and kind of imprints them on our minds, as it obviously did yours. Generally that whole episode would have never happened in most cases had you been living just about anywhere else with anyone else, and dramatically shows that as a young child you lacked the love and attention and training that most little ones receive from their mothers or care takers - even a day care worker! The only person to blame for what happened to that baby and for what happened to you is the parents. They both should have gone to jail for what they did and no, don't give me all the excuses you've made up for them as to "why" they did what they did. They're nothing more than just that - excuses, and not good for anything. This still obviously affects you though, but I think it's affect has lessened at least some over time, especially since we last spoke of it.

What we need to do now is find a way for you to be at peace with what happened. Peace about what happened to the baby, and peace about what happened to you, and even at peace about what the adults did. We need to apply the cross to these past memories. Focusing on the cross is moving from death to resurrection. You want to go over the memory slowly and take each piece of it to the cross, knowing that Jesus saw it, knows about it - knew about it when He was dying even - and chose to die so that it would be forgiven completely. “When he had received the drink, Jesus said, “It is finished.” With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.” (John 19:30) Know that when Jesus forgives someone of something, He isn't just saying the words, there's a spiritual transaction being done. Jesus forgives the deed/words, thoughts, and also takes away the shame and guilt. “let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water.” (Hebrews 10:22) The shame is caused by the person believing that they themselves are bad and or unworthy of being forgiven, that we deserve to be punished. Somehow we think it's not enough to just be forgiven for it. But if we're honest, we weren't "just forgiven". God paid a HUGE price for our sins. He paid a huge price for what happened to you, so you weren't "just forgiven". Justice was meted out, only instead of being done to you, it was done to Jesus because He thinks you're worth saving and He loves you. Because of that, we give up our shame so that we don't shame Him by saying that what He did for us wasn't enough.

Then after that part of the memory has been taken to the cross, take it to the resurrection, knowing that Jesus is not dead, but is ALIVE and that He's with you now and was with you even then, loving you and wanting to hold you and comfort you. Although you weren't yet saved as far as we consider it in our human understanding, as far as the Father is concerned you were already saved because He chose you before the foundation of the world and Jesus always knows who belongs to Him. Know to that because Jesus is alive, was alive when this happened, that He was also in control of everything. He wasn't taken by surprise when it happened. It was not part of His perfect will for you, because He is a God of love and doesn't want to see you (or anyone else) hurt. But it was allowed to happen as part of His permissive will. Perhaps it was to give the adults the chance to do the right thing - which they failed to do. We often can't know the "why's until we get to heaven, and generally there's more than one reason anyway, and it often has nothing to do with us at all. But we know from scripture how the Lord feels about children, how He felt then about the baby, and how he felt about you. He loved both of you more than we can understand or know even. He does not blame you for what happened. He tells us in His Word that you were far to young to hold accountable for that, and He is the Supreme Judge. No one and nothing can say any different and He has judged you free of all sin and all consequences of it. So take yourself, the little child that you were back then, and show her how much Jesus loves her and what He did for her. Treat her tenderly and gently, for you know what the Lord says about people who do anything to mislead a little child. Let her know she was never, ever alone, that Jesus was right there in the closet with her the whole time, and that He sustained her until she was released.

If you want to read the parts about the Crucifixion to the resurrection, they can be found here: Matt 27:32–28:10; Mark 15:22–16:20; Luke 23:26–24:52; John 19:16– 21:25.

Let me know how this goes for you ok?

In a way, it's more because I don't know when it going to happen....it seems to not have any particular cycle...but what you said about fearing it, is another thing to consider and even more important was when you said this:

"There is no fear in love and God is love, and He is your God and He loves you. He's not going to allow anything to happen to you and has promised that you will find joy in His presence"

And as I have said before that even when the man was screaming and beating me, I didn't really feel it, til the end ( which was strange considering I was greatly bruised but even the next day, I was not in pain) so it was not the physical pain that was the issue....

but being accused of being a murderer, evil, ( when that was absolutely not what I intended at all...tho my 'good intentions' had bad results ( I have no idea how bad) for the baby....

and also to be hated so much the man really truly wanted me to die to be dead..... and the suddenness of death combined with hatred

You thought and think that he truly wanted you to die - you can't know for sure because we can't really know what's truly in another person's heart, only God knows that. Regardless of that however, God knows exactly what was in his heart and he will pay for what he did to you. Again, we know what the Lord thinks about people who mistreat a child, for ANY reason! As far as God is concerned there are NO excuses or reasons for that to have happened. So you can know the truth from scripture that God will and has judged righteously and will render His verdict at that mans judgment day. Further, we will be there to see it. If he has truly repented of his sins, including that one, then he is saved and will be our brother in Christ and we will love him, but he will have had to pay the consequences of his sin against you in this life. If he is not saved, then he will pay the consequences for eternity.

Yet, God was there, and I think He may have taken all the blows so I did not feel them..( except for one)

Also he kept me quite so I did not make another sound, and the man did not drag me out to finish what he swore to do..

Plus, the very next day, the Lord arranged for me to go to my adopted home.....where they would never beat me or scream at me

So I think maybe satan pounced on that incident and tho when I feel 'death' and I am evil, and hell....it is not going back to that time in memory....it may have started then
Plus, feeling all alone as a child going from foster home to foster home....I do not feel alone 98% of the time now ( only when that hits me) because I know Jesus is with me, but I did not know that as a child....even tho He in fact was, and was protecting me all along.

I think you're right. Now, here's something else to reflect on. Jesus took the pain like you said, and all the rest that you wrote above. Knowing that, what in the world is there to fear about death now? You've already experienced what it will be like! We know from scripture that Jesus takes the pain that we can't bear and we're immediately in His presence. On top of that, when we leave this body behind, which will take less than a nanosecond and have a new one, we will be in His presence completely free of our sin nature, without any spot or blemish of sin on or in us at all! How awesome is that? So God has already shown you that you have nothing at all to fear from death, just as Jesus tells us in scripture. “Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might destroy him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil— and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death.” (Hebrews 2:14–15) Satan has kept you enslaved to this fear of death and hell with a whole bunch of lies in your thoughts and feelings, but at the same time, the Lord has given you both His Word and your experience to show you that you have nothing to fear because you belong to Him! Reflect on all of this with the Lord and tell me what comes of it ok?

I don't know why I did have enough sense to let the baby cry and just run inside and tell the mom? I never thought to do that....it makes me sometimes feel like I don't make good choices right from the start. Don't go there Barbara, take those thoughts captive, they're lies. You were a small child and NO little one has the sense to know what to do. Some accidentally make the so called right choice, but it's not because of anything they know to do it's just an accident.

perhaps that is being hard on myself but it is also a fact. It seems I made an inordinate amount of bad, foolish, stupid choices....which may have been why for a time, I just stop.....stop everything and became semi catatonic ( this was before I came back to Jesus).....again, giving into fear....fear of once again doing something wrong that could have terrible consequences

Again: Don't go there Barbara, take those thoughts captive, they're lies. You were a small child and NO little one has the sense to know what to do. Some accidentally make the so called right choice, but it's not because of anything they know to do it's just an accident. As for mistakes made when you were much older, we all make mistakes. No one can get through this life without making them and if anyone says they have, they're lying. Besides that, you are now saved and you have the mind of Christ and have learned how to use it!

I don't actually live like that now, because God has given me so much help ( and you have also helped sooooo much) as to what to do what is wrong to do as well as what is right....for sure I still sin....but having God's forgiveness

I wish I could have asked that man for forgiveness, but i was soooo happy when they came outdoors. I thought yes! the baby has her mom and will be well, plus I was afraid I would be getting the baby's feet dirty as she was sooooo heavy ( no oxygen so was dead weight and heavy)

and when the man lifted me up by one arm and carried me all the way to house, I thought he was having fun with me, like it was a game or something and I laughed ( but he thought I was an evil child laughing that I had killed or tried to kill their baby)
So I never got to tell him how sorry I was and ask his forgiveness for causing him so much pain.....and also to explain I didn't know, and I really was not trying to kill their baby.
I know that baby was also in God's hands...I pray she was not brain damaged and even if she was that her parents continued to love her.....as I am sure the Lord did.....but I might have in fact, caused her brain damage for lack of oxygen....that's not a great thing to have done at age 5 even if by accident...that child would have to live with that all her life.
Anyway, I do think maybe satan has also picked up on that to hit me with from time to time....and I know Jesus has forgiven me, even if the man and his wife could not.
But when I feel death I do not think of that incident at all....it seems seperate but the fear of death in a concrete way might have started then.
and also depression.

Are you still hanging on to that?
There's no "maybe" about it, but Satan is still using it against you!

Newborns can survive longer periods of decreased oxygen because they have a large proportion of fetal hemoglobin in the circulation. The oxygen saturation curve is shifted to the left. Small children over six months of age who asphyxiate are not so lucky.
There are just so many variables that it is impossible to predict outcomes in most cases of hypoxia, especially in infants and small children. I've seen infants with five minute Apgar scores of zero do perfectly well afterwards, while those with higher scores sometimes fare much more poorly. OK, sure, if pupils are fixed and dilated and the Glasgow coma score is 3 or 4, the prognosis is grim. Still, timing the period of anoxia with certainty is nearly impossible, and correlating it with outcome is still an educated estimation. Sorry I forgot to copy the url to this.

The fact is though that you have no idea if you caused ANY damage to that baby and the chances are far better that you did NOT, than that you did. My daughter Jennifer, went without oxygen lots of times from the time she was born until she was a year old. She'd just stop breathing. Even as a tiny newborn, after she was 7 days old, the doctors and nurses did not resuscitate her immediately. (except for when she was first born) Instead they tried to get her to start breathing on her own and that's what they trained me to do when I was finally able to bring her home. (and no, there's no magic number in being 7 days old, that's just how old she happened to be when they took her off the ventilator for good) Now Jenn only weighed 2 pounds at the time. When I brought her home at 3 months old she weighed just barely 5 pounds and was like a newborn in all ways. She was hooked up to monitors so I'd know if her heart stopped or if she stopped breathing and like I said, they taught me to try and get her started on her own. They told me that sometimes babies simply "forget" to breathe and have to be reminded. (because they don't breathe in the womb). Anyway, she often went without oxygen for several minutes before she'd start breathing again. So medically it's more likely that the baby experienced no damage at all from what you did. And that's leaving God out of the picture entirely. Since we know that He's in control of everything that makes the chances of anything happening to that baby pretty slim. You remember Jennifer don't you? She's the one who comes over to visit with me every weekend and brings her children - Elijah and Grace. She's married to a man named Bob. I talk about her all the time. So you need to do as good a job of convincing yourself that you are innocent and that that baby was/is just fine as you did of convincing yourself otherwise. You do not need to ask anyone's forgiveness; but they certainly need to ask for yours and the Lords!

Well this is plenty long.....so maybe I will wait till you wade thru all of this before going on.....and I will go read the Galatian scripture you suggested

I may come back and write a bit more on some of the other questions after reading but I will do another post since this is pretty long already.

Jun 28, 2017 23:06:11 GMT -5 fearnot said:

So I really liked when you wrote this:
"Our joy isn't conditional upon what's happening like it is for people of the world, because even if bad things happen, the Lord still gives us reasons to be filled with Joy, mainly because He is our Father and dwelling within us and promises us an eternity of everlasting joy! "

Even tho I drug up that old childhood stuff, I don't really camp on it anymore. In fact, I don't think of it as poor me very much at all when I do think of it which is seldom....tho it was only the last few years I started to pray for the baby and what might have happened to her. But I think I have given it up to Jesus.....He took care of her ( she was hurt and maybe severely or maybe not, but in any case he paid for my sin and took care of her.

There was no sin Barbara, but yes, He did pay for all your sins, and took on your guilt and shame as well.

But tho I don't think I ever thought of it very much even when I was younger, it wasn't like I thought, well, I will keep this forefront in my mind and rehearse it over and over daily. Yet I think it had an effect, not one I consciously planned out, to be a miserable glum person...I think I was too young to make such a plan....in fact, I was surprised when I was an adult my mom mentioned it.....it was like I had totally forgotten it....yet being depressed about things present and future stole a lot of joy.

But it seems God is determined to bring joy into my life now and forever more ( and He has been at it for a long time) and I am glad....but every now and then.....its like satan ( the father of lies) whispers lies to me....God does not love you and you are going to Hell.....it is scary for a moment.....

the verse tho that always comes to mind is:
I am fearfully and wonderfully made and that I know right well.....

I know I am waaay tooooo complex to be an accident.
It's funny satan wants me to believe hell is real, but not God or Heaven.

However, I know the devil did NOT make me....tho I have sinned greatly, I am made in God's image and more than that, He does love me...even when I was glum.

I was just thinking about when you wrote:
"It wasn't until the fall that work became hard."

That maybe in one sense mom was right...work did become hard......but she was missing the part about joy is a choice and even in the hardest work, one can find joy.....as in doing it as unto the Lord, and finding pleasure in the results, or even in the process. I know some people think weeding is a drudgery or pruning roses etc. and I am always amazed they think that, because with weeds it a game of tug of war, and a sense of competitiveness...me against the weed...aha I won again weed!!!
Plus it looks so nice when it is nice and tidy ( tho I know some 'weeds' can be very health benefitting but you know what I mean about certain weeds)
and pruning is art....it's making the roses stand out in their best beauty as in a painting ( plus, it makes the bush much healthier) and so I imagine that could be done with any work.
The 'hard' part is if a person is soooo tired, and aching and still has to work that it becomes harder.

When you wrote this

"So God is a bully and you're the victim of His curse? Do you really think it would have been kinder of God to allow Adam and Eve and all the rest of humanity to live forever as sinners and never be saved? The only way He could save us so we could live with Him for eternity was to make sure that they didn't live forever, that their bodies would die so He could give them a new body, and of course to send Jesus to live a righteous life for us and then die to pay for our sins. Don't you think it's time to give this whole thing up? I'm sorry to be harsh about this, but I'm trying to jolt you enough to help you get this all out of your system once and for all.....cause I love you and hate to see you do this to yourself."

( I did know this, but when the dread of death and hell comes I forget. )

But that is another reason I am writing as much as I am.....trying to get rid of it for once and for all, by getting it all out....

Good!

tho I can't stop the enemy from trying to drag me back down...

He can try, but you can fight back with prayer and God's Word, including prayers of prevention asking God to protect you from that specifically!

but If I become a fighter instead of a 'victim', he might not find it as satisfying to vex me.

I don't think I feel or felt so much the 'victim' of God as.... some people, my sinful choices, and satan.

Sorry these are so long but I am hoping to be done with it....I think I have come a long long way...

and I never am thinking about my past ( not any of it) when I am hit with death, depression and hell and lack of faith for a few moments.....

but it may be the foundation, or at least a part, that I then ,,built and built on it so much, that I don't see the foundation but it may still be there.

It always seems not related but it might me.....

it often just seems like a demonic entity comes around at a totally random time, and smacks me....but I do have a lot more, ways to fight with God's truth and His word and His love.

As far as the idea of a demonic entity goes, we can talk about that too, "just in case", but we'll have to do it later as I don't have anymore time today. Let's take care of what we've already done and also Galatians first and then we'll come back to that ok? I made myself a note so I won't forget.

I also don't have time to share what I wanted to about Galatians today so will do that tomorrow, God willing.

If you've already studied Galatians 4:21–31 that's good, if not, go ahead and do that today. If you have studied it already then go on to Galatians 5:1–6 & Galatians 5:13–18.

fearnot
Living With Pain

Posts: 8,397

Our Daily Time With The Lord 2 Jun 29, 2017 16:13:38 GMT -5

Post by fearnot on Jun 29, 2017 16:13:38 GMT -5

I know we have talked about how ( well especially satan, mostly doesn't have time for a small fry like me), but there have been times ( Not so much or very often any more) when while asleep, it will truly seem like an evil entity has arrived, to torment me, scare, etc. me.

It comes like a counterfeit of god being in a small whisper....it often starts like s soft wind....but I know instantly what it is.....it drips of evil and almost instantly turns into horror. It has not happened for a long time now ( maybe more than a year). I do pray for Jesus to put a wall of protection and a hedge of thorns around and to keep whatever it is away.

It never comes often, but is always super scary when it happens, I think I almost always cry out to Jesus as soon as possible and it goes away.....but it is terrorizing when it happens....it may never happen again....but I would still like to hear what you might say....if it were really demonic.

I know may be my imagination, or something I ate, etc.

but like you said, I would very much like to hear what you have to say............just in case.

And before I forget, thank you from the bottom of my heart, for explaining about how children learn to hold a baby.

The reason I said the man wanted to kill me, is because that is what he said when he opened the closet door because I was crying and scared of the spiders.....

And while there was nothing really funny about the whole incident...

I just today realized, that even at 5 I knew I did NOT like spiders, and I still don't 65 plus years later!!

I know God made them (spiders) for all many of useful things.....

it's just that I prefer they do their 'useful things', far far away from 'me'!!! LOL

I will go read now

Last Edit: Jun 29, 2017 23:38:29 GMT -5 by fearnot

Cindy
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Waiting for Jesus to come back and take us all to be with Him forever!

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Our Daily Time With The Lord 2 Jun 30, 2017 9:26:36 GMT -5

Post by Cindy on Jun 30, 2017 9:26:36 GMT -5

Before I forget to mention it, I remembered that you didn't say much at all about one of my questions and I'd really like to delve into it a lot more. It's important because it will give you a way to know there's been a change and should have already given you that. The question was" What would others first notice?

Jun 29, 2017 16:13:38 GMT -5 fearnot said:

I know we have talked about how ( well especially satan, mostly doesn't have time for a small fry like me), but there have been times ( Not so much or very often any more) when while asleep, it will truly seem like an evil entity has arrived, to torment me, scare, etc. me.

It comes like a counterfeit of god being in a small whisper....it often starts like s soft wind....but I know instantly what it is.....it drips of evil and almost instantly turns into horror. It has not happened for a long time now ( maybe more than a year). I do pray for Jesus to put a wall of protection and a hedge of thorns around and to keep whatever it is away.

It never comes often, but is always super scary when it happens, I think I almost always cry out to Jesus as soon as possible and it goes away.....but it is terrorizing when it happens....it may never happen again....but I would still like to hear what you might say....if it were really demonic.

I know may be my imagination, or something I ate, etc.

but like you said, I would very much like to hear what you have to say............just in case.

And before I forget, thank you from the bottom of my heart, for explaining about how children learn to hold a baby.

The reason I said the man wanted to kill me, is because that is what he said when he opened the closet door because I was crying and scared of the spiders.....

And while there was nothing really funny about the whole incident...

I just today realized, that even at 5 I knew I did NOT like spiders, and I still don't 65 plus years later!!

I know God made them (spiders) for all many of useful things.....

it's just that I prefer they do their 'useful things', far far away from 'me'!!! LOL

I will go read now

I think I told you before that it most likely is demonic - in other words a demon. Not Satan himself, but a demon, and Jesus WILL protect you. He won't let it hurt you, but if He allows it to come for some reason, all you have to do is what you've done, and cry out to Him and He will send it away immediately. I sincerely doubt if it will happen again though. It most likely did before due to some of the things that were happening before. For one thing, severe depression can open a door for us to be harassed by demons. A number of sins are guaranteed to bring them in such as abuse of drugs or alcohol, sexual perversions, rage, and any use of the occult or new age stuff or their methods. I've been harassed by demons before too and it's most certainly scary, but Jesus will always put a stop to it if we call on Him. Plus, as I said, as long as we're doing our best to obey Him and not doing things that would invite a demon in, He would never let one hurt us anyway.

LOL I hate spiders too, and snakes and ticks and mosquitoes, and....

Ok, let's talk some about Galatians 4:21–31. In this section, Paul uses the story of Ishmael & Isaac (Gen. 16–21) to show the basic truths about our relationship to the Law of Moses. The reason I wanted you to read this and reflect on it with the Lord is because one of the things you've struggled with is the idea that you might not be saved because you still sin, especially sins you've already identified and attempted to stop doing. You seem to sometimes think that as long as that happens you can't really be saved. This should help you understand what really happens in our life now that we're saved and what happens in the life of someone who's not really saved. I think you'll see that much of it has to do with our attitude.

Those who aren't saved don't have anything other than what they got from their earthly parents. They may have a great IQ and lots of good qualities and characteristics, but all of it's carnal; there's nothing spiritual about them. Their reasoning is carnal and so are their affections. They can't understand the things of God and can't love the way He does either. Oh they may give a good imitation of it at times, but it's not something they can do regularly or really would even want to.

On the other hand, those of us who are saved have been born of God and our minds and hearts have been renewed and continued to be renewed every day as we read and study His Word with Him. Our views and desires are spiritual because we have taken on our Father's characteristics, (although to us it may seem like it's only a tiny bit). We do things for different reasons than the unsaved because we know and love God. The unsaved not only don't know Him (they may know about Him, but don't know Him personally) but in general they don't want to know Him. They don't care if something they do is a sin. If they want to do it they don't worry that it might offend God or that it's a sin. The very fact that we care about whether or not we're saved, or whether or not we've sinned or been forgiven etc, is a sure sign that we've been saved! Why? Because no one can even begin to want to know God or want to be saved without God first giving that person the desire and the faith to be saved, which He always causes to bear fruit - meaning He always causes it to bring them to salvation. When we're saved we're partakers, as much as flesh and blood can be, of a divine nature; whereas the unsaved have only their carnal nature. That's why we're called "new creatures". We're as different from the unsaved as light is from darkness.

The unsaved are the children of the old covenant, and Paul says they're like Abraham and Hagar's son, Ishmael. He reminds us that Hagar was a slave and even though married to Abraham would always be a slave and would bear children who would be salves. Paul says they're from Mount Sinai in Arabia which represents the current city of Jerusalem. Even if they do obey the will of God they do it because of self righteous hopes, or fears, and do it grudgingly and because they think they "have to". They don't really want to do it and don't consider it pleasant at all. (like the Jew's did and do) If at times they may seem to think it's pleasant it's because of pride and self complacency, and not from any delight in His service.

The children of the new covenant are the children of promise. Paul says they're like Abraham and Sarah's son Isaac. (who's name means "he laughs"!) Let me quote something about this for you:

Three different occasions of laughter are associated with Isaac’s birth: Abraham laughed for joy when he heard his wife would give birth to the promised son (Gen. 17:17); Sarah laughed in unbelief when she heard the news (18:9–15); and Sarah laughed for joy when the boy was born (21:6–7). The name Isaac means “he laughs.”
Isaac pictures the child of God not only in his birth but also in the joy that he brought. Isaac means “laughter,” and this time it was not the laughter of unbelief (Gen. 18:9–15). In the parables recorded in Luke 15, Jesus emphasized the joy that results when lost sinners repent and come to the Lord. The shepherd rejoiced when he found the lost sheep, and the woman rejoiced when she found the lost coin; and they both asked their friends to rejoice with them. The father rejoiced when his prodigal son came home, and he invited the neighbors to a feast so they could share in his joy. There is even joy in heaven when sinners turn to God (Luke 15:7, 10). Nowhere do we read that Ishmael caused great joy in Abraham’s home. Abraham loved his son and wanted the best for him (Gen. 17:18). From before his birth, Ishmael was a source of painful trouble (Gen. 16); and after he matured, he caused even greater conflict in the family (21:9). The old nature is not
able to produce the fruit of the Spirit, no matter how hard it tries (Gal. 5:16–26). Wiersbe, W. W.

I hope you can see from that how important joy and laughter are to the Lord. He wants to fill us with Joy and gives us His Joy to be our strength and never takes it away from us. But we must choose to have it and use it. This shows again that Joy is important and spoken of from Genesis to Revelation. Ok, back to Isaac now...

Children of the new covenant, (that's us!) are enabled to walk with confidence and joy. We serve God because we love Him, not out of fear that He will harm us. We don't serve Him so He will save us but because He has saved us and we're grateful for that. We regard Him as our Father and our friend. Like Paul says, we don't have the spirit that makes us a slave again to fear, but the spirit of adoption, and through that Spirit we cry, Abba, Father! We love Him because He first loved us! The unsaved, the children of the old covenant, may obey the law in many points but they don't really love it. They hate those who do love God and obey Him and see us as a reproach to them; especially when we tell them that it's the children of promise that will exclusively inherit the Kingdom and that there is no other way! That's why the Lord teaches us all to expect that from them because they hated Him first.

‎We need to constantly remind ourselves that no human being could ever live a perfectly holy and righteous life without any sin. That's why Jesus came. He lived that life FOR US. When we were saved, God put His perfect life on our account and took our sins and put them on Jesus's account. Jesus then died to pray the price for our sins. That was and is the only possible way that God could make us truly holy and pure so we could then live with Him for eternity. We are saved and given that standing instantly, but throughout this life we endeavor to be more like our Lord. It's an interesting struggle to, because we have to find the balance of wanting to be like Him but allowing Him to do the work instead of doing it in our own strength. (the way the unsaved and the children of the old covenant do). Then, when this body dies (or the rapture happens) God completes our salvation by truly making us pure and holy without spot or blemish! What an amazing God we serve! Our salvation is ALL of God and nothing from or done by us! Let me again share what a commentary by Wiersbe says: (I know it's long, but it's important!)

‎Isaac illustrates the believer. ‎He was born by God’s power. In fact, God deliberately waited 25 years before He granted Abraham & Sarah their son. Isaac was “born after the Spirit” (Gal. 4:29), & the Christian is “born of the Spirit” (John 3:1–7). Isaac came into the world through Abraham (who represents faith, Gal. 3:9) & Sarah (who represents grace); so that he was born “by grace … through faith” as is every true Christian (Eph. 2:8–9). ‎He brought joy. His name means “laughter,” & certainly he brought joy to his aged parents. Salvation is an experience of joy, not only to the believer himself, but also to those around him. ‎He grew & was weaned (Gen. 21:8). Salvation is the beginning, not the ending. ‎After we are born, we must grow (1 Peter 2:2; 2 Peter 3:18). Along with maturity comes weaning: we must lay aside “childish things” (1 Cor. 13:11). How easy it is for us to hold the “toys” of our earlier Christian days & fail to lay hold of the “tools” of the mature believer. The child does not enjoy being weaned, but he can never become a man until it happens. ‎He was persecuted (Gen. 21:9). Ishmael (the flesh) caused problems for Isaac, just as our old nature causes problems for us. (Paul will discuss this in detail in Gal. 5:16ff.) Ishmael created no problems in the home until Isaac was born, just as our old nature creates no problems for us until the new nature enters when we trust Christ. ‎In Abraham’s home we see the same basic conflicts that we Christians face today: Hagar versus Sarah = Law versus grace; & Ishmael versus Isaac = flesh versus Spirit. ‎It is important to note that you cannot separate these 4 factors. The Judaizers taught that Law made the believer more spiritual, but Paul makes it clear that Law only releases the opposition of the flesh & a conflict within the believer ensues (see Rom. 7:19). There was no Law strong enough either to change or to control Ishmael, but Isaac never needed any Law. It has well been said, “The old nature knows no Law & the new nature needs no Law.”

‎Sarah & Hagar illustrates the contrasts between Law & grace & proves that the believer is not under Law but is under the loving freedom that comes through God’s grace. ‎Abraham’s marriage to Hagar was the result of Sarah’s & Abraham’s unbelief & impatience. The Law cannot give life (Gal. 3:21), righteousness (Gal. 2:21), the gift of the Spirit (Gal. 3:2), or a spiritual inheritance (Gal. 3:18). Isaac was born Abraham’s heir (Gen. 21:10), but Ishmael could not share in this inheritance. ‎Hagar gave birth to a slave. Ishmael was “a wild man” (Gen. 16:12), & even though he was a slave, nobody could control him, including his mother. Like Ishmael, the old nature (the flesh) is at war with God, & the Law cannot change or control it. By nature, the Spirit & the flesh are “contrary the one to the other” (Gal. 5:17), & no amount of religious activity is going to change the picture. Whoever chooses Hagar (Law) for his mother is going to experience bondage (Gal. 4:8–11, 22–25, 30–31; 5:1). But whoever chooses Sarah (grace) for his mother is going to enjoy liberty in Christ. God wants His children to be free (Gal. 5:1). ‎Hagar was cast out. It was Sarah who gave the order & God subsequently approved it (Gen. 21:12). It is impossible for Law & grace, the flesh & the Spirit, to compromise & stay together. ‎God did not ask Hagar & Ishmael to make occasional visits to the home; the break was permanent. It is impossible to mix Law & grace, faith & works, God’s gift of righteousness & man’s attempts to earn righteousness. ‎Hagar was not married again. God never gave the Law to any other nation or people, including His church. The Bible exposition commentary

Here are some more questions for you:

Have you cast out the bondwoman? “But what does the Scripture say? “Get rid of the slave woman and her son, for the slave woman’s son will never share in the inheritance with the free woman’s son.”” (Galatians 4:30)

Do you live a life of Joy?
Do you bring joy to others?
Do other sense the joy in you even if they don't understand it?
Why should joy be a part of our salvation and a part of the life we live now even during trials?

After we're done with this, we'll work on Galatians 5:1–6 & Galatians 5:13–18. But take your time. If you need an extra day or two just read the same section and talk to the Lord about it again, ok?

fearnot Living With Pain Posts: 8,397	Our Daily Time With The Lord 2 Jun 30, 2017 18:16:39 GMT -5 Select Post Deselect Post Link to Post Member Give Gift Back to Top Post by fearnot on Jun 30, 2017 18:16:39 GMT -5 I have read it thru once, but yes, I need to read it again and talk to the Lord about it.....so yes I will prob do that tomorrow. Thanks :-)

fearnot
Living With Pain

Posts: 8,397

Our Daily Time With The Lord 2 Jul 1, 2017 14:34:34 GMT -5

Post by fearnot on Jul 1, 2017 14:34:34 GMT -5

Have you cast out the bondwoman?

Yes, but every now and again, she tries to creep back for a visit, in hopes maybe we can 'be friends'.

Leonard and I have this friend who has had all manner of horrible things happen to him from childhood....so he spent 10 years homeless, and has been on and off being clean and sober.

But when he is clean and sober, he becomes very very religious. And although, I agree we should give financially to the Lord's work and to His people via supporting various Christian outreaches.....with this friend, it has always been, like a law....he MUST do it, almost like he is trying to work his way to heaven by 'giving'. He is on all manner of disabilities ( mental etc.) but he picks up cans daily, and washes windows, waves signs for restaurants, does odd jobs etc. almost all of it goes to support his church and groups like voice of the martyrs etc.
I think that is great, but it isn't that he gives generously and works hard to give about $400 a month ( he has zero pieces of furniture except for a sleeping bag on his floor and some blankets)...its he gets frantic if he cannot tithe....to me it's like he has yet to kick the bondswoman out.
However, I think just like sin is never 100 % gone, in this life, every now and then, the law tries to sweet talk its way back in....and it can take some taking thoughts captive.
It's easy to wonder......well, am I spending tooo much on self .... that could be a fact.....but on the other hand....do I feel compelled to give not as a joy but as I must follow the law.
I have had great joy doing what you told me your grandchildren do ( leaving things for the homeless including a small Bible in the package).

“But what does the Scripture say? “Get rid of the slave woman and her son, for the slave woman’s son will never share in the inheritance with the free woman’s son.”” (Galatians 4:30)

Do you live a life of Joy?

More so now than ever before in my life

Do you bring joy to others?

That is kind of a 'trick' question LOL

if I say yes, I feel like well maybe I do
but
isn't that truth plus a bit of ego...
however, if I say no...then it is false humbleness.

I think I do but I suppose I could be deceiving myself...it's sort of like you can never be absolutely sure another person is saved....so it seems like I may bring joy in some ways to some people some of the time....hows that LOL

Do other sense the joy in you even if they don't understand it?
I really do not know for sure?

Why should joy be a part of our salvation and a part of the life we live now even during trials?

It shows what a great God is our God....if we can have joy even during trials because of our God than unbelievers can only imagine how amazing He is without trials....He is worthy.

Last Edit: Jul 2, 2017 14:02:15 GMT -5 by fearnot

fearnot
Living With Pain

Posts: 8,397

Our Daily Time With The Lord 2 Jul 2, 2017 14:10:16 GMT -5

Post by fearnot on Jul 2, 2017 14:10:16 GMT -5

I know we are going to talk about the next verses after we finish the questions, but in re-reading this morning

Galatians 5

"It is for freedom that Christ has set us free.
Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery"

I am thinking that in part the difference between 2 people doing the very same act.....say giving to someone in need for example.....

Can be done by one of them as a burden, a yoke, a I MUST.....HAVE TO slavery mentality

but by the other person as a joy,in love, in freedom, a.... I Want to....mentality

The action may look on the outside the same perhaps ( tho the person burden may show it in the stress in their face, the lack of joy or love)

but on the inside they are very different.

Last Edit: Jul 2, 2017 14:11:36 GMT -5 by fearnot

fearnot
Living With Pain

Posts: 8,397

Our Daily Time With The Lord 2 Jul 3, 2017 16:51:35 GMT -5

Post by fearnot on Jul 3, 2017 16:51:35 GMT -5

Re-read Galatians 5:13-18 and have been thinking about it.....I am not sure if you will get here tomorrow, being it's the 4th of July....If not I will just read on a bit in Galatians and if you are okay ( tho after the 4th you may not be feeling great.....so in that case I will keep reading and see what happens Thurs. :-)