Crusader

[Guest]

Damon,
thank you for your honesty. I have a son who as you is very intelligent
and always seeming to question. It concerns me but I know GOD can handle it, I cant! I became a christian at about 26 lived a bad life,
and not intelligent and tho' I question, I just believe GOD always and
take him at his word. If his word says one thing and doesnt work for me I just figure hes saying NO....Im glad he blessed me "simple"

[Guest]

Luke 22:31

Ive heard people say,"lay it down"
Lay your burden down
leave it at the feet of JESUS
leave it at the alter
give it to HIM

GOD wants to sift from our lives/sifting season
for some it's
1 pride
2 victim
3 imbedded impurities

We are hard pressed on every side yet not crushed.
We are perplexed, but not in despair,
persecuted but not forsaken,
struck down but not destroyed
always carrying about in the body the dying of the LORD JESUS
that the life of JESUS may be manifested in our body.
For we who live are always delivered to DEATH for JESUS' sake,
that the life of JESUS also may be manifested in our mortal flesh........

[Guest]

  What has God promised to all believers? Second Peter 1 states that "His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises" (vv.3,4). Among those great promises (conditional and unconditional) are the following:



Provision for our needs (Matt. 6:25-34).
Answer to prayer (Matt. 7:7-11; 1 John 5:14,15).
All we need to live for Him (2 Pet. 1:3,4).
Rewards for service (2 Cor. 5:10).
Help in our praying (Rom. 8:26).
Eternal life (John 3:16; 5:24).
A home in heaven (John 14:1-4).
Assurance of salvation (John 10:29).
The Holy Spirit within (Eph. 1:13,14).
Spiritual gifts (Rom. 12:3-8; 1 Cor. 12).
Forgiveness for daily sins (1 John 1:9).
Peace of mind (Phil. 4:7).
A way to defeat temptation (1 Cor. 10:13).
Wisdom in times of testing (James 1:5).
Power for living (Eph. 1:19; 3:20).
Access to God through prayer (Eph. 3:12).
Mercy and grace in times of need (Heb. 4:16).
The illumination of the Spirit (1 Cor. 2:6-16).
Freedom from sin's grip (Rom. 6:22).
Loving discipline (Heb. 12:3-11).
Ability to make Satan flee (James 4:7).
Resurrection to glory (1 Thess. 4:16,17).
Strength to do God's will (Phil. 4:13).


http://www.gospelcom.net/rbc/ds/q0105/


I found this on the net to help bless your life,hopefully through Jesus and the minisrty of the Holy Spirit it will help.I read thier statement of faith and have no issues with it but I didnt read everything on the site. I know one thing that God doesnt lie,in fact the scripture says God cant lie. We are in a war and the enemy will use this to bring you down if he can,dont let him. Is this friend of yours a girl? If so are you emotionaly involved? I had to ask,you are free to say its none of my business and I will understand. That old tenant that our enemys are the world,the flesh and the devil are very true and a part of our armor is the shield of faith...and bro you need it now. The Lord one day showed me that the enemys firey darts are much like a bb gun and many a Christian end up a P.O.W. due to 300 shots from a bb gun rather than a .44 magnum.Heres a thought tp ponder, is a P.O.W. still a citizen of the country in which thier citizenship originated...the answer is yes.....

Lord Bless you

Steve

[Guest]

I know one thing that God doesnt lie,in fact the scripture says God cant lie.

I wanted to comment on just this one thing that you mentioned. There is one passage in the bible that I know of where God is accused of deceiving someone. Read Jeremiah 20:7. Understand that I'm not trying to make the bible contradict itself, but I don't believe things are as clear-cut as simply stating "God can't lie." There has to be a reason why Jeremiah 20:7 is in the bible, and that's one of the things I'm wrestling with right now.

Thanks again for trying your best to comfort me.

Damon

[Guest]

please read entire chapter of Jeremiah 20.

[Guest]

"
      II. Here is an account of the temptation he was in under this affliction; his feet were almost gone, as the psalmist's, Ps. lxxiii. 2. And this is that which is most to be dreaded in affliction, being driven by it to sin, Neh. vi. 13. 1. He was tempted to quarrel with God for making him a prophet. This he begins with (v. 7): O Lord! thou hast deceived me, and I was deceived. This as we read it, sounds very harshly. God's servants have been always ready to own that he is a faithful Master and never cheated them; and therefore this is the language of Jeremiah's folly and corruption. If, when God called him to be a prophet and told him he would set him over the kingdoms (ch. i. 10) and make him a defenced city, he flattered himself with an expectation of having universal respect paid to him as a messenger from heaven, and living safe and easy, and afterwards it proved otherwise, he must not say that God had deceived him, but that he had deceived himself; for he knew how the prophets before him had been persecuted, and had no reason to expect better treatment. Nay, God had expressly told him that all the princes, priests, and people of the land would fight against him (ch. i. 18, 19), which he had forgotten, else he would not have laid the blame on God thus. Christ thus told his disciples what opposition they should meet with, that they might not be offended, John xvi. 1, 2. But the words may very well be read thus: Thou hast persuaded me, and I was persuaded; it is the same word that was used, Gen. ix. 27, margin, God shall persuade Japhet. And Prov. xxv. 15, By much forbearance is a prince persuaded. And Hos. ii. 14, I will allure her. And this agrees best with what follows: "Thou wast stronger than I, didst over-persuade me with argument; nay, didst overpower me, by the influence of thy Spirit upon me, and thou hast prevailed." Jeremiah was very backward to undertake the prophetic office; he pleaded that he was under age and unfit for the service; but God over-ruled his pleas, and told him that he must go, ch. i. 6, 7. "Now, Lord," says he, "since thou hast put this office upon me, why dost thou not stand by me in it? Had I thrust myself upon it, I might justly have been in derision; but why am I so when thou didst thrust me into it?" It was Jeremiah's infirmity to complain thus of God as putting a hardship upon him in calling him to be a prophet, which he would not have done had he considered the lasting honour thereby done him, sufficient to counterbalance the present contempt he was under. Note, As long as we see ourselves in the way of God and duty it is weakness and folly, when we meet with difficulties and discouragements in it, to wish we had never set out in it. 2. He was tempted to quit his work and give it over, partly because he himself met with so much hardship in it and partly because those to whom he was sent, instead of being edified and made better, were exasperated and made worse (v. 9): "Then I said, Since by prophesying in the name of the Lord I gain nothing to him or myself but dishonour and disgrace, I will not make mention of him as my author for any thing I say, nor speak any more in his name; since my enemies do all they can to silence me, I will even silence myself, and speak no more, for I may as well speak to the stones as to them." Note, It is a strong temptation to poor ministers to resolve that they will preach no more when they see their preaching slighted and wholly ineffectual. But let people dread putting their ministers into this temptation. Let not their labour be in vain with us, lest we provoke them to say that they will take no more pains with us, and provoke God to say, They shall take no more. Yet let not ministers hearken to this temptation, but go on in their duty, notwithstanding their discouragements, for this is the more thankworthy; and, though Israel be not gathered, yet they shall be glorious."

http://www.ccel.org/h/henry/mhc2/MHC24020.HTM


In Matthew Henrys commentray he hits the nail on the head quite profoundly.Jeremiah was complaining to God. Thats all this is and no more.In no possible stretch of the text can we find plausible reason to beleive here he is saying God lies. The fault is with Jeremiahs perception and not that of God lieing,which He cannot do. I like this though because it demonstrates that God is willing to listen.

"  1 Paul, a servant of God, and an apostle of Jesus Christ, according to the faith of God's elect, and the acknowledging of the truth which is after godliness;   2 In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began;   3 But hath in due times manifested his word through preaching, which is committed unto me according to the commandment of God our Saviour;   4 To Titus, mine own son after the common faith: Grace, mercy, and peace, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ our Saviour. "

Titus is just one Scripture in which it is found that God cannot lie. When you begin to entertain thoughts about God lieing what you are really doing is to assualt the Holiness of God. Lieing is a sin in fact its one of the seven things God Himself hates. ( Proverbs 6:16) Gods nature is immutable,meaning it can never change,and in fact has always been the same in an eternal sense byond time.Its also interesting to note that Jesus called the devil the father of lies.

 " 16 These six things doth the LORD hate: yea, seven are an abomination unto him:   17 A proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood,   18 An heart that deviseth wicked imaginations, feet that be swift in running to mischief,   19 A false witness that speaketh lies, and he that soweth discord among brethren. "

I wouldnt let this Scripture trouble you and remember all Scripture must be taken in context and examined in the light of all Scripture. Hope this helps....

Lord Bless You

Steve

[Guest]

" Thanks again for trying your best to comfort me. "

Your welcome, I pray the Lord will comfort you, remember that to recieve comfort one must accept it. To accept it is a choice of the will. In my walk Ive often agreed with God about things by giving mental assent to His revelation only to find out later that it hadnt gotten into my heart to bring forth fruit. Thankfully God is so patient and always ready to give us time...to me His grace is most amazing. Youve heard that the Christian army is the only army in the world that kills its own wounded and its often true unfortunately.Have you ever gone to Church,the place your looking for help only to leave worse off from the message.Your not doing enough,giving enough and then you hear a message that doesnt encourage your heart. Although God still ministers inspite of His servants lack at various times . Paul said now abideth faith,hope and love....and the greatest of these is love. Gods agape love accepts our sincere questions and God knows our frailness. It was Gods love that brought Him to this wretched fallen world and it was His love for us that held Him to that cross. I'll never know how much it cost,to see my sin upon that cross..is a song we sing in Church and how true it is. Yet God paid that price.

Lord Bless You

Steve

[Guest]

steve (crusader)

Nice to see such encouragement to Damon and the rest of us!
thanks, Moe

[Guest]

Crusader

Said so well about going to church only to feel empty and alone.
Seems people expect others to always feel "up" and full of total"joy"
otherwise there must be a problem, NO seems if a person is not experiencing trouble then there is a problem.

As a parent, its so nice to see our own children encourage one another
not beat the other down in time of need. What a judgement that will
come upon us if we dont walk in love for GODS children the one's he shed HIS blood for and called HIS own.

Your encouragement has been deeply appreciated....

[Guest]

I'd like to post my own commentary on Jeremiah 20, if I may. And by the way, there's an excellent book titled "The Prophets" by Abraham Heschel which analyzes what prophets are all about and how exactly they interact with God, including Jeremiah. It's fantastic. I've never seen better.

Here's the text of Jeremiah 20:

"When the priest Pashhur son of Immer, the chief officer in the temple of the LORD, heard Jeremiah prophesying these things [e.g., the destruction of the Temple and of Jerusalem because of the Jews' unrepentant wickedness], he had Jeremiah the prophet beaten and put in the stocks at the Upper Gate of Benjamin at the LORD's temple. The next day, when Pashhur released him from the stocks, Jeremiah said to him, 'The LORD's name for you is not Pashhur, but Magor-Missabib [Heb. 'terror on every side']. For this is what the LORD says: 'I will make you a terror to yourself and to all your friends; with your own eyes you will see them fall by the sword of their enemies. I will hand all Judah over to the king of Babylon, who will carry them away to Babylon or put them to the sword. I will hand over to their enemies all the wealth of this city-all its products, all its valuables and all the treasures of the kings of Judah. They will take it away as plunder and carry it off to Babylon. And you, Pashhur, and all who live in your house will go into exile to Babylon. There you will die and be buried, you and all your friends to whom you have prophesied lies.'

"O LORD, you deceived me, and I was deceived; you forced me and overpowered me. I am ridiculed all day long; everyone mocks me.

"Whenever I speak, I cry out
proclaiming violence and destruction.
So the word of the LORD has brought me
insult and reproach all day long.
But if I say, 'I will not mention him
or speak any more in His name,
his word is in my heart like a fire,
a fire shut up in my bones.
I am weary of holding it in;
indeed, I cannot.
I hear many whispering,
'Terror on every side!
Report him! Let's report him!'
All my friends
are waiting for me to slip, saying,
'Perhaps he will be deceived;
then we will prevail over him
and take our revenge on him.'
But the LORD is with me like a mighty warrior;
so my persecutors will stumble and not prevail.
They will fail and be thoroughly disgraced;
their dishonor will never be forgotten.
O LORD Almighty, you who examine the righteous
and probe the heart and mind,
let me see your vengeance upon them,
for to you I have committed my cause.
Sing to the LORD!
Give praise to the LORD!
He rescues the life of the needy
from the hands of the wicked.

Cursed be the day I was born!
May the day my mother bore me not be blessed!
Cursed be the man who brought my father the news,
who made him very glad, saying,
'A child is born to you-a son!'
May that man be like the towns
the LORD overthrew without pity.
May he hear wailing in the morning,
a battle cry at noon.
For he did not kill me in the womb,
with my mother as my grave,
her womb enlarged forever.
Why did I ever come out of the womb
to see trouble and sorrow
and to end my days in shame?"

First of all, imagine yourself in Jeremiah's shoes. Since you were a young man, you have fallen into progressively worse circumstances. (Remember, Jeremiah began preaching during the last years of the reign of Josiah, who was a very righteous king in Judah. However, Josiah was quickly succeeded by a series of wicked kings beginning with Jehoahaz and ending with Zedekiah.) Even though circumstances in your country were rather good, you began your ministry with proclamations of gloom and doom (see Jeremiah 1). You're super-sensitive to even the smallest injustice, so much so that it affects your physical health. Your bones are always going out of joint because your muscles are weakened by constant adrenaline rushes from stress (Jer. 23:9). Over time, your family and friends turn away from you and scorn you because your predictions of gloom and doom seem to have no connection to reality. One moment, you're secure and firm in trusting the Lord, and the next you're bitterly complaining to God because you just can't handle it.

That was Jeremiah's condition.

In the context of this chapter, Jeremiah's utterance of God having deceived him is directed at the fact that the predicted destruction of Jerusalem wasn't even in the cards at that point in time. Jeremiah also complained that God was forcing him to prophesy anyway (and the word here has the connotation of being forced sexually - that is, raped; Jeremiah literally felt as if he had been sexually violated!) by virtue of the fact that he couldn't just stand by and say nothing about the wickedness of his people. Every time he wanted to give up his calling of being a prophet, he eventually came back to it anyway.

First, Jeremiah is complaining that God's prophesied destruction of Jerusalem hadn't come to pass. Then he expresses how he's being ridiculed for calling Pahshur "terror on every side" in a moment of inspiration through the Spirit. His former friends are gloating over the fact that he's in such dire straits and that his prophecies aren't coming to pass. For a while, he praises the Lord for being his protector against them and people like them, but then he turns around and mourns the day he was born because his circumstances are so hellish.

Let's put things in perspective here for a moment. Let's say you have someone who would want to encourage Jeremiah. Would you tell him, "Oh, but God would never test you beyond what you're able to endure!" (1 Cor. 10:13) I would hope not! Jeremiah would probably tell you that you don't know what you're talking about. He's been so tried and so tested that he wishes he had never been born. Few people ever reach that point, emotionally speaking.

How about telling him, "God will give you the strength you need to endure"? (Ps. 18:2, 32; Rom. 8:26; et. al) Again, I would hope not! Jeremiah would likely reply by quoting Job 6:12: "Is my strength the strength of stones? Or is my flesh made of brass?" In other words, I can only endure so much, no matter how much God might give me strength!

How about, "God will work everything out in His time"? (Ps. 7; Hab. 2:3; etc.) Jeremiah would probably reply, "How much will I suffer before God saves me and vindicates me?" (Ps. 88 )

Truly, the best way to comfort someone who is enduring 'disaster circumstances' is to "sorrow with those who sorrow" (Rom. 12:15). Be sensitive, and don't presume that you can necessarily comfort them by pointing them back to God, or to His promises.

Damon