Bondman

Mate, been doin' that for a long time. A number of years ago now, after many years of daily serious praying, as I understood from Him at the time the Lord finally said my prayers were answered, and gave me a promise of total healing for me and my Beloved - but I had to wait for it, meantime just giving him thanksgiving. I have!

- BM

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Bondman

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Fluffy

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Be transparent before God, He sees right thru you, anyway!
http://www.likepreciousfaith.org/testimony_val.htm
Please pray for your local emergency responders, daily.

forgivenWretch

Bondman

The Inner Room

PLEASE ALL READ!



Some CHANGES must be made (VERY reluctantly on my part!) to The Inner Room.

This is the 3rd forum I've had The IR on - and I learnt a pile from those previous experiences. The sad but very important one is what's just now started happening here. It's not a bad thing, just the opposite! But unfortunately it has consequences! What I'm referring to is that The IR is becoming, well, sort of too popular! - with the result that more and more are posting here.

Great thing, hey! I totally agree, cos I just love reading people's posts. And they often spark a new message for me to write - but I guess you've noticed that! *haha*

But here's what happens, what I called the consequence above. With too many daily posts on the thread, people begin to not be able to keep up! (Also becomes too much for me to keep up with.) They get bogged down trying to read them all, and many will begin to leave! Which obviously is contrary to the charge the Lord has placed upon me, which is to have a teaching thread where I can share with others, the things from the Word of God that He's taught me over the past 50 years.

Okay, some of you on The IR are now writing 'teaching' posts yourselves! - which is absolutely fantastic!! Others are writing of their real-life experiences. Don't you LOVE reading those! I sure do!! So am I trying to stifle any of these? NO, NO, NO!!!

So here's my suggestion. Fluffy and I go back a fair way. We've worked together and supported each other a fair ole time. And I dearly love her in the Lord Jesus!! Her Coffee House that she started before the IR is quite excellent! A wonderful place to sit and sip a cup of *insert preferred beverage here!* together, and share your life, needs, what you've learnt, whatever. People there will read and care and love you, just as here! I post there also, HERE!

Please DON'T leave me here bereft of company by all going there. Let's share, hey!! Fluf will welcome you in the Coffee House. I need a few to stay here with me - else it just becomes a thread of messages, and THAT'S not what the Lord or I want or need either!

Here are the New Guidelines so you can feel able to stay here, so that The Inner Room continues to be of help and blessing to many, just as it's done virtually from day one:


1. Primarily I post messages as the Lord gives them to me. That's how it works, and what the thread is for.

2. People read, learn - and maybe comment on them (i.e., on topic)

3. People also raise and/or ask about other matters which we can look at or pray about.

4. Posters, please 'self regulate' with this, i.e., look at how many posts, see if it looks like too many for the average visitor to read in a day, and regulate your posting accordingly. Thanks a bunch!


I've not done such Guidelines before, but hope and pray it will work out. EVERYONE, PLEASE DO NOT FEEL I'M CHASING ANYONE AWAY!! I'M NOT!!!

And if you post on Fluffy's thread PLEASE STILL DO COME AND READ THE LORD'S MESSAGES HERE!!! Read, Learn, Grow. That's what HE wants for us all.

"Lord, I continue to ask you to please bless every soul who visits The Inner Room! Speak to their minds first, then their hearts. Grow them, Lord, grow them to maturity in the Lord Jesus. Teach them YOUR ways. Continue to guide me as to what YOU want to say to all of us. Bless You! - for You truly are - OUR GOD!!!"

Love and hugs to you all!

- BM, with his Lady

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Mark_18

I have an idea. I think it'll work great, it'll just take some work to get it set up. I wonder if it's practical...

What we do is have "The Inner Room" turn from a thread to a sub-forum.

Each topic that Bondman has posted and numbered becomes it's own thread, with the topic as the title. That thread is then used to discuss that topic.

Yes, we will soon have 50+ threads, but I think it will be easy that way they'll all be in their own little sub-forum - which is what "Clubs and Ministries" is for those who don't know the term.

Then there can also be a main Thread stickied at the top of this Inner Room sub-forum that can be called say "Inner Room General Discussion" and anything not related to one of the created topics/threads can be discussed there, as well as posts that may then become a new topic and have a thread made for them. Bondman if you are taking this on as your thing, it could be a rule that only you can create a new thread in the Inner Room Sub-forum.

The existing stuff here could either be left here and stickied as "The Old Inner Room" or something. Or it could be made into threads like suggested and organized. Accordingly.

There are a lot of posts that might not fit in a topic and being put in the IR discussion thread would be separated from the required text for them to make sense, so it might be better if this thread here become the "Inner Room Main Discussion" sticky mentioned. And the topics be left in here, but also coppied to their own thread for further discussion focused on that topic and people's walks in that area.

I know then, there's still lots to follow, but It can be done in your own time because the threads are smaller and dedicated to stay on the one particular topic.

Jeff?...

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Luke 15:31 - And he said unto him, Son, thou art ever with me, and all that I have is thine.

JOKE POLICE

Bondman

Wow!! Mark you sure put a lot of time into that, and I feel it's well thought out. As you say a serious sub-forum within the forum. It probably could be made to work, and the idea is great. If I was a normal well and healthy person I suspect I'd right now be working with pencil and paper to see how it all fits together!

But unfortunately I'm not. Nor was I when on the other forums The Inner Room was on. Hence I've worked out the only way I've yet seen that can work for me (to not kill me!) but at the same time provide the platform for the Lord God to bring His truth to hearts and minds who feel what I term 'a desperate need' to grow in the Lord Jesus!

These I honour so highly! These I work here, while ill, to minister to a best I can. And if it's ever crossed your mind to wonder WHY is he still keeping going while that sick, the answer is that The IR is the LAST THING I will or would ever give up if I deteriorate even more.

Thanks so much, Mark!!

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Bondman

PRACTICAL NEW TESTAMENT CHRISTIANITY

MESSAGE #42


THINGS THAT GET A GIANT HOLD OF US


These may include:

.. Hurts, including and maybe especially from others
.. Upsets, ditto
.. Unfairness, ditto
.. Wrongs, ditto
.. Nastiness, ditto
.. and more.

NOTE: Hardships and things in life that we may be finding difficult to cope with are NOT part of this.**

I'm certain you've noticed how they seem to grab you and get a tight grip on you!

I'm certain you've noticed how they can be sooo hard to get out of!

And note that the WEAKER you are in SPIRIT and/or BODY the greater the hold they will have on you. Fact is you're simply that much more susceptible in this state, and must ask for prayer support from others who care, and love you.

Despite what many teach I do not believe this is the devil per se. HE gets used as the excuse for SO many things!! Oh sure, he WILL get as involved as he possibly can, but I have little doubt that:

The BASIS of this is our sinfulness, with these 3 things: the I, I, I of our lives *smile* - INSTEAD of the other good 3: Father God, Lord Jesus, Holy Spirit. That is, it's part of OUR self-centredness - which is in full swing in us when we're not properly connected with the FATHER, JESUS and the SPIRIT. And certainly it's never gonna be part of walking in the Spirit, that we all need to very seriously learn to do!!

I know of only one ANSWER to this awful 'stuff'. And even this answer we can find so incredibly hard, cos - and please check me out on this - often it seems like we don't really WANT to give it up and let it go, even though another part of us may DESPERATELY want to! Such is the battle within each one of us, between what the NT calls the old man of sin (the 'ME' that's still in us) and the new man that's been renewed by the Spirit (and is constantly BEING renewed, praise His name!)

THE ANSWER SEEMS ALL TOO SIMPLE: get down to prayer, and GIVE IT UP TO THE LORD! Yup, your inner man may say this is 'impossible'! But ya gotta do it anyway!! In faith, put it into HIS hands - and hey, don't take it back!! The very moment you manage to do this, you'll feel a great sense of relief steal over you. To me it can be an almost euphoric feeling!

So... give up, give in to God. Stop feeling sorry for yourself. No 'pity-parties'. Get back to the Lord and your relationship with Him! I have no doubt whatsoever that this is what He wants for you!

Blessings!

- BM, with his Lady

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** Because almost all of these are things that God wants for you to experience, Hebrews Ch 12:5-11). These we accept from His loving hands determining to ENDURE them in HIS strength, that we may grow towards Spiritual MATURITY!

If the hardship is from Him then you should NOT feel like it's something that's got a HOLD of you that you want to throw off, and should, but for the moment cannot manage to!



EDIT! Feedback on this will be appreciated. I know how it works for me, but it may not be the same for you. Especially the matter of the separation of what God's sent to us to endure, as opposed to what we've allowed to 'GET' us, and must go to God for His help to get out of.

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Mark_18

Thank you Bondman. "Don't take it back" is something I needed to hear. You wake up to a new morning and feel new fears for the day and for things to come, but you need to remember the time when you had faith and go back to that.

__________________
Luke 15:31 - And he said unto him, Son, thou art ever with me, and all that I have is thine.

JOKE POLICE

Fluffy

__________________
Be transparent before God, He sees right thru you, anyway!
http://www.likepreciousfaith.org/testimony_val.htm
Please pray for your local emergency responders, daily.