Faithwoman

Good afternoon,
I thought about my recent posts and baring it all.. sharing it all.
I am at ease with it.. some are not comfortable and that is fine.

As a matter of fact, a few months back, our Pastor was speaking on sex to the teen of our church and what God's prescription for our sexual desires and actions. The schools are great at handing out condoms, encouraging the gals to get birth control.. they think that is the answer.. be all know God's answer and correct way is abstinence. I kept hearing a voice in the back of my mind.. get up.. I ignored it.. as he went to do closing prayer.. I found myself out of my seat and saying wait a minute.. I have something.. It was the Lord that literally pulled me out of my seat.

I then stood up in front of a congregation of total strangers and told my story in regards to my ways with sex. and the consequences I had to deal with. I shared with the youth what can happen in regards to STD's and such. I have always said if I could save one woman or man going through what I went through and where I have found myself at the age of 46, it would be well worth it.. I cannot save them but Jesus can. but by gosh I sure can help lead them to the Lord.. just as many as you have helped me here on my journey.

I can remember one Pastor saying we do not share our trash.. we do not bring all that out.. My thought? oh really? ... then how in the world are people going to learn that there is a different way of life.. that there is hope and salvation? If we do not share what we are going through , then how are gifted people like Bondman and others going to be led with their messages that the Lord needs us to hear? How are the unsaved who are going through similiar trials and tribulations going to know that there is an answer to their problems? Now when I walk into a crowded room, I know everyone there has a trial or problem they are facing. We are not alone.
No one can judge us, only the Lord can.

For me, if I would have kept all of my struggles hidden within myself, the most recent of relationship issues, I would still be living in a dark, dark place. But as I have learned to trust in the Lord, I have been able to open up to others.. I pray for peace for each and every one of you who takes the time to come to the Inner Room, the Coffee House and all the other sections. I pray that you find comfort. I pray that you find guidance in your spiritual journey. I pray that the spirit may move you to open up as the Lord sees fit to share your journeys, the defeats and more importantly the VICTORIES!!!!! There will be victory as you give it all to him..

Also, just to let you know on your walk, if you find yourself wanting to share but not wanting to share openly on a Forum, take the time to PM someone. I did that and that is what got me started and helped with my openess.

Hugs to you all
Robin

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.

Mark_18

Would you believe not long ago, while reading this thread I thought about that VERY thing and thought about giving the advice Faithwoman just did...but for some reason I didn't bother?

Doh!

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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.
Joel 2:28 - I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions.
Matthew 7:7 - Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.

Psalms 126:5 - Those who sow in tears will reap with songs of joy.

JOKE POLICE

Faithwoman

Hey Mark!

So glad to have you on board in the Inner Room.
Keep sharing as your heart leads.
You are doing great!
Remember there are no DOH"s.. there are just aha moments.

Hugs to you
Faithwoman

SweetSurrender

I'd ask: "How many triangles?" "One!" they'd call out. "How many corners?" "Three!" "How many God's?" "One!" "How many Persons?" "Three!" I'm sure they 'got it' with the simplicity of their young minds and understanding better than I did! Hope it helps. Because there really are THREE separate Entities - three Persons. Jesus is separate from His Father. I'm sooo sorry Bondman, but I just don't get it I guess. It almost sounds the same as the Mormons believe the way you said this. So, is what I learned at church last night wrong? They said that God went through everything Jesus did because they are one. Grrrr! I know I'm a blond . . . some things just don't come as easy for me. I think maybe my batteries are low. How many God's?" "One!" "How many Persons?" "Three!" Is it as simple as "only 1 God, but three persons?" As if to say, 1 God with 1 other person (Jesus) and then a spirit . . . God's spirit like we have a spirit? That would be 3 persons? I thought I had it all figured out, but some things you say don't sound like what I thought. I figured that there is one God, with different relationships. As in Bondman the father, Bondman the son, and Bondman the husband. Because Jesus was there when the earth was created as was God because they are one and God has a spirit. The Jesus part of God was "loaned" to the world to that the God part could learn about humanity by coming down to dwell with man and experiencing what we experience. Just tell me if any of these thoughts are correct. And, if you each on line could put your understanding into it, maybe your way of communicating will light my light bulb so to speak. Sometimes Norm and I just do not speak the same language, so please feel free. I'm sorry, I'm just being honest like I am supposed to be.

Otherwise He'd have to be seen as this utter fool on earth - talking to Himself!

You may think of it like this. They are so ALIKE, that it's "as if" ???they are one Person. But they are three Persons. Sometimes it's said like this: "Three Persons in one God. One God in three Persons." In a marriage, the Word says that TWO have become ONE flesh. Do they really? Of course not! ONE married couple - and if it's a great marriage, no disharmony, working together, almost like they really ARE one! Yet at all times there are still two PERSONS. That's a poor picture of what we refer to as the Trinity, but I think it does help give us some clues.



Alright Jesus was the One who was on earth on the Cross. The Father was still in heaven. Jesus took all of the sins of everyone in the world upon Himself while on the Cross. The Father was the One Who put them there! - so that The Perfect Lamb could pay sin's full penalty of hell: which is TOTAL SEPARATION FROM GOD THE FATHER. That's what ultimately killed Jesus! A broken heart if you like!! - cos He and His Father and the Holy Spirit had been together from forever - and now Jesus is there suffering the cruelty of the cross, and left completely on his own!!!

But why DID the Father leave Jesus utterly ALONE? Because SIN SEPARATES!!! When you were unsaved, you were "dead in your sins" the NT says. This deadness was because you were completely SEPARATED from God BY YOUR SIN!! That's what sin does! That's why unbelievers can seem to know so little, and be so 'dumb' about the whole deal. They don't know God!! Nor can they, until they come to Him via Jesus.


continued next post...[/quote]

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"Do not imagine that you must comprehend or understand it all before you seek and find it. For those who wait on Him, God will do more than they can conceive." Andrew Murray

Fluffy

Hey, Bonnie! The trinity is difficult to understand. That is why alot of other religions accuse us of worshipping multiple gods!
There are different ways of describing it. One way is the solar sun. It has three parts to it. It has a body (or form), heat and light.
But the BEST way I've heard it is the ocean. The ocean has a body (or form), tides or currents, and waves. The body represents God. The tides represents the Holy Spirit (power), the wave represents Jesus. He was visible, you could touch Him, hear Him, watch Him work. Yet He was seperate, yet still part of the ocean.
That's the way I learned to grasp it.

__________________
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.

Faithwoman

Beautiful pic of the ocean..
Where did you find it?

Robin

Boanerges

Heh Robin- how are we to bear ye one another's burdens if we do not share? Many days when I need someone to talk to I come to my brothers and sisters where I am or here online. We are here to love, encourage and be a strength to one another. It is possible that your Pastor was speaking in another context though
Another thing I noticed- many times when helping someone else God speaks to me through the advice I give. It is as if He speaks through and then to me in the same breath. Thank God for His marvelous wisdom, His conviction and correction- I want to dive into it and swim till I am thoroughly cleansed.
But I digress, keep coming for prayer and encouragement- you are a blessing to us all and it is a joy watching you grow in His grace. Your friend and brother Larry.

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“Neither skill nor knowledge is needed to go to God, all that is necessary is a heart dedicated entirely and solely to Him out of love for Him above all others.”
Brother Lawrence

Bondman

Message #62

THE FATHER, SON AND HOLY SPIRIT - Part 3

Continued from Part 2


CLARIFICATION:

Seems like I didn't help with the "Trinity", Bonnie, but confused you more. Maybe some Scriptures will help. But first:

· NO, God is NOT split up into 3 parts or sections.
· Yes, there is only ONE GOD.
· Yes, there are THREE PERSONS: God the Father, Jesus the Son, and the Holy Spirit. In this tri-unity - all are God.

THREE SEPARATE PERSONS

These three are SEPARATE even while they are ONE. Their "ONENESS" makes ONE GOD. They never disagree. They love each other perfectly. They are all totally perfect. They act and think as "one", yet they ARE still quite separate AND different.

WE HAVE TO JUST ACCEPT

Okay, here's where it's at: the harder you try to understand this, the more you'll get confused! It CANNOT be understood by our tiny pea-brains (no offense to anyone!) What we must do is just ACCEPT: ONE GOD, THREE PERSONS. And that's it really. Like I said in a recent message: We CANNOT know (understand) everything about God, but we CAN know (understand) ENOUGH!!!

GOD IS 'THE FATHER'

Now to God's Holy Word: I do think that one of the areas that can bring confusion is the use of the word "God" in the New Testament. Most of the time this is referring to God the FATHER - as quite separate from Jesus the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Example: John Ch 3:16 "For God loved the world so much that He sent His only Son..." Meaning, God the Father sent Jesus the Son to earth to die to save us.

JESUS AND THE FATHER ARE DIFFERENT

Without meaning to judge, I would respectfully have to disagree that the Scriptures anywhere say this. As I've said: they are one, but there's no way that they are to same! Therefore what Jesus experienced was what He experienced, and what the Father experienced is what He experienced! Similarly what the FATHER is doing will be/is different from what JESUS is doing, and the HOLY SPIRIT different again. This is all quite clear in the New Testament.

JESUS PRAYS TO THE FATHER

May I suggest you read John Chapter 17 right through - Jesus' very heart-felt and wonderful prayer to His Father prior to Calvary - to see how Jesus and the Father are two separate Persons. It starts like this: 1. When Jesus had spoken these things, He lifted up His eyes to heaven and said, Father, the hour has come. Glorify and exalt and honor and magnify Your Son, so that Your Son may glorify and extol and honor and magnify You. Here is Jesus praying to His Father!!! Not talking to Himself - or to another part of Himself!


Part 4 continued in next post...

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Bondman

Message #63

THE FATHER, SON AND HOLY SPIRIT - Part 4

...continued from previous post above


IN THE OLD AND NEW TESTAMENTS

That there are three individual persons Who together are God, or "together make up God" if you like, is in the Old Testament, and then all the way through the New Testament. In the Old Testament: Genesis Ch 1:26a God said, Let Us [i.e., Father, Son, and Holy Spirit] make mankind in Our image, after Our likeness. "Us" and "our" means "more than one person", right!

In the New Testament: 1 John Ch 1:3. Grace be with you, mercy and peace, from God the Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father, in truth and love. Note here: "God the Father" and Jesus the Son of the Father". Very clear I think.

SCRIPTURES SHOWING THREE PERSONS

And here's a rather unique NT passage when all three Persons are spoken about at the one time: Matthew Ch 3:16 And when Jesus was baptized, He went up at once out of the water; and behold, the heavens were opened, and he [John] saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on Him. 17 And behold, a voice from heaven said, This is My Son, My Beloved, in Whom I delight! So here is God the Father in Heaven, Jesus the Son on earth, and the Holy Spirit coming from heaven to alight on Jesus! Wow!!

Then John Chapter 14 also speaks of all three Persons of the Godhead. 23. Jesus answered, If a person loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home (our abode) with Him. What a wonderful promise! Here again is "we" and "our". Two Persons making their home with you and me!! Then just a few verses back (verses 16 and 17) Jesus spoke of sending the Holy Spirit (Who He called the Comforter or the Paraclete) to be with us after He left!

In Acts Chapter 1, this time it's Jesus and the Holy Spirit mentioned. Jesus Speaking: Acts Ch 1:8 But you shall receive power (ability, efficiency, and might) when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you shall be My witnesses in Jerusalem and all Judea and Samaria and to the ends (the very bounds) of the earth. 9 And when He had said this, even as they were looking [at Him], He was caught up, and a cloud received and carried Him away out of their sight. Here Jesus again promises to send the Holy Spirit that we may have power to witness for Him, and then He ascends in the clouds back to heaven.

The NT says that when He ascended it was to be seated at the right hand of the Father in heaven. Here are more verses that refer to the three Persons. Peter is here preaching the first Christian sermon, and referring to how the Holy Spirit had just come upon the Disciples in power, just as Jesus promised! Acts Ch 2:32 This Jesus God raised up, and of that all we [His disciples] are witnesses. 33 Being therefore lifted high by and to the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit, He has made this outpouring which you yourselves both see and hear.

GOD IS THE FATHER

Note the words: "This Jesus, God raised up." Clearly it's saying that the One who raised up Jesus, ("God") had to be God the Father - a good verse showing that "God" in the NT does usually means "The Father".

FATHER, SON AND HOLY SPIRIT ARE GOD

I think that's enough to show that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are separate Persons. The final step in this "puzzle" is to show that as well as the FATHER BEING GOD - so is the SON: Hebrews 1:8 But as to the Son, He [the Father] says to Him, Your throne, O God, is forever and ever (to the ages of the ages), and the scepter of Your kingdom is a scepter of absolute righteousness (of justice and straightforwardness). JESUS IS GOD!!

And so is THE SPIRIT! Acts 5:3 But Peter said, “Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and keep back part of the price of the land for yourself? 4 While it remained, was it not your own? And after it was sold, was it not in your own control? Why have you conceived this thing in your heart? You have not lied to men but to God.” THE HOLY SPIRIT IS GOD!


It's my earnest hope and prayer that the Scriptures here clearly show ONE GOD, but THREE PERSONS - and we cannot understand this with our finite minds, JUST ACCEPT IT AS TRUE!!

Bless you, hon! - and others who may find this something of a puzzle.

- BM, with his Lady

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