Thursday, May 16, 2013
Thanks DJ
Don't know if you'll see this post, but thanks DJ for your comment on my "Bondage to Bondage" blog post.....I appreciate what you had to say, and you have given me much to think about. If you have any other advice, I'd be happy to hear it. My email is ohio526atgmaildotcom( typed it in that format to discourage spammers). If not, no worries.
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4 comments:
Hey - Thanks for the response.
First off, I hope it is OK if I just comment here for right now.
Secondly, I reread what I posted the other day and I want to correct one thing when I said I listened to scripture on Biblegateway. I did do that, but the Lord reminded me that I also listened to one other Bible teacher online when I was really seeking too. I want to correct that.
You have a great blog here - you are a good writer. I'm really not a good one to give advice. All I know is to point you to God's Word and the power of prayer. Bottom line, I can tell from your blog that we have a lot in common. You have your theology right. You have all the head knowledge. But, when it comes to having it move from the head to the heart to the actual life, that's where it gets difficult. We wonder if all the POWER of the Holy Spirit we've heard about all our life is really true? Where's the evidence? Why can't we overcome? Are our issues and bondage in 2013 more difficult than they were for the people changed by revivals "back in the day"?
PART 2
I don't know if your church believes in sanctification (being filled with the Holy Spirit) or not. I grew up that you went to the altar once to be saved and then later, you went back to get sanctified. ;) (that was just the normal teen process each revival. LOL) Then, as I got older, I never really experienced anything different so I thought maybe it had happened to me when I got saved (because we do receive the Holy Spirit then).
But, in the last year, I have really sought the Lord and here's what I've come to believe: sanctification is the only answer for overcoming the enemy. It's not a one time deal. It's living so close with the Holy Spirit that we really ARE different from the world. (Can we have supernatural amounts of love, joy, peace and self-control that separates us from the "good" people we know?) We can be believers and still quench the Spirit. We can read the Bible but unless we are living close to the Holy Spirit and have Him to reveal truth thru it to us, it's no better than reading any other book. Sure, living by God's principles are something we have to do to make it to heaven but we can't have real victory over our bondage of sins without an infilling, and continually "re-fillings" of the Spirit. (I don't mean speaking in tongues, btw. I'm not Pentecostal).
Have you ever read any books by Jim Cymbala? Or the book "Forgotten God" by Francis Chan. These are books that make me hungry for the power of God to be REAL in my life. One of my favorite quotes by Jim Cymbala is something like "No matter how many times a certain sin has overcame you, never underestimate the power of God to bring CHANGE to your life". The bottom line, He is ABLE but I think we have to PURSUE it.
PART 3
I know two guys in my church that have been set free from alcoholism. One was set free instantly and the other had to walk a road to being set free but both point directly to the power of God to change them. They both had "parent" issues that broke them and they coped with drinking. The manifestation of the brokenness they experienced in their life was horrible, yet God set them free and healed them. But yet, each one of them have to daily make a decision to "die to self", avoid friends/places of temptation and to seek God because ultimately, it would only take one drink to set them back on that path, even though they have been set free. They had to come to the end of themselves and realize they couldn't heal themselves, but they have to make a conscious decision to be controlled by the Holy Spirit daily.
They were broken and needed inner healing and it manifested itself in sin they couldn't control on their own. That's why I love James 5:16: "Confess your SIN to each other and pray for each other that you may be HEALED. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective". That's why I am praying and fasting for someone who has a struggle with SSA. I believe God can bring freedom and healing to their life!
I want to be led by the Holy Spirit. I'm the kind that looks ahead and worries about the future. I just read in Forgotten God a quote that I've been pondering:
“I think a lot of us need to forget about God’s will for my life. God cares more about our response to his Spirit’s leading today, in this moment, than about what we intend to do next year. In fact, the decisions we make next year will be profoundly affected by the degree to which we submit to the Spirit right now, in today’s decisions."
Ouch. That's where I want to be though. I want to KNOW I'm being led by the Spirit TODAY. The future is scary to look ahead to but if He leads me today than I can be confident He'll do the same tomorrow, and the next day after that. We had a lady in our church that every time she had to sing the special, she sang "One Day At A Time". It wasn't very good but it meant a lot to her. I kind of get that now. ;) I can only know that I'm being lead TODAY though if I'm pursuing Him passionately in prayer and reading His Word (not crossing it off my to-do list).
PART 4
I know this is a SUPER long post & I apologize for having to divide it up into all these parts (LOL) but this has been my quote for this last year too, by Jim Cymbala:
"I despaired at the thought that my life might slip by without seeing God show himself mightily on our behalf..."
That's where I'm at right now. It's why I have made a decision to fast and pray and put aside many things of the world for awhile. I don't think watching clean movies or tv shows are bad. (I grew up not being allowed to do that at all.) Even though I see nothing wrong with it, I'm on a mission to pursue HIM first so I'm willing to put that aside a bit for now. Life is short and maybe, just maybe, God can use someone like me. Someone as insignificant, pathetic and broken as me. I don't want to squeak into heaven. I want to live a full life here, where people know that what I have to offer - JESUS - is real and powerful. That we can be set free and live victorious lives. That I am different because of the Holy Spirit.
I want to see God do the miraculous things I've only heard about. He IS the same yesterday, today and forever, so why not? Why not with you and me? :)
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