Saved_by_Jesus

I found a really interesting article about how the early Christian Church was, from the book of Acts. I've wondered about this myself....I mean-shouldn't we be doing what the earliest church did, rather than what the council of Nicene ordered, so long after Jesus' crucifixion? These are just verses from Acts, that point to the keeping of the Law and Feasts. So it really seems to me that we SHOULD be keeping them.....it couldn't be clearer to me. The earliest church in Acts

I've been reading some books about it, and it's rather fascinating. I haven't gotten it all straight in my head yet, but from what I understand, God's commandments (the 10 commandments) should be followed for the simple fact that they are GOD'S laws, and not the Law of Moses, or any other Levitical man-made law that the Pharisees or Saducees came up with AFTER God gave the 10 commandments. That is interesting that you mention this

I've been reading some books about it, and it's rather fascinating. I haven't gotten it all straight in my head yet, but from what I understand, God's commandments (the 10 commandments) should be followed for the simple fact that they are GOD'S laws, and not the Law of Moses, or any other Levitical man-made law that the Pharisees or Saducees came up with AFTER God gave the 10 commandments. Look at it this way.....what are the two commandments that Jesus says to follow? Love God with all your heart, and love your neighbor as yourself. Ok, so where in the Bible does it say to keep those two, yet dump the rest? Nowhere....Jesus mentions about how we are to "keep God's commandments".....NOT the extra man-made laws that went along with the Law of Moses. About the Feasts. I try to keep them myself, because if you read Leviticus 23, they all say that they are to be kept FOREVER....for ALL generations. It also talks about, in the OT (I can't remember where, but it was a prophecy about the End Times) about the perils of those in the last days who do not keep the Feast of Tabernacles. I've only just started doing it though, so I'm sure no expert, and have no idea when the next one coming up is. There's a Messianic Jewish Synagogue that I visit when a Feast comes up. They are very festive, and a lot of fun! I've just started studying this stuff, so I'm sure no expert-only offering my opinion here. But it seems that somehow the Feasts are very important...... A lot of experts believe that Jesus was born on Sukkot, which is the first day of the Feast of Tabernacles......so, if Jesus CAME (was born on) the Feast of Tabernacles.....and then the prophets talk about the peril of not keeping the Feast of Tabernacles in the End Times......I know no one knows the day when Jesus will return, but it's kind interesting how those two incidents compare...the birth of Jesus on Sukkot, and then talking about what will happen to those who don't KEEP the Feast of Tabernacles on the Day of the Lord.......kinda interesting thing I noticed the other day....it may mean nothing, but I thought it was fascinating. Either way-we don't go out and murder people, tell lies, commit adultery, etc. etc.....so if we DON'T do those things, then we are automatically "keeping the Law", right? Of course we are not basing our salvation on that, but we ARE inadvertently keeping the Law.......... Personally, I keep the Sabbath because I think we should....if we are not lying, stealing, etc. then we may as well not forsake that Law too, right? I don't go overboard with it....I still cook food-but I don't work my job on the Sabbath. The NT implies that Paul and the other disciples kept the Feasts after Jesus was crucified. The books I'm reading talks about how, that verse in the NT that talks about "not keeping days and feasts, etc".....it says that Paul was talking to the Galations....they were Gentiles, so they never kept those Feasts and Sabbath to begin with! The book said that Paul was talking about DIFFERENT Feasts, etc. that the Galations were keeping....like from their pagan backgrounds. I'm still studying this, but it's becoming more clear to me that Christians maybe should keep the Feasts and the 10 commandments of God. NOT as a basis of their salvation, because we are saved by grace-but at the same time....faith without works is dead. So to me, that can be saying that we can SAY we are saved, but if we don't keep God's commandments...ALL of them-NOT just the one that says love God and love your neighbor....then faith without works is dead. Not trying to debate, just stating my opinion. I'm just starting to study this when I have time, so this is all I really know-so please don't attack me on this. lol

Has anyone here, since becoming a Christian, ever wondered whether they are truly saved or not? Or have you always known you were being saved, without a single doubt?

Sometimes it's the devil attacking us, too, you know. Amen! If your doctor diagnosed this is MRSA, and this is the third time in a month, why did your doctor not have you go to the hospital to get an intravenous antibiotic? I do not know for sure if it is MSRA yet. I just went to the doctor today, and my test results won't be back for 2 or 3 days. A few weeks ago, I had a bad stye on my eye. I did not go to the doctor-I just treated it myself with hot water packs. A few days after it cleared up, I had a bad crusty ear infection. Had not had one since I was a toddler. Did not go to the doctor-I went to church and everyone prayed for me, and it was gone the next day. Now, one week later, it is back in my nose. I figured that all these infections tied in together, and this thing in my nose is THROBBING,which I've never experienced before, so, after googling it, it sounded like MSRA, so I went to the doctor today. He said it definantly looks like MSRA, and gave me some very strong antibiotics and said that if it is not cleared up in 3 days, he's sending me to the ER. So I won't know for sure for a few days. Hoping it's not MSRA, but all the symptoms point to it.

Neither. I would say that you are being compelled by the love of God and it hurts when you can't express it. But the Holy Spirit, in His infinite wisdom, didn't allow you to get hurt that night. He did so first by placing you under authority at your job. You found a way to love even though it was discouraged by your boss, though. What a rebel you can be when you love! Homeless people are quite often that way for a reason. No single young lady should ever go chasing after them. There is nothing wrong with wisdom because forgiveness is often harder than love. If love compels you to help homeless people or even one homeless person, you should obey...but be careful. There is always a price for love. I agree totally. I just have problems with "hearing" or "sensing" the Holy Spirit like I used to when I first got saved. So I jump at every opportunity to help someone out, since I don't hear the Holy Spirit telling me to-I just figure we are SUPPOSED to, I guess. I do have to try to be more careful though, because I am bad about walking up to homeless people and buying them food and stuff......I have to be more careful about that, because recently in my city, a "good Samaritan" stopped to help somone whose car was broke down on the side of the road, and they carjacked her and dragged her, halfway in her car, down the block. She was in pretty serious condition, just for trying to help someone. It's a sad world we live in, that's for sure.

Thanks! I will read Psalm 130 and do a study on God's merciful kindness. Great idea! I've just had a LOT of stuff going on the last few weeks....hubby lost his job, I messed up at my job pretty bad a few times, then this is the third time in a month that I've had this infection, only in different places. It's just a lot of stuff at once......I've prayed and prayed, asking God if there is any sin in my life that I need to repent of, but so far, no answer. So I've just been praising as much as possible and rebuking sickness, etc.

Yeah, I think it's more of how they don't want to face their own sins. I know that before I was saved, I hated it when people talked about Jesus because it made me think (until I was quick enough to change the subject) of how rotten I was on the inside. I just got back from the doctor, and it was one I had never met. He had an AWESOME personality, and we really "clicked" as far as personalities go. Until I said..."Praise God!" when he was telling me something. After that, it was a complete turnaround as far as personality....and I didn't even get to mention Jesus at all....it was just saying "Praise God" and how he reacted, made me realize that he would not be at all open to me discussing Jesus anymore.

Ok, I just got back from the doctor.....he's almost positive that I have MSRA Staph Infection. Will know results in a few days. Do you think this is chastenment for only giving the homeless guy a large cup of coffee, rather than more food? It's going to cost me a whole lot of money for the doctor and the medicines.......

Ok, thanks for the replies! I would have been fired if I had handed him a tract.....my job has already had "a talk" with me about being a Christian. Not allowed to speak about it at all unfortunantly. I do keep a large box of stuff in my car, in case I run into similar situations while out shopping or whatever. Stuff like tracts, booklets, bibles from the Dollar stores, etc. It does come in handy sometimes! And yes, I prayed for the guy a lot.

Ok, I'm still struggling a bit with this. My pastor tells me that Satan will condemn you for bad things you do, over and over, but the Holy Spirit will just let you know what you are doing is wrong somehow..... I'm confused about it. So what was this then.......... I work in a grocery store,and a homeless man came in and sat for a few hours, sleeping. When I noticed him, I felt really bad for him, and wanted to help somehow, but he had a bag of groceries it looked like, and he was sleeping away. Finally, the store manager came over and sat down to tell him he had to leave. He went to the restroom to wash his face, and I went up to my manager and asked her if I could buy him something to eat. She said...."No, it's Ok-someone bought him a pizza, so he's got some food" I still felt bad and kept turning around looking at him before he left. I went over and asked him if he needed anything, and he said his coffee was cold. I bought him a fresh cup and said "God bless you" before running back to my department before I got in trouble. After he left, it ate me alive that all I did was buy him a lousy cup of coffee! I kept thinking of Matthew 25:31-46 that talks about how, if we do for the least of these, we are doing for Jesus. So I left work about an hour later, and it was pouring down raining outside. I drove around, looking for the guy.....I would have taken him to a shelter, or put him in a motel for the night. Didn't see him anywhere. All the way home, I kept thinking how much more I could have done. SHOULD have done for the homeless guy. I just felt so bad because I should have bought him some soup or something else to eat, even if he did have a whole pizza in his bag that someone else had bought him. So what was this? Was this the Holy Spirit disciplining me for not doing more for the guy, or was it Satan condemning me, making me feel bad and worthless for not buying the guy more food? Struggling to understand what is discipline verses condemnation, whether it is from Satan, or my own self. lol

most definatly, i still pray to God often that my death bring glory to him. I only have one death coming, I'd hate to waste it lol. I posted in another thread about how, a couple of years ago, I was walking across a parking lot, and I clearly heard in my head....."Your death will glorify Me" I still have no clue whether it was God or Satan who said that,and I've wondered about it a lot.

I'll be honest too, when I say that the thought terrifies me. I hope that if it comes to that point, God would give me the grace and courage to make it through it, because being with Jesus is all I want.

My computer is really the only thing I'm addicted to. I'm on it from the minute I get home, to the minute I go to bed, pretty much. I try to console myself with the fact that about 99% of the time is spent in forums like this, but still. I need to cut back. I'm also addicted to buying Bibles. That's a good addiction I guess. lol

You know, I think rejection is a lot bigger problem than we think it is. I went through Deliverance a few months ago, to get rid of the spirits of fear, doubt, etc. The lady who did my Deliverance said that my "stronghold" is rejection,and that it had come in at conception. She told me that my parents did not want me. How she knew that was beyond me, because I had not told her-she said that the Holy Spirit revealed it to her. She also said that the spirit of rejection was like an octopus....it had many other spirits attached to it......like fear, condemnation, doubt, etc. And when you really think about all those things....each one is attached to REJECTION.

Before being saved, I used to love to go dancing at bars. Brings back memories that I want to forget! Secular music just makes it too easy for my flesh to attempt to draw me back into things I don't want to think about. Since I got saved, I listen to K-Love now, which has great Christian music with a lot of the same beat, only they all glorify God, not my flesh or Satan. Big difference.

Mine is being helpless. I'm a very "child-like" person, and always appear "helpless". I long to be a strong person who devotes their time taking care of others, but I'm always the one who needs help-when I try to take care of others, I usually end up having to find someone to help ME take care of them!. lol Also I have a fear of not growing in my faith, and not having enough love for others. I pray about it all the time and it really bothers me. Of being in Heaven with no crown to throw at the feet of Jesus (because I don't have any kind of a ministry yet)....and everyone else has hundreds, and I'm standing there with smoke still coming off me-a burning stick snatched from the fire. lol

I'm not sure if this is the same thing at all, but when I first got saved, I used to get very strong urges to pray for someone, sometimes when I was laying in bed, almost asleep. I never knew what was wrong, other than they were somehow in danger of some sort. I'd be on my knees crying and praying for them. The next day, I would call them, and they always told me that something had happened to them at the time I had the urge to pray for them....like one guy almost got hit by a car, and another girl had a demonic attack (she "saw" demons and they attacked her), and another guy was going through some serious spiritual warfare. Not sure if that is considered the gift of Discernment, or the gift of Intercession.......or maybe both, IDK.

You could never get right with God to begin with. He' s done it all for you, what do you hope to accomplish? Are you going to work your way into a relationship you could never have had to begin with? Yes, read your Bible, yes, worship God, and yes, by all means go to Church. It appears the harder you work the farther away you get. Peace, Dave Yes, I see what you are saying, and I guess I just worded it wrong. I knew that if I just wrote..."My heart is cold", then I would be bombarded with suggestions like........ Read your Bible (get in the Word) Worship God Go to church That's why I mentioned that I am already doing those things. Remember when you first got saved? Remember how GOOD it felt, and how "on fire" your relationship was,and how close you were to God? Are you still like that now? Because I'm not, and I want that close relationship back. I know perfectly well that it was God, and not me who did it, and that it was the Holy Spirit that was so strong in me. I know that I cannot fake all the love I had, and the closeness I had with God, because it was a strong outpouring of His Spirit that caused all that. I guess I'm trying to ask if God ever baptizes in the Spirit again, after the initial time you receive it? Like a "renewal"........if so, how do you get to that point? Sorry, I still don't feel like I am wording it very well. lol Grace to you, I believe I understand you now. Sometimes the devotion is still the same, however, through time God draws away to allow you to stand on your own. This is part of the growing process and also is something that makes you long for His presence all the more. It sounds like you are well into the process. There is a difference between yourself drawing away and God drawing away though. Either way God will not leave you nor forsake you. Have you tried putting yourself out there in Ministry? I believe that you will see that as you reach out and join our Father in some endeavor that our Lord is immediately there. That you are as close as you have ever been. Sometimes there is a disconnect between the heart and the mind. You cannot logically ascend. Peace, Dave Yes, and that's something that I also struggle with. I try very hard to get into some sort of ministry, but when I try to sign up for things, they either fall through, or I fail miserably at it. I guess that goes along with "Be still and know that I am God"....because I know that I can try all I want, to find a ministry....but it will only work if it is God's PLAN for me to be doing that. I'm learning the hard way that if I go out and try to do stuff that God doesn't want me to do, I'll fail at it. But if I wait around for Him to TELL me something to do, then I'll do it. ........I'll give an example..... A friend of mine got saved, many years ago. He didn't do a thing except pray for people every once in awhile. But then one day, the Holy Spirit told him to go street witnessing. He blew it off and said there was no way he would do it. The feeling to street witness got stronger and stronger, and he continued to ignore it. Then, one day, his pastor called him and said..."Hey-I'm going street witnessing, and everyone who was going with me backed out. I think you'd be good at it, so I want you to go!" He went ahead and went, scared to death-heart pounding and sweat pouring off him. The pastor said..."Ok, there's two guys coming in one direction, and two in the other direction-I'll take two, and you take two!" He was terrified! But he called the two guys over and asked them if they knew where they were going if they died that day. He ended up talking to them for 45 minutes, and both guys were crying and gave their lives to Jesus right there!! The guy is now a deacon and teacher in church, and goes street witnessing all the time! Point is....if he had just gone out street witnessing when God did not tell him to, probably no one would have accepted Jesus, and he would have failed at what he was trying to do. But when God told him to do something, he went out (eventually!) and did it. I've tried to do so many things for the Lord over the last couple of years....and failed every time. It's so heartbreaking, and I am ACHING for some kind of ministry for God! But I know that when He has taught me the things He wants me to learn, then He will tell me what to do in His own timing. I can't wait!

You could never get right with God to begin with. He' s done it all for you, what do you hope to accomplish? Are you going to work your way into a relationship you could never have had to begin with? Yes, read your Bible, yes, worship God, and yes, by all means go to Church. It appears the harder you work the farther away you get. Peace, Dave Yes, I see what you are saying, and I guess I just worded it wrong. I knew that if I just wrote..."My heart is cold", then I would be bombarded with suggestions like........ Read your Bible (get in the Word) Worship God Go to church That's why I mentioned that I am already doing those things. Remember when you first got saved? Remember how GOOD it felt, and how "on fire" your relationship was,and how close you were to God? Are you still like that now? Because I'm not, and I want that close relationship back. I know perfectly well that it was God, and not me who did it, and that it was the Holy Spirit that was so strong in me. I know that I cannot fake all the love I had, and the closeness I had with God, because it was a strong outpouring of His Spirit that caused all that. I guess I'm trying to ask if God ever baptizes in the Spirit again, after the initial time you receive it? Like a "renewal"........if so, how do you get to that point? Sorry, I still don't feel like I am wording it very well. lol Oh yes, I remember! Lungs filled with helium, feet not touching the ground, invincible! Oh if we could only bottle that feeling and drink from it. The Living Water that He is. But what happened is that the good ship Fez ran aground on the rocks of the world, and reality set in But thats a good thing in a way, because then starts the learning, the struggle, the first shoots of wisdom, and what His word teaches us. Because if we float around like a balloon all the time we gently bounce off things until on day we pop! Rather we don His yoke and start plowing, with Him at the reins. And sometimes, just sometimes, something happens and we start trying to push the plow! Don't! it does not work believe me! Rather "be still and know that He is God". and wait in prayer, this to will pass. Promise, it will! Blessings *smiles* When you said that about "Be still and know that He is God", it reminded me of how many times God has said this to me over the years. One day it was very obvious! I "heard" Him telling me through my thoughts several times. "Be still and know that I am God".... Then, I ran into a friend at a Christian bookstore, and as we sat talking, he said it to me several times...he said that he felt God was telling him to tell me this. "Be still and know that I am God"..... As I went up to the counter to pay for my purchases, I looked up, and there was a beautiful wood plaque that said....."Be still and know that I am God". I smiled and walked out the door and went to a doctor's appointment I had. As I was walking out the door, something made me turn around, and there on the wall was a large sign on the wall that said..."Be still and know that I am God". God brings it to my mind when I tend to forget. Yeah, it would be totally awesome if we could bottle the stuff, huh?! We could call it "Living Water",and the company name could be "Cloud Nine" lol Or vise versa. But yeah, it would sell out! Too bad most people don't realize that they can get it for FREE, by believing in Jesus!

You could never get right with God to begin with. He' s done it all for you, what do you hope to accomplish? Are you going to work your way into a relationship you could never have had to begin with? Yes, read your Bible, yes, worship God, and yes, by all means go to Church. It appears the harder you work the farther away you get. Peace, Dave Yes, I see what you are saying, and I guess I just worded it wrong. I knew that if I just wrote..."My heart is cold", then I would be bombarded with suggestions like........ Read your Bible (get in the Word) Worship God Go to church That's why I mentioned that I am already doing those things. Remember when you first got saved? Remember how GOOD it felt, and how "on fire" your relationship was,and how close you were to God? Are you still like that now? Because I'm not, and I want that close relationship back. I know perfectly well that it was God, and not me who did it, and that it was the Holy Spirit that was so strong in me. I know that I cannot fake all the love I had, and the closeness I had with God, because it was a strong outpouring of His Spirit that caused all that. I guess I'm trying to ask if God ever baptizes in the Spirit again, after the initial time you receive it? Like a "renewal"........if so, how do you get to that point? Sorry, I still don't feel like I am wording it very well. lol

Maybe I'm being too hard on myself....but I don't think so. When I got saved, I was baptized in the Spirit. God literally poured His Spirit all over me and I was ON FIRE for Him. Over time, that has faded to the point of just "going through the motions" now. Like, I have to REMIND myself to thank God for my food and other blessings He gives me. I didn't used to be like that-I used to just cry happy tears just for God allowing me to walk, or breathe! It's a matter of "losing my first love" so to speak. Really working on getting back the FIRE I had for Him, rather than just reading my Bible, going to church, etc. because I know we are SUPPOSED to. I want that BAPTISM of the Spirit again! A Holy Spirit "renewal", so to speak! Don't want to be cold, and certainly not lukewarm like I seem to have become....I want to be HOT for Jesus again! Not sure how to get back that Holy Spirit outpouring......and yes, I already know that if we ASK for it, He is faithful to give it to us..... I prayed and prayed for it every day for a long time, and one day at church, God poured it all over me! Everyone was coming up to me saying "Wow! What did it feel like when that happened?".......but then it has faded again, almost to spiritual "death" it feels like. So I know that I have to be persistant and to keep praying for it.....but oh, how I hate to feel "spiritually dead" inside like this! This "wilderness" sucks! lol

I have done that, and it does work for a little while....thank you for reminding me of this!

How can one get "right" with God again, when every day, your heart seems to grow colder and harder? I'm praying, going to church, reading my Bible, worshiping, but my heart is so COLD and unfeeling now. I'm rebuking spirits, having friends and pastors pray over me for a "renewing of the Spirit", etc, etc, but so far, nothing is helping. What to do?

God is not disciplining anyone in the sense of the OP's question when this happens. This is due to the practitioners own stupidity. Ignore God's Word at your own peril. I can think of a specific example I can share. Years ago when I first got Saved I had and still have a bad temper. I say still have because that old flesh can creep up in specific circumstances. There were times when I could get really angry and lash out at individuals anywhere. I specifically couldn't handle those situations on the phone like when you call to get a bill straightened out. Especially when you know the billing company is in error, like a Medical Bill. I was on the phone with a medical billing office and the lady was being short with me. I eventually got really angry and let loose a tirade on her then hung up. I tell you for real that I had no Peace. I was absolutley crazy out of my mind lacking Peace. If you grieve the Holy Spirit you will know it and the Lord was not going to let my anger stand. I was especially not supposed to treat other people that way. I could swear I heard the Lord telling me to get on the phone and call that woman back and apologize. WHAT, I said, I was stubborn and obstinate. However, the Lord would not leave me alone and the longer I waited the less Peace I could find. I simply was peaceless. I repented. Then I picked the phone up and called back asking specifically for the lady I spoke to. When she got on the phone I apologized and I must of sounded crazy because I told her that although it might sound crazy that the Lord Himself had demanded that I call her and apologize and that it was beneath my Love for Him and my Faith to treat other people that way. After a long pause she accepted my apology and then admitted that at times she could be a little testy herself. So I offered to pray for her. The embarrassment of that episode has prevented me from acting that way on many an occasion. That is correction. I also do not want to grieve the Holy Spirit. It's terrible to be a peaceless child without a Father (for lack of a better word ). I liken it to this scripture; Ps