emdie

You put that so beautifully Abby. Praise His glorious Name forever and ever!

It's funny I was just thinking about that, how we are told that we will be rewarded for doing good deeds in Heaven, and I agree with you completely BacKaran. I've always tried to 'do the right thing' for it's own sake and because God wishes me to do so, and I feel a bit uncomfortable with the idea of receiving any reward for doing as i'm told by the Father. The only reward I can think of that I would strive for is to see Him finally, in all His glory.

You're so right Shel, the Holy Spirit doesn't even get mentioned outside of this forum I've noticed, almost as if mentioning 'God' is discouraged, but mentioning the Holy Spirit is downright embarrassing for some people! Like we should be ashamed. The only thing I can say is that it's all biblical, how we would be 'persecuted' for our faith in one or another, as Christ was.

Thank you so much for sharing that, I just love to listen to stories where someone praises God for helping them through their dreadful situations, as people can turn the other way and actually blame Him for their troubles. Unfortunately my own father is just such a one, when my sisters died he blamed God and has done ever since, and that's 40 years plus now, but I still pray for him, that God will manifest in his life so he can realise what we (Christians) see. The other day I read that David Attenborough doesn't believe in God! It made me so sad, because I thought, 'how can a man who has seen God's intricate design in nature not recognise such beauty could only be the work of God'? I've said this on other threads, so forgive me if if you've seen this before, but I can't imagine how bad my life could have been if God hand't been there for me, working in the background, influencing things that had an impact on my life. I had a year getting over my amputation, I've also spent 4 or 5 months in plaster in one go with my other leg because I have a disease in the bones of my ankle where it breaks at the drop of a hat, so I've ended up isolated because I couldn't go out clubbing or to parties like most women in their thirties (glad to say I'll be turning 40 in a couple of months). If I didn't have God as my constant companion, my rock, my friend and Father, and my comfort, I don't know what I would have done. You're a strong woman BacKaran, and quite amazing as well. God Bless, Emily

I love Psalm 23, in fact I have it as my lock screen wallpaper on my phone

Hi Mea kakau, Plenty of people have given you some really good advice, but I'll just tell you what I tell my clients when they're having trouble dealing with conflict with a family member or friend. I often recommend writing the person a letter, and telling him how hurt and disappointed you feel, and that you thought you could trust him etc... but don't send it. If you decide to just let it go (which I do agree would be best for your health, as the court systems are rough and would do you damage, but of course it's your decision), you could have a kind of cleansing ceremony and burn the letter in your backyard, and even say a prayer over it. Then you can have your say without the confrontation which you really don't need in your life, and make sure you express exactly how you feel about the situation, and then write that you're forgiving the debt and won't put yourself into the position of having to beg for it any longer. The you could say that you'll be polite and courteous to him in the street, but your friendship is definitely over at this point and that you won't put yourself in the position of being beholden to him any more, as he has put you in the disadvantageous position and it's very off-center, and right now this man has all the power. Making a firm decision to let the debt go can be your way of getting your power back, and moving on with your life, and don't waste any more energy in worrying when or where he will string you along as he likes, and don't forget the burning ceremony, as that will signal the end of this little power play on his behalf. God Bless, Emily

The first statement you made here, I would never side with what man decides to be true, so I would tend to agree with the second part of your post. Man loves to take the word of God and twist it for their own purposes, like the Pharisees did so what man says is holy usually isn't.

Not a problem Omega, I'm sure you'll tell us how it went. On being silly, it happens to us all. I think it's because we're stuck in ill-lit rooms, like wizened moles with not much chance of seeing daylight for hours.... reading post after post and then answering them. It's a great way to get God's Word across but it doesn't do much for our lives outdoors. I say be silly and be proud, or at least that's always been my motto (or my excuse, one or the other). Love, Emily

I loved this, as it can sometimes be easy to forget why we are on this forum - to witness our faith to both believers and unbelievers. The people on this site have shown me more kindness in a couple of months than from some people in a couple of years, so I believe most people are following the spirit of Christ's teachings which these 'Commandments' have condensed into 10 handy laws. Great post!

What beautiful and amazing photos, I'm really glad you posted them so thanks! I'd love to see more pics if you would care to share them, you are really talented.

I know this comes under the umbrella of speculation, but when people ask me why God lets bad things happen, and in particular I've even been asked why if I'm a Christian who loves God, why did He let my leg be amputated? I answer, because our time on earth is the imperfect time where we are not in His presence, so the physical will affect us. Adam & Eve brought death, and sickness, to the earth by not listening to God, therefore they've paved the way for 'bad things to happen'. Humanity crossed the line when we ate from the Tree of Life, and we can't we weren't warned. So the speculation part, is that I think God wants to see which of us will love Him through faith alone, and even when 'bad things' happen if our love for Him endures then it is real. I think He does allow it to happen, because if all things are possible for Him then He could stop death and sickness, so there must be a reason for our suffering as a race. It hasn't come from God as a deliberate thing, as in it's not personal, but He has to have let it happen. I don't blame God for anything that's happened to me as He has been my comfort and salvation during the dark times. How could we know though in this world/life, what concepts such as happiness and love really are if we didn't have the contrast of hate and misery? We need something to compare against, surely? So that's my thought limit for one day, I hope your Bible studies go well.

It's interesting though how Peter, called by Jesus as 'My rock' was an easily swayed person, not the sort of guy you would think the Son of God would choose for his main disciple. So that makes me think why would Jesus choose him at all? God does nothing without a reason, and I think it's because if Jesus had a perfect disciple, what help would that be to the rest of us? A perfect follower wouldn't be relate-able in my mind, so Jesus instead chose a human being with all faults and flaws of humanity, as a sign that even a sinner who denied the Son of God could repent and be restored to His presence.

That's hilarious... I know a few people like that, myself included. My big mouth is always getting me into trouble.

I find evidence of the Holy Spirit's workings throughout my life all the time, so much so that I almost regard the signs with a degree of amusement since I know they're coming. These signs may be something revealed to me that I have wanted to know but never asked, or a song comes on the radio about God advising me of help with a problem, down to really strong instincts and urges. It's always accompanied by a feeling of love and well-being, so I don't think it could come from demons as they are incapable of engendering love and other similar emotions. For example: I was about to undergo life-saving surgery to remove my badly infected leg, and the theatre nurses came early so I was caught a bit unawares and hadn't said my prayers. We had already reached the lifts, when I suddenly remembered, and right then the lift just stopped. The lift couldn't be fixed straight away, so one of the nurses with me said' can anyone sing?' I said yes I can, as I had sung in choirs since I was 9, and thought I may as well sing about the main person in my life, and sang The Lord's Prayer and The Lord is My Shepherd. The minute I had finished, the lift was working again with the workmen saying that had no idea why it had stopped. It was only a while later that I thought about it, and I think the Holy Spirit was working through me. A while later my mother was in the same hospital, and met up with one of the cleaners from the ward I had been on, and so she asked after me. Mum told her how I was doing, and somehow got on to the topic of what had happened to me in the lift. The cleaning lady said 'was it Emily?', and then told her that everyone near the lifts, on every floor, had heard me sing my songs of praise for the Lord. I had done for myself and God, but other people heard and I'm very glad they did. It was one of the most important things I had ever experienced. Praise God and magnify His glorious Name! So I was curious, how does the Holy Spirit manifest to you? Do you have any particular incident which you were convinced He was working through you?