existential mabel Posted March 16, 2016 Group: Royal Member Followers: 7 Topic Count: 151 Topics Per Day: 0.05 Content Count: 3,154 Content Per Day: 1.05 Reputation: 2,074 Days Won: 0 Joined: 02/12/2016 Status: Offline Author Share Posted March 16, 2016 On 15/03/2016 at 10:25 AM, JohnD said: Ephesians 6:10–18 (AV) 10 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. 11 Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. 12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. 13 Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. 14 Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; 15 And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; 16 Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. 17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God: The devil and our own fallen nature wants to keep us off our knees and out of our prayer closets. In my opinion we need this armor to pray successfully. Some say it is superstitious to go through the motions of putting on this invisible armor, but I have in times my prayers were most effective and the easiest to remain focused during the prayers. No I am not advocating a movement of "armor bearer" prayer warriors... but I do say that when one takes the Bible seriously (even if a bit too literally at times) God honors this child-like faith in his Word. In 2007 I was healed in a prayer service that took this verse literally: James 5:14 (AV) 14 Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord: The oil was no more miraculous than the waters in the pool of Siloam were that cleansed healed the leper... it was God who healed honoring the steps of faith taken according to his Word. Some say it is superstitious to pray the words "in Jesus' name" in each prayer. If so, God will not take off points for using the name of his Son. But I see rather the reverse in my prayers in that it keeps me focused on what "in Jesus' name" actually means. Not a magic mantra but an ideology... what the name of Jesus stands for, what he wills for our lives, and how he honors his Father. It's putting Jesus at the heart of our prayers rather than ourselves or even others and in the process we bless both others and ourselves. hello John yes this is something that i did look at but then the storms came and blah blah blah..so hard to sail a true course. does just saying it each day help at all? maybe it would be a good thing if i say this scripture each day and that will help with the rest. no promises now! trying to keep things as simple as possible. yes the world will always chip away at the original and didn't God say that nothing was to be added or taken away. he knows the hearts of man. it doesn't bear thinking about otherwise. we need to be steadfast in our/His way. and that is difficult and that reminds me of Noah. it must have been a fearful and regretful time to live through for him. how on earth did he manage to keep on keeping on with God? when all around him was immoral and irrational. not to unlike these days we are living in. its all about Jesus so it surprises me that people in the church would say this. but as i say when people really get on my goat. "people are people" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
existential mabel Posted March 16, 2016 Group: Royal Member Followers: 7 Topic Count: 151 Topics Per Day: 0.05 Content Count: 3,154 Content Per Day: 1.05 Reputation: 2,074 Days Won: 0 Joined: 02/12/2016 Status: Offline Author Share Posted March 16, 2016 a collective thanks to you.Marilyn,John,1to3. today was well blah blah.. s0 yes very much appreciated. it has blown the froth off the milk shake so to speak. blessings and peace to you all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marilyn C Posted March 16, 2016 Group: Worthy Ministers Followers: 30 Topic Count: 269 Topics Per Day: 0.07 Content Count: 13,235 Content Per Day: 3.48 Reputation: 8,518 Days Won: 12 Joined: 12/21/2013 Status: Offline Birthday: 10/06/1947 Share Posted March 16, 2016 (edited) Hi mabel, Well here we are (the thread) in a new home (general discussions), which is great as we don`t have to wait so long to share. Thanks for the collective hug. Yes we are all in this together & often go through similar things. It seems there are a few of us on this road (thread) & we all want to encourage, comfort & understand each other. Now I thought since the beginning of your thread was about prayer that I would start off with a short one, just simple but heart felt. Prayer: Thank you Lord for bringing mabel & myself together. We are beginning to learn about each other. You know our hearts & amid all the noise & confusion we do want to get to know you more. So please, Lord we ask that you continue to help us just be like `children` & share our hearts & continue to hear you & your nudges in everyday life.` Marilyn. Edited March 16, 2016 by Marilyn C Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
existential mabel Posted March 17, 2016 Group: Royal Member Followers: 7 Topic Count: 151 Topics Per Day: 0.05 Content Count: 3,154 Content Per Day: 1.05 Reputation: 2,074 Days Won: 0 Joined: 02/12/2016 Status: Offline Author Share Posted March 17, 2016 hello Marilyn gosh there is no way i could find the thread. went through notifications simples- meer Kat Part 4 gospel of Mark With Jesus i notice there are a lot of action words, at once, immediately What i find interesting is the need for Jesus to pray to God his Father. Mostly he went up to high places to pray into the quiet. Reckon he would find that difficult today!! The disciples it says, "were straining at the oars, because they were rowing against the wind; " and Jesus came to them and altered that struggle and it is interesting that the time is mentioned and also it was between these times that Jesus was being crucified i think. i don’t get this bit, ", 52;because they had not understood the real meaning of the feeding of the 5,000; their minds could not grasp it. i mean who is going to get the real meaning of that!? People had no reservations about bringing the sick to Jesus 55So they ran throughout the whole region; and wherever they heard he was, can’t help thinking about the OT and nobody listened to God! Pharisees and teachers of the Law kinda saw it as their moral duty to challenge Jesus and this constant challenge closed them down to discernment. i mean when the evil spirits can recognise Jesus..! i imagine having an all consuming focus on something that really was legalistic and not spiritual made for a one dimensional experience. To me this is an inevitable fact of life. How can man do any different in the case of having a church? That involves having a structure and a set of rules and heritage to follow. So a church is always going to end up like this. They would all have to be monks in a closed order and the community would be left alone then to … ah yes but it was the monks that invented beer...! “You have a clever way of rejecting God's law in order to uphold your own teaching. Yes its called being an intellectual heavy weight with no spiritual (not much anyway). They had polarised themselves into a corner. Rational thought had left the building so to speak Ah yes pork/pig is off the menu as being unclean. But then Jesus turns this on its head and says, "15There is nothing that goes into a person from the outside which can make him ritually unclean. Rather, it is what comes out of a person that makes him unclean.” so is pork/pig off the menu still with regarding to Jesus' teaching? From a person's heart, come the evil ideas which lead him to do immoral things, to rob, kill,22commit adultery, be greedy, and do all sorts of evil things; deceit, indecency, jealousy, slander, pride, and folly —yes how treacherous the heart can be. We all without exception have the ability to do these things. Its by keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus..that keeps us on the straight and narrow. Those inner appetites and drives can run our lives if we don’t keep our compass true north so to speak. It is interesting how Jesus receives a woman who's daughter has a demon. This woman begged Jesus to drive the demon out..i get the sense she was in a sense off the radar for what Jesus was coming to do. She wasn’t a Jew and also she was a woman. But the Jews did not listen to Jesus and were on a mission to kill him. Its interesting that Jesus uses different techniques to heal people when really he could have just spoken ..and when Jesus healed he healed in that precise mo. why doesn’t this happen today? 0 dear can’t believe that Jesus expected people to keep quiet and not to speak of it to anyone. i mean would you? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marilyn C Posted March 19, 2016 Group: Worthy Ministers Followers: 30 Topic Count: 269 Topics Per Day: 0.07 Content Count: 13,235 Content Per Day: 3.48 Reputation: 8,518 Days Won: 12 Joined: 12/21/2013 Status: Offline Birthday: 10/06/1947 Share Posted March 19, 2016 Hi mabel, Thank you for your interesting thoughts. It reminds me of taking a walk along a path we`ve seen many times but this time you say, “Oh, look at that, or have your noticed this`…etc It seems to me you & the Holy Spirit are highlighting this familiar book of Mark with very interesting observations. So again, thank you for sharing as I am enjoying the different insightful things you see. Then you said - `i don’t get this bit, ", 52;because they had not understood the real meaning of the feeding of the 5,000; their minds could not grasp it. i mean who is going to get the real meaning of that!?` It really just highlights the fact that as humans we are so `earthly focused,` re; bread & not understanding that it was `truth against falsehood` (leaven) that the Lord was talking about. Like you said here, (very good) `i imagine having an all consuming focus on something that really was legalistic and not spiritual made for a one dimensional experience.` And again you make very good insightful comments. `From a person's heart, come the evil ideas which lead him to do immoral things, to rob, kill,22commit adultery, be greedy, and do all sorts of evil things; deceit, indecency, jealousy, slander, pride, and folly —yes how treacherous the heart can be. We all without exception have the ability to do these things. Its by keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus..that keeps us on the straight and narrow. Those inner appetites and drives can run our lives if we don’t keep our compass true north so to speak.` Personally after many years of `walking with the Lord,` meaning working on my inner character, I find that I am more content & not so `intense,` more compassionate, not so judgmental, more desiring to change & not so surprised when another area shows itself to be addressed. A biggie for me is to not go `beating myself,` for that is what is in my heart, as you said, & really just get with the program of God helping to change me. Hope that helps. Marilyn. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
existential mabel Posted March 19, 2016 Group: Royal Member Followers: 7 Topic Count: 151 Topics Per Day: 0.05 Content Count: 3,154 Content Per Day: 1.05 Reputation: 2,074 Days Won: 0 Joined: 02/12/2016 Status: Offline Author Share Posted March 19, 2016 hello Marilyn yes the beginners mind i guess. which is always good to revisit, that sense of wonder and then over a period of time the layers come in and cover that. yes a good spring clean of the mind. when i go for walks i mostly enjoy what is around me when i can get out of my head for long enough. last year on this particular walk there is this tree and it is weird but the noise of all the insects is amazing doesn't happen anywhere else. yes the heart i have to keep mindful of my thinking which i believe comes from the heart and then the brain processes it i think. having a season of stinking thinking which i have been trying hard to address. i decided to let go of all the religious trimmings and get back to the bible. just found all these feel good gospels and full on 40 mins and longer sermons hollow and ultimately stole my peace. and i have had to let go of a friend who was far too intense. i really thought that i could maybe calm her down a bit but i end up getting burnt och. it was nothing serious but spiritually it messed with the peace that i struggle to find let alone maintain. its been a month now and i dont miss her! it seems that God wants to keep me on my own. never really had rock solid friendships. i have to say that i am not a very social animal and i do just enough to get by on. being on my own i can arrest the mix of other peoples stuff and find hopefully the still small voice. thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marilyn C Posted March 21, 2016 Group: Worthy Ministers Followers: 30 Topic Count: 269 Topics Per Day: 0.07 Content Count: 13,235 Content Per Day: 3.48 Reputation: 8,518 Days Won: 12 Joined: 12/21/2013 Status: Offline Birthday: 10/06/1947 Share Posted March 21, 2016 Hi mabel, I am encouraged by the progress I see you are making - a lot of really good spring cleaning going on. I think we all need to do that regularly, as I find the mind can get full of other people`s noisy expectations. Good to give yourself lots of space to work on that `mind stuff.` I find as I address stuff that I also need to `clean` that space, so I do a lot of `thank you Lord...` for the things in nature (like you did), for food, clothes, shelter, etc. Also a very biggie is the trying to carry the problems of the world, re: guilt, condemnation etc. There is a great scripture that helps me - `...you also aspire to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business, & to work with your hands......that you may walk properly towards those who are outside, & that you may lack nothing.` (1 Thess. 4: 11 & 12) To lead a quiet life....wow...yet man would have us running around like chooks with our heads cut off, if you know what I mean. Prayer: `Thank you Lord that you are changing us & showing us your ways.` All the best, Marilyn. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
existential mabel Posted March 22, 2016 Group: Royal Member Followers: 7 Topic Count: 151 Topics Per Day: 0.05 Content Count: 3,154 Content Per Day: 1.05 Reputation: 2,074 Days Won: 0 Joined: 02/12/2016 Status: Offline Author Share Posted March 22, 2016 Part 5 Marks gospel the crowd has not heeded the spiritual message and were there for the grub. people are asking for a miracle because they do not have faithyes the senses which we all take very much for granted, 18You have eyes — can't you see? You have ears — can't you hear? Familiarity breeds contempt. Our senses are or should be i am thinking a window into the world of God. But instead for me i use them exclusively for mundane things. It is good to take time out and just be. Maybe we would profit much by doing this. 21“And you still don't understand?” he asked them. and yet simple folk were believing for healing 29“What about you?” he asked them. “Who do you say I am?” cant help thinking that the evil spirits knew who Jesus was without him asking! So Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. 33But Jesus turned round, looked at his disciples, and rebuked Peter. “Get away from me, Satan,” he said. “Your thoughts don't come from God but from human nature!” Peter i guess was trying to control the outcome..which is a very human thing to do. but this is based on the ego=fear and as we see in the world there is not much peace but lots of fear and with fear comes deceit the component for being in control (only have to look at politics and world events to get my meaning!) Jesus invited people to forget self which is steeped in darkness and best intentions and ignorance. 0 dear when i put it like that ... “I tell you, there are some here who will not die until they have seen the Kingdom of God come with power.” What about the pre/post tribulation which i don’t really get any road not studied Revelations. What a hot potato that is. i mean is this important in as much as your soul is at stake. And anyway there will only be a small number that experience this rapture or whatever it is called and i am pretty certain i am not one of them. Jesus was very much into control exposure regarding what others were allowed to tell. I can only wonder if that is because he mustn’t get ahead of himself so to speak as everything was ordained and it was all to happen/unfold in a precise way. Mankind was no match for Jesus who could see the transparency. He never once got into a full debate. That would only introduce the darkness in them to have fuller expression. Jesus’ strength was simplistic in a way. He would steer around through the ego intellect of the leaders etc. no point having a debate with someone who, "already has all the answers" all you do is dig them in deeper and puts you yourself off course. They have become an epitome of ideas but have no spiritual substance. Little children are innocent (or until corrupted by adults anyway) and have not yet learnt the arts of being intellectual. They see directly whereas with adults the filter of opinions and experiences are getting in the way of seeing directly Aren’t the riches on earth seductive. We all like our comforts and it is so hard to give up/ let go of them. This makes me think of people in third world countries who live very simple and uncomplicated lives and are very happy and dare i say it spiritual. They are not chasing material things and also the ones who would have the material things are not grasping in fear of losing. So by loosing those two opposing dynamics make for a very interesting experience. It’s so hard to take on board (for me) eternal life and all that that means. Maybe you could be homeless and happy with that realisation. but for me I am still too busy with the illusions and all that that brings... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marilyn C Posted March 23, 2016 Group: Worthy Ministers Followers: 30 Topic Count: 269 Topics Per Day: 0.07 Content Count: 13,235 Content Per Day: 3.48 Reputation: 8,518 Days Won: 12 Joined: 12/21/2013 Status: Offline Birthday: 10/06/1947 Share Posted March 23, 2016 Hi mabel, Good insights as usual sis. Peter was a 1, (Powerful) type. (see my PM). He needed to see that it is not by might but by God`s Spirit. Eventually we see that change in His life. That is so interesting to see each personality before & after the Lord changed their hearts (bit by bit), as He does with us. Now you said - `What about the pre/post tribulation which i don’t really get any road not studied Revelations. What a hot potato that is. i mean is this important in as much as your soul is at stake. And anyway there will only be a small number that experience this rapture or whatever it is called and i am pretty certain i am not one of them.` Would love to go through the Book of Revelation with you some time as you will no doubt highlight interesting things & have challenging questions. And yes Jesus was careful as He wanted people to see & hear for themselves & not to be a mega star type that no one could reach or relate to. Simple, as you said for that is what our heart respond to for we are all really weak & defiled without the saviour. And then it is all a matter of leaning on Him & not going charging around in our own strength, wasting ourselves. As to material things, I just look on them as tools, if I need it, or get rid of it, as really we have to clean them, look after things, a real burden with stuff. And you are doing well getting rid of it. Each society has its own burdens but we are in the materialistic side but can use things to help others as you are doing in the Op shop. Can you share some of what you do as I have a friend nearby who just loves working in our local one. What was the project you were talking of. Marilyn. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
existential mabel Posted March 25, 2016 Group: Royal Member Followers: 7 Topic Count: 151 Topics Per Day: 0.05 Content Count: 3,154 Content Per Day: 1.05 Reputation: 2,074 Days Won: 0 Joined: 02/12/2016 Status: Offline Author Share Posted March 25, 2016 hello Marilyn so glad you enjoy the challenging questions! i reckon a Meer Kat must be very spiritual as they keep it simples!!!!!!!!!! it is so hard not to do stuff in my own "strength" i mean society doesn't exactly encourage that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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