Am I good enough

[markdohle]

On 7/3/2016 at 4:09 PM, JTC said:

Hello Mark,

  I have a different take on all this. First of all I'm not sure what you mean by a retreatant. I'm also wondering if you know this woman or if you just met her? I hope you know her well and that she's a Christian. Based on the few things you said about her she a good and caring person. I guess you assumed she has false humility and is actually full of pride and is self centered. There are people like that, I know. But my first reaction to a woman like this is she's been the victim of rape or childhood sexual abuse. When that happens it always leaves emotional scars and often the woman is how you described this one to be. She sounds like she has almost no self confidence and even less self esteem. If the way she is now comes from a past emotional trauma then what you said to her may have just made her feel worse, because basically you were telling her she isn't even good enough to believe God. I hope I'm wrong, but consider if I may be right. 

Good points, thank you for sharing.  One of the hardest hurdles for many, and I am speaking from experience is that we give our emotions and feelings too much power.  Trust in God's love and mercy is a choice that goes way beyond how we feel.  I try to get people to live for today, and to take responsibility for self talk.  Humility is after all 'truth', so I believe that Christ is calling us to that truth, the truth that we are children of God and that he so loved us that he became flesh for us.  When people learn that, to trust in the love of Christ Jesus for them no matter what they have been through, or are going through, then they start to run the race with new found hope.

I am speaking from hard experience......I guess it is one aspect of dying to self.

Where I am at we have a retreat house, for the last three years I have been retreat master here.  Before that I took care of our infirm and elderly for 30 years.  Here is our web page:

http://www.trappist.net/

Please no anti-catholic rants I have heard it all....about the pope being the Anti-Christ, about the church and the coming of some sort of alien messiah etc.  I am a little gun shy.

Peace
Mark 

 

Edited July 4, 2016 by markdohle

[markdohle]

On 7/3/2016 at 9:08 PM, Willa said:

You have spoken well, Mark.  God really took me to task for beating myself up after falling on my face (again).  After all, I expect more of myself.  Well, God told me I had no right to stand in judgement of myself.  I had already asked His forgiveness.  He had judged me guilty but forgiven, making whiter than snow by the blood of His Son.  Who did I think I was to place my judgement above His?  

Even worse, when I live in self condemnation and contempt I cannot serve God in the Spirit.  He can't pour His love through me to others when I am drowning in SELF .  I have to get my focus back onto God to follow Him and be a blessing to others.

All of that happened around 1980.  And It really didn't take long to change once God had opened my eyes.

 

Well said Willa, thank you for sharing your live giving experience with God's grace.

Peace
Mark

[JTC]

16 hours ago, markdohle said:

Where I am at we have a retreat house, for the last three years I have been retreat master here.  Before that I took care of our infirm and elderly for 30 years.  Here is our web page:

http://www.trappist.net/

Please no anti-catholic rants I have heard it all....about the pope being the Anti-Christ, about the church and the coming of some sort of alien messiah etc.  I am a little gun shy.

Peace
Mark 

 

I'm not anti Catholic. I was raised Catholic but I was a very nominal one. My mother was devout but my father was weird. I don't know why because all his brothers were church goers. I left the CC at 18 and became Born Again 10 yrs later. I know God loves Catholics as much as anyone else. I also know many Catholics are born again. Finally, in my area it seems the only churches worth going to are the CC's.

[markdohle]

4 hours ago, JTC said:

I'm not anti Catholic. I was raised Catholic but I was a very nominal one. My mother was devout but my father was weird. I don't know why because all his brothers were church goers. I left the CC at 18 and became Born Again 10 yrs later. I know God loves Catholics as much as anyone else. I also know many Catholics are born again. Finally, in my area it seems the only churches worth going to are the CC's.

Thank you.  I love it here, a lot of great things talked about and shared. 

 

Peace
Mark

[Guest Robert]

23 hours ago, markdohle said:

Good points, thank you for sharing.  One of the hardest hurdles for many, and I am speaking from experience is that we give our emotions and feelings too much power.  Trust in God's love and mercy is a choice that goes way beyond how we feel.  I try to get people to live for today, and to take responsibility for self talk.  Humility is after all 'truth', so I believe that Christ is calling us to that truth, the truth that we are children of God and that he so loved us that he became flesh for us.  When people learn that, to trust in the love of Christ Jesus for them no matter what they have been through, or are going through, then they start to run the race with new found hope.

I am speaking from hard experience......I guess it is one aspect of dying to self.

Where I am at we have a retreat house, for the last three years I have been retreat master here.  Before that I took care of our infirm and elderly for 30 years.  Here is our web page:

http://www.trappist.net/

Please no anti-catholic rants I have heard it all....about the pope being the Anti-Christ, about the church and the coming of some sort of alien messiah etc.  I am a little gun shy.

Peace
Mark 

 

No worries; I grew up Catholic but got away from it after Confirmation and later in life converted to Protestantism.

Yes, we can give our emotions a lot of power, but we were originally built with them to help us empathize with one another and to articulate how we felt about God and others. Unfortunately, that all got twisted by the Fall. And like anything in this world, what God made in goodness and perfection is now distorted, and our feelings can often be led astray, harmed and often inaccurate. This is where the truth of Scripture sets us free: we learn the truth about God and ourselves, and we begin to see that we are not "worthless", and that God loved us enough to die for us (as you mentioned).

[markdohle]

25 minutes ago, RobertS said:

No worries; I grew up Catholic but got away from it after Confirmation and later in life converted to Protestantism.

Yes, we can give our emotions a lot of power, but we were originally built with them to help us empathize with one another and to articulate how we felt about God and others. Unfortunately, that all got twisted by the Fall. And like anything in this world, what God made in goodness and perfection is now distorted, and our feelings can often be led astray, harmed and often inaccurate. This is where the truth of Scripture sets us free: we learn the truth about God and ourselves, and we begin to see that we are not "worthless", and that God loved us enough to die for us (as you mentioned).

Amen, wonderfully said.

Peace
Mark

[kwikphilly]

Quote

She sounds like she has almost no self confidence and even less self esteem.                                     posted by JTC

Blessings again Brother Mark,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

      The spirit of "pride" is insidious,very subtle(not so cunning really) ,as I mentioned earlier     This is the darkest shadow of deceit that they hide in,the words "self" should give any mature Christian the clues,the Light exposes these tricky demons ,they are liars,,,,,,

       The entire point of your message is to Reveal the Truth,isn't it?

Quote

The Wisdom from Above
…14But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast in it or deny the truth.15Such wisdom does not come from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. 16For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every evil practice.…                                                       James 3:14-16

      "Poor me" & rightfully so,"I've" suffered greatly at the hands of so & so,"I" have been abused,"my" depression,"I'm worthless",nobody will ever love "me'

Yes,it is the spirit of pride that comes to steal,kill & destroy,,,,,,,by convincing (in the mind),,,,,,,,the results are no "self"worth,low"self"esteem,lack of "self"confidence            It is not an easy pill to swallow unless there is a "renewal of the MIND",,,,,,,,,you cannot put on the new self (Heart & Mind of Christ) without putting OFF the old way of thinking                                                                    With love-in Christ,Kwik

[markdohle]

On 7/6/2016 at 10:13 AM, kwikphilly said:

Blessings again Brother Mark,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

      The spirit of "pride" is insidious,very subtle(not so cunning really) ,as I mentioned earlier     This is the darkest shadow of deceit that they hide in,the words "self" should give any mature Christian the clues,the Light exposes these tricky demons ,they are liars,,,,,,

       The entire point of your message is to Reveal the Truth,isn't it?

      "Poor me" & rightfully so,"I've" suffered greatly at the hands of so & so,"I" have been abused,"my" depression,"I'm worthless",nobody will ever love "me'

Yes,it is the spirit of pride that comes to steal,kill & destroy,,,,,,,by convincing (in the mind),,,,,,,,the results are no "self"worth,low"self"esteem,lack of "self"confidence            It is not an easy pill to swallow unless there is a "renewal of the MIND",,,,,,,,,you cannot put on the new self (Heart & Mind of Christ) without putting OFF the old way of thinking                                                                    With love-in Christ,Kwik

Growth is slow, it is pain that can alert us to grow in humility and truth.

Peace

Mark

[kwikphilly]

Quote

Growth is slow, it is pain that can alert us to grow in humility and truth.

Peace

Mark

hi Brother!

   It can be & more often then not ,,,,the sad thing is "pain" is not always necessary & God Will certainly allow us to choose our path ,we can listen to His Still Small Voice,or not,,,,,,in my own life ,many painful experiences could have been avoided had I simply "listened"-lol   I am truly grateful that even when we choose badly God is still with us to help us through,there is NOBODY GREATER,Praise God Almighty!!!!

    Growth does not have to be a slow process,from the very moment we are Indwelled we have access to the Power of the Holy Spirit,to the very Heart & Mind of Christ,,,,,Wisdom & Understanding is right at our fingertips,it is all about priorities,Eternal Mindedness or Temporal,,,,,,,God FIRST or "me"                Glory to God,He is AWESOME!!!                                           With love-in Christ,Kwik

[enoob57]

The hatred for the first born dead man and the world that feeds him is a healthy reality in a s/Spiritually born again person ...
Rom 7 basically says self must die along with all first born parameters and begin new life foreign to this place... the broken
and contriteness comes from the reality that we all fail-

1 Jn 1:8-10

8 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.

9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

10 If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.
KJV

but the steadfast joy 'IS' Jesus did not fail! I shall always with the strength of s/Spirit within me look outward to God and then to
others knowing all the while my Creator, Master, Husband and Friend has the responsible care of me... so why look to myself
at all? When we live without regard to self we are walking in The s/Spirit and that is why we will not fulfill the sinful demands from
flesh...    Love, Steven