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God's Will, and Social Group Dynamics


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4 minutes ago, Sight said:

 

God's perspective is indeed greater...if it's scriptural, I NEVER DISAGREE or CONTRADICT God's word. BUT...I dont care. I want the material things. Material success speaks to people. Material success makes me happy. The "eternal" things are for when I die and go to heaven because of Jesus. They have ZERO value on this earthly existence.

 

Besides, the only reason I even FOCUS on material gain: I have seen born-again Christians blessed with BOTH material and spiritual blessings. Since I saw it, and all things checked as "God did it", I can have it, and I will seek it, take it, and own it. If I can have BOTH material and spiritual, I shall HAVE both material and spiritual. That's MY rules. That's THE rules as well.

 

If it is possible, I shall attain to it.

 

Friend, Matthew chapter 6 seems to disagree with you.  You have a choice.  Go with your "experience", or what you have seen, or trust God at his Word, which has been written down for us.  Though He may slay us, the heart of the matter is your heart, and my heart, Satan wants us to look at this worldly material gain, to pry us away from that which is greater.  Settle for Satan's offering, or trust God has something better, far greater than what you see as "winning".  What you describe as winning, I can only see as settling for something inferior.  Do you want to settle?

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59 minutes ago, hmbld said:

Friend, Matthew chapter 6 seems to disagree with you.  You have a choice.  Go with your "experience", or what you have seen, or trust God at his Word, which has been written down for us.  Though He may slay us, the heart of the matter is your heart, and my heart, Satan wants us to look at this worldly material gain, to pry us away from that which is greater.  Settle for Satan's offering, or trust God has something better, far greater than what you see as "winning".  What you describe as winning, I can only see as settling for something inferior.  Do you want to settle?

Well then:

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Matthew 6New American Standard Bible (NASB)

Giving to the Poor and Prayer

“Beware of practicing your righteousness before men to be noticed by them; otherwise you have no reward with your Father who is in heaven.

Yes, understood. No problems here.

“So when you [a]give to the poor, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, so that they may be honored by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full. But when you [b]give to the poor, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your [c]giving will be in secret; and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.

The father who sees what is done in secret, eh...I have yet to see God repay me for the good I have done in secret, so I dont know.

“When you pray, you are not to be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on the street corners [d]so that they may be seen by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full. But you, when you pray, go into your inner room, close your door and pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.

This is basically a discourse in discretion. Personally, when I give, I give silently. No one knows I would write $100 to a certain ministry, or $50 for a charity, when I could have used that money for other things. God didn't reward me jack diddly squat for those things, yet THIS IS SCRIPTURE. Care to elaborate?

“And when you are praying, do not use meaningless repetition as the Gentiles do, for they suppose that they will be heard for their many words. So do not be like them; for your Father knows what you need before you ask Him.

If he knows, WHY DOESNT HE DO SOMETHING? If our father knows what we need, if he holds it back, then he's being obnoxious.

“Pray, then, in this way:

‘Our Father who is in heaven,
Hallowed be Your name.
10 ‘Your kingdom come.
Your will be done,
On earth as it is in heaven.
11 ‘Give us this day [e]our daily bread.
12 ‘And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.
13 ‘And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from [f]evil. [g][For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.’]

Amen.

14 For if you forgive [h]others for their transgressions, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15 But if you do not forgive [i]others, then your Father will not forgive your transgressions.

No contest. This is true, although, it's never to my benefit.

Fasting; The True Treasure; Wealth (Mammon)

16 “Whenever you fast, do not put on a gloomy face as the hypocrites do, for they [j]neglect their appearance so that they will be noticed by men when they are fasting. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full. 17 But you, when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face18 so that your fasting will not be noticed by men, but by your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.

STILL HAVE YET TO BE REWARDED.

19 “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 20 But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal; 21 for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

OK THIS ONE IN PARTICULAR, I NEED CLARIFICATION. I have no idea what this scripture means, even when reading it with the holy spirit's help. How do you store up treasures in heaven? Treasure is something tangible that has inherent value. Heaven is not a bank; you can deposit, but you cant withdraw. Storing up in heaven is no different than giving freely of charity: It goes, but never comes back. Of course moth nor rust destroys, and thieves cant break in...it's INTANGIBLE. No INHERENT value immediately reconcilable. It's no better than the concept of Karma. BUT that last statement...where your treasure is, there your heart will be also...I dont get it. Is my heart my treasure? Last time I checked, cash is king.

 

22 “The eye is the lamp of the body; so then if your eye is [k]clear, your whole body will be full of light. 23 But if your eye is [l]bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light that is in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!

Amen. No contest.

24 “No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and [m]wealth.

If I serve God, he'll never give me wealth. If I serve wealth, I'll never have God. You apparently cant have your cake and eat it too. Basically, it's either wealth without God, or God without wealth. It's not a wonderful decision. To choose God is to choose being broke. No influence, no cash, no money, yet, you have JESUS!!!!! :D:D:D 

... are you beginning to see my problem with this?

The Cure for Anxiety

25 “For this reason I say to you, [n]do not be worried about your [o]life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? 26 Look at the birds of the [p]air, that they do not sow, nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they? 27 And who of you by being worried can add a single [q]hour to his [r]life? 28 And why are you worried about clothing? Observe how the lilies of the field grow; they do not toil nor do they spin, 29 yet I say to you that not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these. 30 But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will He not much more clothe you? You of little faith! 31 Do not worry then, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear for clothing?’ 32 For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. 33 But [s]seek first [t]His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be [u]added to you.

He has yet to prove this to me.

34 “So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will [v]care for itself. [w]Each day has enough trouble of its own.

Obviously God the father isn't familiar with creditors and bills, apparently.

Are you beginning to understand?

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2 hours ago, Sight said:

I wouldn't be suprised if that's the case. But if it is, it makes GOD look worse than the person who acted arrogantly. Everything just seems to come back to God being incompetent. I dont like to say that, but seriously, there's a fine line between honoring free will that God established, and God playing favorites. I dont care if Satan blessed the guy, GOD CAN STOP IT, AND GOD IS JUSTICE. If God allows an arrogant person to do as they please to the detriment of others, I cannot call God good. There's just ANOTHER HUNDRED grievances I accuse the father of. 

 

Will I forgive the guy? Yes, what else is there to do? BUT DAMAGE IS DONE CHIEF. Sure, I forgive THE GUY, but God the father is still guilty of letting him do what he did. GOD IS THE GUILTY PARTY. GOD IS THE CULPRIT. GOD IS THE ONE RESPONSIBLE FOR PAIN. As far as I'm concerned, God owes me and everyone that other guy hurt, but God wont do jack diddly squat to fix the situation. "Jesus is good enough", is what I believe God would respond, to which I would tell God the father "You're going to have to do better than that chief. You've already agitated me enough in my walk with you". GOD THE FATHER NEEDS TO STOP MAKING EXCUSES AND ACTUALLY DO SOMETHING. I will not let God off the hook until I personally see him demonstrate righteousness. (Yes, I see God the father as an unfair dictator).

 

Again, I forgive the arrogant jerk, because there's no other productive option, BUT THAT DOESNT CHANGE THE FACT GOD BLESSED HIM. THAT DOESNT CHANGE THE FACT GOD PLAYED FAVORITES. THAT DOESNT CHANGE THE FACT GOD IS AN UNFAIR JUDGE OF CHARACTER. The evidence is there. If no one is going to call God out on being a hypocrite, I WILL, unless you can justify who God the father is to me. Again, this is all in context of BEING SAVED BY JESUS. He is STILL unfair. I witnessed it firsthand; dont you dare tell me I'm wrong.

 

Yeah, that's what God the father wants me to do: Follow his will, seek & know his voice, keep my mouth shut, force feed myself with the paltry crumbs he gives me while he gives others prime rib & filet mignon and blessings up the creek. I DONT GIVE A FLYING RIP ABOUT HAVING A HEART TO LOVE PEOPLE, not when I serve a God who plays favorites. Not going to happen bud. I DONT SERVE TYRANNICAL DICTATORS, ESPECIALLY THE SPIRITUAL KIND (And yes, I read the bible. God has yet to prove to me he isnt some sadistical tyrant, even IN SPITE OF JESUS).

 

Deep surrender to God DOES change everything, and he wants people to come to humility...that way, he can take advantage of that faithful person seeking a loving God, and ruin their lives while he rewards others. I have endured this unfairness firsthand. God isn't fair. Some of you fail to grasp that, EVEN AS A BORN-AGAIN CHRISTIAN.

 

It goes back to that one question none of you can answer: Why does God give some people more, and why does God give most people less? That is the critical question. If you can answer that for me, perhaps I will change my opinion on the LORD God the father. Until then, I stand by the above.

 

Why? I SAW THE HYPOCRISY FIRST HAND. Tell me otherwise, if you think you know better.

Without freewill there is no love. Love is a choice, not a feeling.

You are jealous; envious of evil. This is a grave sin.

Again, it sounds like in this situation that it was NOT the Father who blessed him but Satan who has raised him up in false favor and look it's working to keep even you from God as well, so Satan surely knows what he is doing, no?

The Father did do something to remedy this situation, He put you there. You can exercise your freewill to be jealous, envious, and hate God, or you can exercise your freewill to seek God and allow the Lord to work in this situation. It's your choice. And the Lord WILL do more than that, He will settle your heart on the issue, show you this situation from His perspective, and also show you the way forward to be the light and salt, the city on a hill, He has called you to be. And He'll do a LOT more than that as well.

Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, Ephesians 3:20 - This verse in my life in God in a nutshell.

If you'd prefer steaks over God, so be it, but steak satisfies for but a moment, God satisfies forever. If you had a deep an intimate relationship with God, you surely would not be jealous of this man. There is nothing to be jealous about in this true WISP of a life. Eternal things are all that matter.

You are complaining God hasn't blessed you. Well, what have you done to seek Jesus' heart and Jesus' will for your life?

The enemy knows our weaknesses, he has been studying us since our birth. The enemy believes he can keep you away from God by keeping you improvised and stuck in the pride of life and jealousy, so he has set up your circumstances to eat crumbs so you will be jealous of all those who have more. This man you speak of probably is not a jealous man, he probably is captivated by the lusts of flesh of and the lusts of the eyes, so the enemy is satisfying just those lusts to keep him away from God as well. At this point neither of you are in a good place, and the enemy has you BOTH exactly where he wants you. One angry at God and one indifferent. At this point neither of you will make it home to the Lord, so what's any of it really matter anyway?

Trust in God, He has all you need. He's better than you think, by a long shot.

God bless you, in Jesus' mighty name. -Daniel

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Thanks for your kind words Daniel. I will aim to respond to each part:

5 hours ago, Daniel_Quartararo said:

Without freewill there is no love. Love is a choice, not a feeling.

You are jealous; envious of evil. This is a grave sin.

Envious of evil...that opens up a perspective. I mean, if God would only align a bit of blessing my way, I wouldn't be so adamant in the way I am. All I want is for God to be God, not an absentee landlord. Is THAT so much to ask for, that I have to keep throwing stones and dirty toilet paper at his door? What do I have to do to get his attention? Break his window...cause if it were possible, I WOULD BE THE GUY who would break his window and throw a stink bomb in his living room just to get him to open the door. I'm THAT determined to get the LORD to respond.

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Again, it sounds like in this situation that it was NOT the Father who blessed him but Satan who has raised him up in false favor and look it's working to keep even you from God as well, so Satan surely knows what he is doing, no?

I'm actually considering that opinion. It opens up more possibilities, and from my understanding in the spirit, you've got a VERY good point I can agree with, not because it tickles my ears, but because it makes sense.  

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The Father did do something to remedy this situation, He put you there. You can exercise your freewill to be jealous, envious, and hate God, or you can exercise your freewill to seek God and allow the Lord to work in this situation. It's your choice. And the Lord WILL do more than that, He will settle your heart on the issue, show you this situation from His perspective, and also show you the way forward to be the light and salt, the city on a hill, He has called you to be. And He'll do a LOT more than that as well.

I cannot disagree with that. I will see it the way God sees it. Maybe if I actually did that instead of trying to yank God's beard, perhaps I will witness him doing that LOT more you speak of, and I know he could do.

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Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, Ephesians 3:20 - This verse in my life in God in a nutshell.

If this verse came alive in YOUR life,  I want to know what you know, do what you do, trust how you trust, love the LORD as you love the LORD...I will listen, IF you're indeed being truthful with me, which I STRONGLY BELIEVE you are. I know people who love Jesus and bear fruit. I am trusting you here Daniel.

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If you'd prefer steaks over God, so be it, but steak satisfies for but a moment, God satisfies forever. If you had a deep an intimate relationship with God, you surely would not be jealous of this man. There is nothing to be jealous about in this true WISP of a life. Eternal things are all that matter.

I like steak. A LOT. Filet Mignon. NY Strip. T-Bone. Salisbury. Steak Diane. Churrasco. Skirt Steak. Kobe Washugyu. Steak Tartare. Venison. You name it. I have yet to know God as better than a nicely cooked porterhouse, and I know my steaks.

But whether it's steak, chicken, fish, shrimp, lobster, turkey, veal...knowing God, according to the REST OF YOU, is infinitely greater. I cannot yet relate. I want to throw knives at God at this moment. This relationship you speak of...I do not yet know. Indeed, if I had this "relationship" you speak of, I would be a changed person. Perhaps that is my mission here...to enter relationship with Jesus. Maybe I'll change. Again with "eternal life"...I'm definitely missing something here, and I NEED TO FIND IT NOW, and I will break the door down, and I wont ask...I WILL DEMAND. I will not seek...I WILL EXCAVATE AND DIG UP. I wont knock...I will BREAK THE DOOR DOWN if I have to. If he wont answer, I'll break the door down and yell at the top of my lungs.

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You are complaining God hasn't blessed you. Well, what have you done to seek Jesus' heart and Jesus' will for your life?

EVERYTHING. Literally everything. Repented. Gave. Prayed. Studied scripture. Submitted to him. WHAT ELSE DOES HE WANT? If he were a person, I'd have cracked a wooden bat over his head for playing the Riddler with me.

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The enemy knows our weaknesses, he has been studying us since our birth. The enemy believes he can keep you away from God by keeping you improvised and stuck in the pride of life and jealousy, so he has set up your circumstances to eat crumbs so you will be jealous of all those who have more. This man you speak of probably is not a jealous man, he probably is captivated by the lusts of flesh of and the lusts of the eyes, so the enemy is satisfying just those lusts to keep him away from God as well. At this point neither of you are in a good place, and the enemy has you BOTH exactly where he wants you. One angry at God and one indifferent. At this point neither of you will make it home to the Lord, so what's any of it really matter anyway?

Those are words of wisdom. I cannot disagree. Perhaps that is EXACTLY what is happening.

I will tell you EXACTLY what he is captivated by: His wife, and his easy life. He even said himself...he never had any difficult challenges growing up. The moment he said that, I was ready to go after the LORD God with a sword and cut the LORD down. I didnt know how angry I could become until after I hear that arrogant snob guy say that. I wanted to take him to the school of hard knocks and give him a crash course in Hoodrat Ghettostyle 101, FIST MEETS FACE STYLE.

But I wasn't angry at him. He was just a little innocent White Anglo-Saxon Preppy snotnose who didn't know any different. I was angry at GOD for allowing him to live like that and get every blessing for free. He literally got everything handed to him on the LORD's silver platter, while I had to FIGHT TOOTH AND NAIL for even the smallest crumb.

I am proud of my inner city heritage, and growing up tough as nails, but for God to let the snob snottynose get away with free blessings and favor for no reason...I literally threw seven bibles, six that I PAID FOR with my own money, in my apartment's trash chute out of anger and rebellion...over $250 worth of Bibles in the trash out of anger. I decided to buy a smaller bible that goes in my glove compartment in my car, and I read scripture online, so I dont throw away bibles, but so you all know, I had punched that copy of the bible in my car over a hundred times in fury. No joke...it was PURE UNFAIRNESS.

But it's not the scenario that matters...it's the principle of the matter that the LORD gave me crumbs and scraps, and gave him a silver platter. I WANT AN EXPLANATION. I WANT GOD TO BE ACCOUNTABLE AND EXPLAIN HIMSELF, I dont care if it's someone he brings to me on the street or someone here...I WANT AN ANSWER FROM GOD AS TO WHY. Anyone deserves and explanation. I want God to explain himself. What's so bad in asking him that? IT'S THE RIGHT THING TO DO.

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Trust in God, He has all you need. He's better than you think, by a long shot.

God bless you, in Jesus' mighty name. -Daniel

I will continue working in that direction.

 

God bless you as well, In Jesus' mighty name, Amen.

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This entire thread is VERY interesting...Spok from Star Treck would say, "fascinating".

The response is amazingly simple. Sight has made a lot of very "killer" observations and judgments about this group. As a Bible counsellor, I could spend days analyzing the dynamics and the needs and strengths of everyone involved. But, since Christianity is a faith that is soley based upon an individual's relationship with Jesus Christ, each soul is ONLY to be judged by the Absolute, Supreme, High Potentate, whose name is Yahweh. Any presumption I might have of judging someone else, HAS to be colored by the fact that other person belongs to Jesus and I have no authority to judge them. While, in the flesh, I may make rational comparisons, any application to spiritual values or well-being is OFF LIMITS TO ME!!!

Since each soul is judged by God alone, do we even know how He values them. For one thing, He sent Jesus Christ to die for them, so no matter how well they do at living physical life, God still had to send His Son to redeem them. How well they prosper and why there are differences perplexes me too, yet there are hidden things in each personal spirit that may dictate differences in outcome that really ARE in the realm of God's business. We know that God has given to each person, as He will, different gifts, talents and abilities. God's desire, according to Jeremiah 29 is to give each one a hope and a future. Those hopes and those futures are entirely dependent upon each individual's relationship with and obedience to Jesus Christ. If some are 50% relatable and obedient to Jesus, one might presume their lives to be roughly 50% effective. This is a basic flesh evaluation for the actual computation is far above my paygrade. Yet, each individual is tasked with finding their own peace with God and their own way through life. Each individual has different means of learning; different levels of faith; and different levels of dedication to spiritual things. It is no mystery to me that with in a group such as Sight's there is such a disparity of actual results. As a matter of fact, I praise God for it because it means that God didn't make us all cookie cutter Christians, destined for the same results!!!!

Our mistake is assuming that God wants us all to have the same results. The Bible does not say that. We are given specific instructions on how to enter the Kingdom of Heaven and how to live for Jesus, but we are NOT given specific indications of results. Our society has misled us into believing in a duplication of results (even multi-level marketing firms preach duplication of results). But we need to really read what the Bible says. When the windows of heaven open up for you and pour out your blessings, you may get cupie dolls. When the windows of heaven open up for me, I may get rubber erasers. We are both blessed. Who is blessed more?

To hold out a judgment against God because all Christians do not have the same results is to make an accusation against God that He is not fair. The Bible does not promise fairness...nor did God. In Deuteronomy 28 He promised specific blessings to those who obeyed His commandments. Yet, each of us has our own method of obedience. That difference in obedience is strictly between us and our Savior. So the difference in blessing, while sometimes drastic, cannot be reduced to a mathematical equation or rationalized or generalized to fit everyone else's life. In general, those who are more obedient are more blessed. But in specific, I can make no comment unless I want to judge another person (which Matthew 7:1,2 tell me not to do, lest I reap judgement in return).

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If the grass is greener on the other side of the fence, water your grass!

I am the richest, most successful person I know. My wife and I, kids and their spouses, grand kids, are saved born again, involved  believers.       The rest is moot.

consider:   The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom......for sure..... 

Sight. I've been a believer about forty years. It was only last winter that I understood fully just how much the love of God was revealed to me one night. I was overwhelmed. (Back when I was a teenager, my favorite tune on the juke box was Born to Lose, by Ray Charles)  an old  loser like me....................The goal. It didn't happen overnight. I also was determined to do it my own hard headed way. God had ways to soften me up, FOR SURE.  Even with all your ranting at Him, His love never changes for you. Your His child, and He's a good daddy. Be patient. I think you must be special.          God is LIGHT........(to see in the darkness)

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