If the lord ask you to leave one thing out of your life forever ? What will it be (Booze, T.V., Internet, or guns) in your life ?

[missmuffet]

There is more than one thing on this earth I would want to eliminate in my life. 

[enoob57]

10 minutes ago, missmuffet said:

There is more than one thing on this earth I would want to eliminate in my life. 

my list is longer than your list

[MomBearTo4]

If three of them are already out of my life, would that mean that I would have to choose the fourth, or would it mean that I have already done this and don't need to worry about it?  

Sorry, I analyze absolutely everything.  

I will say that in my life I have given up things that were very difficult to give up because the Lord asked me to.  

[TheBlade]

I understand what your asking and its already in the word of God. We should not put anything before Christ that is above Him. 

[ReneeIW]

Covetousness. Oh gosh how that has harmed my faith journey.

Coming in a close second would be irritability. Seeing the people I love walking on eggshells is hard. I have become light years better since the Corona virus though since I am sleeping 8 hours instead of 3.

[HAZARD]

On 1/15/2021 at 2:17 PM, Logostician said:

We're going to leave everything behind eventually.  So now is a good time to start letting worldly things go.  The more the worldly things of life hinder our relationship with Jesus, the more we should want to let them go.  Does God really need to ask us to give things up?  Hasn't he already done that?  We are supposed to live Godly lives.  Shouldn't we know our worldly weaknesses already, and be praying to him to heal us?  I specifically prayed to be released from alcohol 12 yrs ago, and God healed me overnight.  I have never had the slightest desire to drink since that time.  But I suggest that we not choose to keep some sins, and remove others.  We should pray to God for a clean and pure heart committed to him.  100%.  Let God do the work in us.  It's the only way it's going to get done anyway.  And he wants to do it.  Ask and you will receive.

God does not want any of His faithful Children to lack anything that is good for them. If a Christian will truly exercise faith that he knows is necessary, there will be no question as to the answer. One can get healing, health, success in business or in any undertaking, prosperity, happiness, or anything that would cause one to be victorious in any phase of life. Not my idea, not my pet theory, just the simple truth straight from God’s Holy Word.

(Matthew 17:20; 12:22; Mark 11:22-24; John 15:7, 16: Romans 8:32; Hebrews 11:6; James 1:5-8).

[Logostician]

1 hour ago, HAZARD said:

God does not want any of His faithful Children to lack anything that is good for them. If a Christian will truly exercise faith that he knows is necessary, there will be no question as to the answer. One can get healing, health, success in business or in any undertaking, prosperity, happiness, or anything that would cause one to be victorious in any phase of life. Not my idea, not my pet theory, just the simple truth straight from God’s Holy Word.

(Matthew 17:20; 12:22; Mark 11:22-24; John 15:7, 16: Romans 8:32; Hebrews 11:6; James 1:5-8).

With all due respect, I understand that this is not your theory in the sense that you created it.   The gospel of prosperity has been embraced by many people.  And I beleive it is a trap to take our eyes off Jesus.  It is particularly popular among televangelists who have acquired considerable wealth in the course of their ministeries.  The gospel of prosperity makes them feel better about aquiring worldly wealth, or at least less guilty.  And they can point to it and say, "Look how God is blessing me!", as the poor pay for their jet airplanes and extravagant lifestyles.  I can quote many scriptures that counter the gospel of prosperity.  But I will use one continuous agent for reasons of continuity and clear context, rather than cherry picking verses.  The following is a continuous teaching from Jesus, and his sermon on the mount.

Mat 6:19-24

Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal.  But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither the moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal.  For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.  The light of the body is the eye.  If therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light.  But if thy eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness.  If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness!  No man can serve two masters.  For either he will hate the one, and love the other, or else he will hold to one, and despise the other.  You cannot serve God and money.

The Puritan Christians who formed this country were good Godly people for the most part.  But they weren't perfect.  They used to say "The Lord helps those who help themselves".  But there is no such verse in the Bible.  The Lord does not reward selfishness.  The Lord rewards charity, which appears in the KJV as the translation for the greek agape, which means divinely inspired love.

Later in the sermon on the mount Jesus says that God will provide what we need.

V 33

But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.

Notice how God comes first.  And what are these things that will be added to us?  They're right there in the immediately preceding verses.  V 31 specifically states food, drink, and clothing.  These are basic needs.  God is saying he will provide for our basic needs.  He is not promising an abundance of worldly wealth.  After all we are not of this world.  We are of the kingdom of God.  This is why Jesus tells us to store our treasures in heaven.

Money is needed for basic individual and family needs.  God knows that, and will provide for us.  But the only true good that comes from excess wealth beyond meeting these needs is to give it away to those in need.  Anything good, in the eyes of God, must invoke agape/charity/love for God and our neighbors.  These are the commandments of our Lord Jesus Christ (Mat 22:37-40) on which "hang all the law and the prophets".

Francis Chan was right in his book, "Crazy Love".  You might want to read it.  The single eye in the verses above is a heart, soul, mind, and love totally focused on Jesus.  The pursuit of excessive wealth is the evil eye focused on the accumulation of worldly wealth. I choose Jesus.  He is the focal point and destination of the narrow road I will follow, no matter how difficult it may be at times.  The world has no hold on me.  I am free in this world because I am a bondman of Jesus Christ.

Be well.

 

[HAZARD]

12 hours ago, Logostician said:

With all due respect, I understand that this is not your theory in the sense that you created it.   The gospel of prosperity has been embraced by many people.  And I beleive it is a trap to take our eyes off Jesus.  It is particularly popular among televangelists who have acquired considerable wealth in the course of their ministeries.  The gospel of prosperity makes them feel better about aquiring worldly wealth, or at least less guilty.  And they can point to it and say, "Look how God is blessing me!", as the poor pay for their jet airplanes and extravagant lifestyles.  I can quote many scriptures that counter the gospel of prosperity.  But I will use one continuous agent for reasons of continuity and clear context, rather than cherry picking verses.  The following is a continuous teaching from Jesus, and his sermon on the mount.

Mat 6:19-24

Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal.  But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither the moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal.  For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.  The light of the body is the eye.  If therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light.  But if thy eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness.  If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness!  No man can serve two masters.  For either he will hate the one, and love the other, or else he will hold to one, and despise the other.  You cannot serve God and money.

The Puritan Christians who formed this country were good Godly people for the most part.  But they weren't perfect.  They used to say "The Lord helps those who help themselves".  But there is no such verse in the Bible.  The Lord does not reward selfishness.  The Lord rewards charity, which appears in the KJV as the translation for the greek agape, which means divinely inspired love.

Later in the sermon on the mount Jesus says that God will provide what we need.

V 33

But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.

Notice how God comes first.  And what are these things that will be added to us?  They're right there in the immediately preceding verses.  V 31 specifically states food, drink, and clothing.  These are basic needs.  God is saying he will provide for our basic needs.  He is not promising an abundance of worldly wealth.  After all we are not of this world.  We are of the kingdom of God.  This is why Jesus tells us to store our treasures in heaven.

Money is needed for basic individual and family needs.  God knows that, and will provide for us.  But the only true good that comes from excess wealth beyond meeting these needs is to give it away to those in need.  Anything good, in the eyes of God, must invoke agape/charity/love for God and our neighbors.  These are the commandments of our Lord Jesus Christ (Mat 22:37-40) on which "hang all the law and the prophets".

Francis Chan was right in his book, "Crazy Love".  You might want to read it.  The single eye in the verses above is a heart, soul, mind, and love totally focused on Jesus.  The pursuit of excessive wealth is the evil eye focused on the accumulation of worldly wealth. I choose Jesus.  He is the focal point and destination of the narrow road I will follow, no matter how difficult it may be at times.  The world has no hold on me.  I am free in this world because I am a bondman of Jesus Christ.

Be well.

 

Don't for one second believe that God wants His faithful children to live in poverty in any way shape or form.

Matthew 17:  20, And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.

Mark 11: 22-24;  22, And Jesus answering saith unto them, Have faith in God. 

    23, For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith. 

    24, Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them. 

 

John 15:    7, If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.

 

John 15: 16, Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you. 

 

Romans 8:  32, He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things? 

 

Hebrews 11:   16, But now they desire a better country, that is, an heavenly: wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God: for he hath prepared for them a city.

 

John 14:Joh In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. 

 

[HAZARD]

11 minutes ago, Chicken coop2 said:

With the possibility of my dying homeless in the not to distant future, I hold on to the hope for the at least one miracle I need to go on.

You can at least look forward to this;

John 14:Joh In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.