The relationship

[Guest clancy]

1 hour ago, Aries2020 said:

amen i think following Jesus is one of the hardest things to do, because it is so easy to be distracted and follow your own paths and then come back to the straight and narrow.

Like you said its a process to learn grow and transform, but over time and by his grace we slowly make progress and he is so faithfully and loyal to his children.

Let me tell you this, God had a heck of a time getting this rebel in line as a new babe, 

But he disciplined me, my heart was broken, it has been the longest road ever in those 30 yrs...the pain and suffering at times was unbearable.....I wouldn’t have changed it for the world ,looking back now...it was all for my own good.....

The Lord got me in line for his will for my life.

For which I thank him daily....only God in his mercy for little old me got me to this place.

Which is a closeness to God that I have never felt before and a peace that can’t be described.....

That is what I call Love from my Father to his child.

Edited April 2, 2021 by clancy

[Aries2020]

1 hour ago, clancy said:

Let me tell you this, God had a heck of a time getting this rebel in line as a new babe, 

But he disciplined me, my heart was broken, it has been the longest road ever in those 30 yrs...the pain and suffering at times was unbearable.....I wouldn’t have changed it for the world ,looking back now...it was all for my own good.....

The Lord got me in line for his will for my life.

For which I thank him daily....only God in his mercy for little old me got me to this place.

Which is a closeness to God that I have never felt before and a peace that can’t be described.....

That is what I call Love from my Father to his child.

amen it seems to be the general consensus that the Lord is returning very soon, and ive have been out of fellowship for 32 years so its good to slowly get back into things.

I can testify to walking my own path doing my own things and God had mercy on me and i heard the good news and had a born again encounter.    

Unfortunately 3.1/2 years later i had an incident and as a result i stopped fellowshipping and eventually just fell back into my old life style. 

but by the grace of God he never left or forsook me so i am fortunate to be in his service.

But i have a long way to go. 

Edited April 2, 2021 by Aries2020

[Guest clancy]

42 minutes ago, Aries2020 said:

amen it seems to be the general consensus that the Lord is returning very soon, and ive have been out of fellowship for 32 years so its good to slowly get back into things.

I can testify to walking my own path doing my own things and God had mercy on me and i heard the good news and had a born again encounter.    

Unfortunately 3.1/2 years later i had an incident and as a result i stopped fellowshipping and eventually just fell back into my old life style. 

but by the grace of God he never left or forsook me so i am fortunate to be in his service.

But i have a long way to go. 

Praise God ,He drew you back....that’s the power of His Love for you brother.

We all have a long way to go....we never stop learning.....I am so happy to see you  having fellowship with your brothers and sisters in Christ.?

[Whyme]

5 hours ago, Aries2020 said:

amen im very encouraged by your answer and i also struggle with different areas of my life, that i need to submit to Jesus on a daily basis but by Gods grace im learning growing and slowly transforming.

but as you know thats the life of a christian lol.

Amen

[Aries2020]

36 minutes ago, clancy said:

Praise God ,He drew you back....that’s the power of His Love for you brother.

We all have a long way to go....we never stop learning.....I am so happy to see you  having fellowship with your brothers and sisters in Christ.?

amen thank you.

[Whyme]

I like to think of the secret place that David mentioned in his Psalms. Colossians 3 says to look at the hidden things in heaven not on earth and says that our life is hidden there with Christ in God. Is this secret place in our hearts? Is it joy and peace? I dont yet know but it puts a smile on my face thinking about it. 

[Guest clancy]

9 hours ago, Marathoner said:

This is a matter of some contention and I steer clear of that, my friend. There's no need for it because God does as He pleases and He answers to no man. This doesn't stop some from insisting that He does for they have the Lord all figured out, or so it seems. 

I write from experience that when the Spirit of the Lord drew near and declared my election in Christ, I was saved. This is the work of God and no other --- certainly not my work! --- because before I heard the voice of the Lord I didn't know Him, but He surely knew me. I was saved but there was a work which the Lord ordained to display in me, a work which He wrought through tribulation and trial. It is through many tribulations that we enter the kingdom of God, @Aries2020. 

When the Spirit of God called, I answered Him. When the Lord said that the time had come to cast everything aside and seek Him, I cast everything aside to seek the Son of God. I was baptized in water (in a water trough). What I didn't comprehend at that time was this: I belong to Jesus Christ and no other, not even myself; He chose me and our Father in heaven gave me to Him. No one comes to the Son unless the Father draws Him. 

What occurred at the conclusion of the fiery trial, when that work which God intended to display in me was revealed? The Lord poured His Spirit upon me and everything changed in the blink of an eye. It was a like a great wind of fire washed over me, so this is what some refer to as the baptism of the Spirit.     

Such a powerful testimony....fills me with Awe..how God Saved you...

[Marathoner]

7 hours ago, Aries2020 said:

amen do you think there is a transition from after receiving salvation, to a personal relationship with Jesus or are they the same. what do you think?

We were chosen by the Lord before the world was made, ordained by God to be conformed to the image of His Son. This is our salvation in Jesus Christ for all things are finished in the sight of the Almighty who knows the end from the beginning.

As the scripture testifies there is an appointed time for every matter under heaven; just as it pleased our Father in heaven to send His Son to be born to a woman under the Law (the Word made flesh), it pleases the Lord to reveal Himself to us in the fullness of time. 

Yes, there is a transition. I think of this transition as walking in the knowledge and will of His Spirit. When the Spirit of God came to me when I was close to death, the Lord was pleased to reveal Himself. This was that work which God ordained to display in me. He promised that I would never taste death; He would restore that which was taken from me in a measure exceeding the first. This was so Christ might be glorified, for there was another who bore witness to these things. 

She belonged to Him and this was also for her sake, so she might believe. 

When my healing was complete according to the promise the Lord lifted me up and completed that transition, baptizing me with fire and Spirit.  
 

[Marathoner]

6 hours ago, clancy said:

Let me tell you this, God had a heck of a time getting this rebel in line as a new babe, 

But he disciplined me, my heart was broken, it has been the longest road ever in those 30 yrs...the pain and suffering at times was unbearable.....I wouldn’t have changed it for the world ,looking back now...it was all for my own good.....

The Lord got me in line for his will for my life.

For which I thank him daily....only God in his mercy for little old me got me to this place.

Which is a closeness to God that I have never felt before and a peace that can’t be described.....

That is what I call Love from my Father to his child.

This is something all three of us --- you, @Aries2020, and myself --- share in common. There are many more, sister. Over the years I've been blessed to meet brothers and sisters with a testimony like ours. This bears witness to the following truth, something we find expressed throughout the scriptures:

The Lord God Almighty refines us like silver in the furnace and tries us like gold is tried. Thus we are always learning and growing, being conformed to the image of the One who chose us by His Spirit from glory to glory. The Lord is the Potter and we are clay in His hand, to do with as He sees fit. 

I look and see others undergoing the fiery trial and tribulation, and I remember what it was like to walk in their shoes. I thought the Lord hated me! Surely He despises me for all I can do is wrong and fall flat upon my face over, and over again. I couldn't comprehend what was taking place, so what would I have said to the one who came to me in my affliction and proclaimed,

"Rejoice, for the Lord loves you like no other!" 

I might have said, "Huh? Are you daft? Are bats loose in your belfry? The Lord doesn't love me, He hates me!"  

[Marathoner]

To draw it all together in a manner befitting the topic, the relationship defines the difference between our ignorance and the knowledge of His Spirit. When I didn't understand the chastisement and discipline of the Lord, I despaired of living because I was convinced of my failure in Christ.

And then I learned how mistaken I was because I labored in my own ignorance. Discipline is never pleasant when it is received; it's only afterward when that fruit which is pleasing to God appears that we begin to understand. 

The fiery trial and tribulation are far from over: after one ends the next begins. What's the difference between then and now? I walk in the knowledge of His Spirit and so the Lord reveals the trial to come.