i was reading one of pastor garys posts on just how important discipline and obedience is in our daily walk with God. he also talked about ACTIVELY listening. this means HEARING it and actually APPLYING it. meaning i need to do what im told, even when i dont WANT or FEEL LIKE doing it. my flesh might moan (and the flesh nature DOES tent to be whiny) OI WHY SHOULD I BOTHER? but the DISCIPLINE of His Word, as well as His Word itself says DONT BE A BABY, QUIT WHINING, JUST DO IT. often, my flesh nature, when it doesnt want to do something, reminds me of the time i made an english steak and kidney pie. i allowed
alan to cajole me into tasting a piece of the kidney..i was like a little baby, when it gets something in its mouth it doesnt like, like a mouth of cod liver oil, makes a face, roLls it around in its mouth, knowing that sooner or later, hes going to have to swallow it. it was AWFUL! im kinda like that, when i taste something in Gods Word i dont like, but the Spirit is cmon downnnnn the hatch ATTA GIRL!!!!! it never ceases to amaze me just how FEELINGS oriented my flesh nature is, and if i had my way, at least half of what i read in Gods Word id spit right out like that baby, and look for something much tastier as fast as i could, regardless that it may be bad for me.
a good analogy to what pastor gary was talking about......its very frustrating, when i try to get through to loved ones, who are getting dangerously overweight, that in order to lose weight, and KEEP IT OFF, they have to be willing to do it the RIGHT way.
1. drinking WATER
2. QUIT SMOKING!!!!!!!
3.go to the gym, and start a rigorous cardiovascular routine
4. a balanced diet, including all the major food groups. a biggie here is not eating veggies that are cooked to death.
5. the chips, crisps, and foods deepfried in lard have got to go.
instead, they keep looking for diets,tailormade to suits their GREEDS, not their NEEDS ( yep, i borroowed that one from pastor gary), quick fixes to BOOM!! take the weight off quick, so they can get back to what theyre doing as quick as possible, but making no sacrifice or permanent change. then they want to make a fad diet out of the fad diet. they want to do things THEIR way, not the RIGHT way.
this selfserving, spoiled, undisciplined approach to GOD was a major factor in my vehement
rejection of the Gospel for so many years, as is it is with so many others who reject it. DONT TELL ME I HAVE TO GO THRU JESUS TO GET TO GOD! ILL DO THIS MY WAY.
and the truth is, my rejection of the Gospel wasnt just limited to knowing i had to accept Jesus to get to God, it was everything i already knew i had to be willing to renounce AFTER i decided to follow in His footsteps. it was virtually everything i was doing. in AA, i liked the idea of being able to create MY OWN version of God, that would let me operate a barter system with Him,
thati if id id this, Hed overlook that. I fully believe now that He healed me of my addictions at that time, because He did see an open door where A PART of me was seeking Him...Hes persistant, He wanted me in His fold. however, the God I chose was nothing more than A FORM
of Godliness, but still DENYNG His power. discipline and obedience requires SUBMISSION. and i still wasnt ready to submit to anyone.
DONT TELL ME I HAVE TO LOVE PEOPLE, EVEN IF I DONT LIKE THEM.
DONT TELL ME I HAVE TO STOPP ALL THESE THINGS IM DOING. I DONT WANT YOUR GOSPEL..ITS TOO HARD. ILL JUST CREATE MY OWN GOSPEL.
the discipline that comes thru building my life on His precepts means im having to learn how to do EVERYTHING in my life in completely the opposite way of the way ive done everything my whole life. it requires making His principles the core of everything that i do in my daily life..even when i dont WANT TO. it means i can no longer pattern my life about starting things, and never completing them. it means being in this for the long haul.
Thursday, April 22, 2010
Friday, April 9, 2010
WHAT DANIEL HAS TO SAY ABOUT BECOMING LOVERS OF SELF
i just wanted to do some followup on what i blogged yesterday. even though i understand how so much of my thinking was due to the fact i was lost, its still, at times, hard to get my head around how, not only did i reject what i, deep in my heart, KNEW to be right in favor of what i knew to be WRONG...BUTTTTTTTTTTT i also with many things, even when confronted with not just the TRUTH, but even the FACTS, i would still choose to believe in a lie.
i came across TWO very important verses that deal with just that.
11 thessalonians 2:11-12 "they were sent STRONG DELUSION, and they BELIEVED IN A LIE. THEY SHUNNED THE TRUTH, AND TOOK PLEASURE IN UNRIGHTEOUSNESS."
another trip back to my aa days, when, one day, i was talking to a sponsor of mine about just how destructive and DECEPTIVE the disease of addiction is. even when confronted with, not only the TRUTH, but the FACTS of how, in the natural, that addiction is a progressive, and fatal disease, and there was NO SUCH A THING, as an addict EVER being able to manage his addiction in his own strength. not only is it a Biblical fact that it will neber be in man to find his own way or to order his own steps, but the SCIENTIFIC facts show its impossible. i asked her
how was it even when confronted with facts AS WELL as the truth, anyone, once confronted with and accepting it, could ever believe they could go back and manage their addiction. she told me that addiction is a disease that is so strong, you can have the truth and the facts staring you right in the face, and you will still believe in the lie"
this came to mind, the other day, when i was confronted with the belief that certain men and women are born gay. before i got saved, and the lights started coming on about how alot of the things the world tells us, flies not only in the face of the Word of God, but also good sound logic.
i sent the person a reply that not only is it completely illogical....... that God would present homosexuality as being totally against His Will as a crystal clear absolute, then creating someone in the very image of what he clearly states is an abomination..........but also, how can someone claim to be BORN sexually oriented a certain way, when it is a SCIENTIFIC fact
that sexual development doesnt occur until puberty? i am slowly beginning to understand, that satans power to decieve is so powerful, that, we can be confronted with the truth, and hell still have us believe in a lie.
EPHESIANS 6:12 "WE DEAL NOT WITH FLESH AND BLOOD, BUT AGAINST PRINCIPALITIES" the message in this is crystal clear. even armed with the facts, even KNOWLEDGE of the Word, i can never go against the enemy in my own name and strength.
even the smallest demon is stronger than i ever will be. I AM WEAK, BUT HE IS STRONG HIS GRACE ALONE IS SUFFICIENT TO ME!!!!
i came across TWO very important verses that deal with just that.
11 thessalonians 2:11-12 "they were sent STRONG DELUSION, and they BELIEVED IN A LIE. THEY SHUNNED THE TRUTH, AND TOOK PLEASURE IN UNRIGHTEOUSNESS."
another trip back to my aa days, when, one day, i was talking to a sponsor of mine about just how destructive and DECEPTIVE the disease of addiction is. even when confronted with, not only the TRUTH, but the FACTS of how, in the natural, that addiction is a progressive, and fatal disease, and there was NO SUCH A THING, as an addict EVER being able to manage his addiction in his own strength. not only is it a Biblical fact that it will neber be in man to find his own way or to order his own steps, but the SCIENTIFIC facts show its impossible. i asked her
how was it even when confronted with facts AS WELL as the truth, anyone, once confronted with and accepting it, could ever believe they could go back and manage their addiction. she told me that addiction is a disease that is so strong, you can have the truth and the facts staring you right in the face, and you will still believe in the lie"
this came to mind, the other day, when i was confronted with the belief that certain men and women are born gay. before i got saved, and the lights started coming on about how alot of the things the world tells us, flies not only in the face of the Word of God, but also good sound logic.
i sent the person a reply that not only is it completely illogical....... that God would present homosexuality as being totally against His Will as a crystal clear absolute, then creating someone in the very image of what he clearly states is an abomination..........but also, how can someone claim to be BORN sexually oriented a certain way, when it is a SCIENTIFIC fact
that sexual development doesnt occur until puberty? i am slowly beginning to understand, that satans power to decieve is so powerful, that, we can be confronted with the truth, and hell still have us believe in a lie.
EPHESIANS 6:12 "WE DEAL NOT WITH FLESH AND BLOOD, BUT AGAINST PRINCIPALITIES" the message in this is crystal clear. even armed with the facts, even KNOWLEDGE of the Word, i can never go against the enemy in my own name and strength.
even the smallest demon is stronger than i ever will be. I AM WEAK, BUT HE IS STRONG HIS GRACE ALONE IS SUFFICIENT TO ME!!!!
Thursday, April 8, 2010
MODERN DAY ANALOGY
to avoid BOTH being sucked in and decieved by the way the world looks at things AND being sucked in by cults, one thing id better be able to do on a dime is to see how what was written thousands of years ago on parchment rolls, relates to MY life and THE WORLD AROUND ME
TODAY!!!!! being able to simply spout out and parrot Bible quotes, no matter how logo His truth is, is NOT going to be able to help me or others, if i cant grasp how it speaks about what i see around me in hands on real life. it would be like a doctor memorizing and maybe even understanding med term and even being able to cut up cadavers, but not being able to perform surgery or diagnose an illness in an actual patient.
i have an account with youtube, and, in addition to being a great source for freebie entertainment, it opens the doors to alot of communication with other people as you post comments on what you see and listen to. i remember 11 timothy 3:2-5 "for people shall be lovers of selves,..covetous, proud, blasphemers disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy. without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, INCONTINENT, FIERCE, DESPISERS OF THOSE WHO ARE GOOD. TRAITORS, HEADY, HIGHMINDED,
LOVERS OF PLEASURES MORE THAN GOD" when i tap into a certain sight, and when i not only process what i view, but also read the responses to it, this verse comes to light with frightening, startling clarity. i was utterly horrifed particularly at the responses i read to two particular sources. one was the movie "hes just not that into you." which DOES reveal alot of truth about people who constantly seek to obtain and hang onto relationships with people who just dont feel the same way about them. BUT, there was a scene, where this one guy was having an affair on his wife, and she happens to arrive at his office right in the middle of it.
the responses i read to this not only revealed how the mindset of society is increasingly tolerant
of behavior that goes against the word of God, but actually cheers it on, and violently despises anyone who points out that, regardless of HOW "hot" the "other woman" is and what a "dog" the wife is, ADULTERY IS A SIN!!!!! this is a scary insight, not only into how depraved the thinking of the world is becoming, but how depraved MY OWN THINKING is minus God.
another example, i used to be a huge fan of the FX series "rescue me", which all about the escapades of a firefigher who glorifes being a bad boy. hmmm, lets see here. lets go thru some of the characteristics of the clinical narcissist and psychopath, shall we?
1. totally devoid of any sort of real conscience, except for things they have no choice to admit, once theyre nailed.
2.totally incapable of any kind of REAL, NORMAL, HEALTHY emotion.
3.interexploitiveness and manipulation of everyone around them. even their own kids.
4.an almost drunken sense of entitlement.
5. sexually promiscuous
6. lying pathologically-giving 5 or 6 different names at AA meetings when there was no logical reason to do so.
and this character is a cultural icon. as i said, i was a huge fan of this episode, and my response to what i saw, when i youtubed it and came across a particular clip showing how he sold his own baby for 400,000 bucks to his ex gf and how his wife freaked out on him, reading the responses to it, is an example of how often the way you remember things is drastically different to how one views things now after being saved. when i was struck by, taking all this in, was how utterly
perverse and depraved the mentality of modern culture is. when they are confronted with what is right and what is wrong, and they CONSISTANTLY CHOOSE what is wrong. the fact that a clinical sociopath would be considered a cultural icon is really scary. the tragic thing is so many ofthese people who applaud this sort of behavior are clueless as to the values theyre imparting to their kids, and then wonder why their kids end up getting in trouble with the law, in sort form of trouble. sin blinds you, not just to how warped your sense of values is, but tothe fact that, your kids are a reflection of you are are and WHAT you are LIKE IT OR NOT!!!!!!
seeing what i WAS and what i AM BECOMING and what I COULD GO BACK TO BEING shows how it is not by MY power, but by HIM that my life has changed
TODAY!!!!! being able to simply spout out and parrot Bible quotes, no matter how logo His truth is, is NOT going to be able to help me or others, if i cant grasp how it speaks about what i see around me in hands on real life. it would be like a doctor memorizing and maybe even understanding med term and even being able to cut up cadavers, but not being able to perform surgery or diagnose an illness in an actual patient.
i have an account with youtube, and, in addition to being a great source for freebie entertainment, it opens the doors to alot of communication with other people as you post comments on what you see and listen to. i remember 11 timothy 3:2-5 "for people shall be lovers of selves,..covetous, proud, blasphemers disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy. without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, INCONTINENT, FIERCE, DESPISERS OF THOSE WHO ARE GOOD. TRAITORS, HEADY, HIGHMINDED,
LOVERS OF PLEASURES MORE THAN GOD" when i tap into a certain sight, and when i not only process what i view, but also read the responses to it, this verse comes to light with frightening, startling clarity. i was utterly horrifed particularly at the responses i read to two particular sources. one was the movie "hes just not that into you." which DOES reveal alot of truth about people who constantly seek to obtain and hang onto relationships with people who just dont feel the same way about them. BUT, there was a scene, where this one guy was having an affair on his wife, and she happens to arrive at his office right in the middle of it.
the responses i read to this not only revealed how the mindset of society is increasingly tolerant
of behavior that goes against the word of God, but actually cheers it on, and violently despises anyone who points out that, regardless of HOW "hot" the "other woman" is and what a "dog" the wife is, ADULTERY IS A SIN!!!!! this is a scary insight, not only into how depraved the thinking of the world is becoming, but how depraved MY OWN THINKING is minus God.
another example, i used to be a huge fan of the FX series "rescue me", which all about the escapades of a firefigher who glorifes being a bad boy. hmmm, lets see here. lets go thru some of the characteristics of the clinical narcissist and psychopath, shall we?
1. totally devoid of any sort of real conscience, except for things they have no choice to admit, once theyre nailed.
2.totally incapable of any kind of REAL, NORMAL, HEALTHY emotion.
3.interexploitiveness and manipulation of everyone around them. even their own kids.
4.an almost drunken sense of entitlement.
5. sexually promiscuous
6. lying pathologically-giving 5 or 6 different names at AA meetings when there was no logical reason to do so.
and this character is a cultural icon. as i said, i was a huge fan of this episode, and my response to what i saw, when i youtubed it and came across a particular clip showing how he sold his own baby for 400,000 bucks to his ex gf and how his wife freaked out on him, reading the responses to it, is an example of how often the way you remember things is drastically different to how one views things now after being saved. when i was struck by, taking all this in, was how utterly
perverse and depraved the mentality of modern culture is. when they are confronted with what is right and what is wrong, and they CONSISTANTLY CHOOSE what is wrong. the fact that a clinical sociopath would be considered a cultural icon is really scary. the tragic thing is so many ofthese people who applaud this sort of behavior are clueless as to the values theyre imparting to their kids, and then wonder why their kids end up getting in trouble with the law, in sort form of trouble. sin blinds you, not just to how warped your sense of values is, but tothe fact that, your kids are a reflection of you are are and WHAT you are LIKE IT OR NOT!!!!!!
seeing what i WAS and what i AM BECOMING and what I COULD GO BACK TO BEING shows how it is not by MY power, but by HIM that my life has changed
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