How is everyone doing...spiritually??

Merry Christmas To you and thanks to our Heavenly Father for salvation.

dear mike,

it's nice to see you on here too. i took a good break from the site because of being very busy with school, but it was nice to see some familiar names as well. i'm doing good, but there is always so much room for improvement. just gotta keep focused on Him right?? anyways, you have a good christmas and new year as well.

take care,
phil

Not that I'm a familiar face, but if you don't mind I'd like to share...

While this has been a difficult year for me personally, as well as for many people that I know; if there is one thing I have learned this year it is only this:

By God's grace, we are not consumed..

I have traveled around the state I live in all summer and moved into a place finally this fall; and though I have sensed the protection of the Lord and oft times His wooing always His grace and His love; I must so often approach the throne of His grace knowing that no matter how much I learn, no matter how much I think I know, no matter how many years I have felt close intimacy with the Lord, I am still only a child. Capable of selfishness, misunderstanding, and sin.

One who lives in the midst of a wicked, wicked time; one who is surrounded with those who compromise, the complacent, the unsaved, the sinner, and the wealthiest generation of people in history. One who is surrounded by a people and a culture that is "caught up" with many things- but few caught up with the God of Heaven.

It seems as though the scripture that says, "And every man did that which seemed right in his own eyes." should be the banner over this time.

It is the first year in many that I have not read through the Word of God; and I know that although I get no scorecard from God regarding time or pages spent; I feel as though I've missed out!

My daughter's husband, the son of clergy, decided this summer that he was no longer hetero-sexual (sp?); I felt compelled to call him and pour out a message, in love, full of repentace and mercy, full of tears and prayers, for his sake not necessarily for my daughters... he did not respond, he now lives with a boyfriend in another town. This is a young man that wanted to be a "worship leader". I turned it over to God and laid it down. But that doesn't make it easy.

I have spoken with friends that I have knealt with for hours and prayed with every week for at least five years, wept over their families, prayed for them daily, spoken with them as a sister in Christ teaching them as an older woman in the Lord pouring out all the love and grace within my heart; that today are caught by things that are not even eternal in nature (I'm not sure if that's the right words, but they are the only ones I can come up with..)

The older men, with few exception, have wasted their lives and the lives of their families, they are bitter, angry, self minded, merely religious or full of strange doctrines that I can't even understand AT ALL! Most of the older women are foolish, bitter, blinded people.

The young men and women are so self absorbed most do not even know HOW to go and help the widow and the orphan. They want to shout and dance and sing in the congregation, but inwardly they are full of dead men's bones.

(Not all, Not all, but most that I've seen. The young people that really gave me hope were those that I met when I went to the Charity Churches Youth Bible School! When I saw those 700 young people singing "If My people which are called by My name will humble themselves and pray..." I was overwhelmed and I wept much!! Yet, even in that group there were many who were struggling against God, against the conviction they felt. But many did pray, and I pray they continued on in that grace they found there!! That was 5 years ago.)

I immensely thankful today though, that I know that I know that God has plucked me from the fire and given me a LIFE! But, I also struggle, knowing the time is short, sin is big, and I only have ONE life. How I spend it....will have eternal implications.

Don't get me wrong.. I am thankful for every single moment God has given me and every single person I have met in my life, weather I learned from them what to be or what not to be. (Please forgive me for rambling on!)

Body of Christ,
this brother has asked how you are spiritually, PLEASE do not forget, that you are not an individual member; but that when one member of the body suffers - we all suffer. How can this body of Christ in this time be effectual without it's proper function? How can it be sick and distracted and attend to the important task at hand? Am I struggling spiritually? YES! Because my brothers and sisters, I am but a shard of the whloe pot, and I can but hold a drop or two of water; this world out here is in a drought! Without the proper function of the body (which will require MAJOR revival) these drops of water do little.

Yes He is Wonderful!Little one. He is Healer,Redeemer,Teacher and Counselor! He is All we could ever hope for and more than we can now imagine Him to be!Glory!

reformer wrote:
Haven't seen some familiar faces in awhile, wondering how all is doing?

Wish you all a Merry Christmas.

Mike

Hi Mike,
Good question and one we all would do well to consider.

Paul says we should take heed, and examine ourselves.

1 Cor. 10:12
Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall.

1 Tim. 4:16
Take heed unto thyself, and unto the doctrine; continue in them: for in doing this thou shalt both save thyself, and them that hear thee.

Hebrews 3:12
Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God.

I guess the real test comes in what we use to examine ourselves against; the Lord Jesus Christ, His word and the example He gave us to follow or something other.

If we are using the Lord and His word as our example to follow, then:

Romans 8:37
Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.

If we can say as Paul:

Philip. 3:8-12
Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ, [9] And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith: [10] That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death; [11] If by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead. [12] Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus.

How am I doing spiritually? I’m taking heed and seeking to know Him more; some days better than others.

Philip. 3:13-14
Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, [14] I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.

Acts 17:28
For in him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain also of your own poets have said, For we are also his offspring.

Merry Christmas Mike, to you and yours.

In His Love
pastorfrin

I too have been away from this site for a number of months. Just the last two or three days I have been "listening in" here and there. I felt I needed to stop my involvement here some months back because I found myself entering into things in the different forums that I am convicted are not front and centre to what God has in His heart in this hour. This is such an important hour in the purposes of God. We cannot afford the luxury of engaging our own ideas and interests and topics. We MUST hear from God Himself. And so, "If any man speak let him speak as the oracles of God."

So these forums for me... it was a humbling, breaking experience. And I am thankful for this, though I know the work is far from complete even yet. Oh, how we all need to seek God in this hour!

How am I doing spiritually, then? Not very well, I think. I don't feel I measure up to what this hour is callling for. This is a very difficult hour we are living in, for all the peoples of the world, and therefore it is a very critical hour in which to be a Christian, for we are to be the outshining of God's Answer to a world in darkness.

And I feel we are far from this. I certainly know I am far from this. Oh, that God would impart to us the grace we need in this hour to "be on the same page" with Him, and so, serve Him acceptably with reverence and godly fear.

How I long for a deeper relationship and communion with our Lord Jesus Christ. My soul longeth for Thee, Lord, in a dry and thirsty land where no water is. Thou knowest my foolishness, and my sins are not hid from Thee. Open the Fountain again, Lord. Bring us all to brokenness, Lord, we who love Your Name. We want to be to the honour of Your Name, and a Praise to Thee in the earth... when sadly all too often Your Name is blasphemed among our neighbours because of us. Have mercy upon us! Have mercy upon Your own Name!

...I just want to add how comforted I was in reading Lori's message, and also Krispy's. Dear brother Krispy, this is a face in you that I didn't know was there, and I greatly appreciated seeing it. This ministered to me. Thank you. And may the Lord bless you and be with you in your seeking.

And may the Lord bless you all in the coming year as we set our faces earnestly to give ourselves to Him with abandon for HIs own Name's sake, for the glory of His Name.

AD

KrispyKrittr wrote:
Maybe I'm just getting older. Being the young fiery "prophet" who tells everyone off isn't as appealing as it used to be.

If I tell someone off I want it to be motivated by love, and not my pride over being right.

Anyway... Merry Christmas to you too!

Krispy

Brother be real careful in your changing, God needs all of us and our unique ways, I can probably relate to you better than most here because I am so much like you, so Brother don't beat yourself up to bad.

I think you have a wonderful spiritual personality and I would hate to have to pick up were you leave off if you do a 180, because "someone" here must carry on that Krispy personality, you might be surprised just how much you do minister to folks here just the way you are. :-)
Your Brother In Christ,
Mr. Bill

Good explanation and Brother I would support you in whatever you feel spiritually you need to do, you have always been a wonderful friend to me here and understood me better than probably most anyone here. Well I Pray your desires and goals will be met in the New Year to yours and Gods expectations, take care buddy and be Blessed.
Brother Bill.

Paul says we should take heed, and examine ourselves.

1 Cor. 10:12
Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall.

1 Tim. 4:16
Take heed unto thyself, and unto the doctrine; continue in them: for in doing this thou shalt both save thyself, and them that hear thee.

Hebrews 3:12
Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God.

I guess the real test comes in what we use to examine ourselves against; the Lord Jesus Christ, His word and the example He gave us to follow or something other.

If we are using the Lord and His word as our example to follow, then:

Romans 8:37
Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.

If we can say as Paul:

Philip. 3:8-12
Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ, [9] And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith: [10] That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death; [11] If by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead. [12] Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus.

How am I doing spiritually? I’m taking heed and seeking to know Him more; some days better than others.

Philip. 3:13-14
Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, [14] I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.

Acts 17:28
For in him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain also of your own poets have said, For we are also his offspring.

To this I can say "AMEN!"

On the practical level where the rubber meets the road, I must say this past year has been rough for me. Dad died this spring, leaving a major hope unfulfilled in my life. He has gone on to be with the LORD and I am so thankful for his witness and testimony he had in his family, his church and the community.

Then there are loved ones outside the fold of Christ which brings a lot of grief. When one considers that Jesus coming may be anytime, this creates an urgency from which there is no release - if you believe in the Word of God. But you must rest and trust in Him, knowing he knows all about it.

Then there is this reality that I am getting older - did not say [i]old[/i], just older :-P . My grandfather used to say he used to think that as one gets older life would become easier but has discovered this is not the case: the devil knows his time with you is getting less and has limited time to get you so he makes life harder for you. I know whereof he speaks.

So, the problem for me is weariness. I get weary, the temptation of allowing my love to grow cold is very real because iniquity abounds [i]everywhere[/i] and you wonder sometimes "what is the use to pray, to care, to speak, to be concerned?" The church is in great apostasy...

In the meantime, He has given me opportunites to serve him in ways I never before dreamed. He has given me interests that occupy me which I delight in. For example, I am now in my second year teaching juniors is Sunday School. This is highly unusual because it has only been in recent years that I even wanted to teach children. Now I am enjoying it emmensely - never dreamed this to be possible! And there are other things - will not detail these except to say that as long as you have a healthy mind one is never to old learn and do new things. Actually, it is like as though God is on a fast tract to teach me that one is never too old but that he provides skills needed to perform his work...

Blessed be the name of the LORD!

ginnyrose