Greetings all!This is a marvelous discussion. I have no doubt that the work of the Holy Ghost is not hindered by our ability to express ourselves but I must confess that I am struggling to put my point into words right now. Nevertheless, I believe everyone is on the same page and I am merely paraphrasing the marvelous revelations, which my family in Christ has presented to us. We as people can do a lot of things that can give an impression of holiness but without real victory. We can load our minds with a lot of information, theology, mysteries, autobiographies, songs, poems and sermons from holy men and women of God but who is it among us who has the ability to write on the heart? As it is written in Jeremiah: Jeremiah 31:33 “Instead, this is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after those days"-the Lord's declaration. "I will place My law within them and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be My people.We can put on a very effective outward display before people. We can become so eloquent in the way we present ourselves that we even fool ourselves. I think that for me the best thing I gained from this site was to realize that I did not have a relationship with God. On the surface everything was in order, the ideas thoughts and intents of my heart were unchanged: Hebrews 4:12 For the word of God is living and effective and sharper than any two-edged sword, penetrating as far as to divide soul, spirit, joints, and marrow; it is a judge of the ideas and thoughts of the heart.As long as the heart is not set on Christ you will never be free. I speak of “freedom” now with a slightly better conception of it because, once you have been in bondage for long enough it creates the illusion of freedom. Our conception of “self” is intimately tied with the flesh and not with the spirit that dwells in the flesh. Our very brains, which are the centre of our thought processes and our minds and consciousness, are made entirely of flesh and this is where sin is manifest (in the flesh). In light of this, we cannot trust our “selves” because the flesh wants nothing to do with God. It is not that the flesh wants nothing to do with “good”, because there are those who will do “good” as long it is not for God. This is something I struggled to accept because it was once difficult for me to separate “goodness” from Godliness. Although Godliness leads to goodness, “goodness” does not necessarily lead to Godliness. In other words you cannot hope to impress God with your works or knowledge or any other activities that are manifest in the flesh. As Paul puts it 2 Corinthians 9: 7 Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver. Though it is “good” to give, it is Godly to give cheerfully. This is something that cannot be learned but its is given by God. I can learn to give but I cannot learn to give cheerfully as that must come from the heart. I can see in my mind the “good” of giving but there is no way I can convey this to my heart. You can give until you are homeless but if it is not from the heart it is not going to do anything to improve your relations with God. Reading the Sermon on the Mount now, I realize that self cannot ever accomplish the outlines set out by our savior, not ever. I will not take more of your time with another analogy but read it for your-“self” honestly. I thank God for his mercy because in his fairness he did not set laws for us without a means to achieve them. He is the means through his son, as long as we allow him to increase. The heart can only hold one thing at a time, God or self; when in self you are not in God, no matter how much good you do. Your Son in Christ James
