Poster | Thread | Elibeth Member
Joined: 2011/8/14 Posts: 1148
| Re: | | Thank you,Marvin,
Also I might add,.. Paul ,his very beginning relationship with Jesus,..... learning of Him, ...and. not only learning of Him, but being yoked up with Him,.......("what would you have for me to do,Lord ? )......he learned through seeking The Lord (kings) Will in his life ,.....He turned from his will unto The Lord' will ,....The Lord gave Paul eyes to 'SEE' through the eyes of The Spirit, in .aligning his life up with the Spirits guidance.......he sought the resurrected Life of Jesus,....the very Life of God.
Phil.1:21-22, (Paul) "For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. 22 But if I live in the flesh, this is the fruit of my labour: "
Yes !, that is the reason he could say, "Follow me as I follow Christ.
And it was not a one time, but was Paul's life-breath...daily,as a follower of Jesus' life.
Actually, this is The Life that The Lord revealed to me about 'the kingdom of God'. The Lord, through The Spirit, said,...' the kingdom of God is the resurrected Lord in us'.......( He is Alive, and did not come to lye dormant,but resurrect His Life from us)
Love the communion, Thanks also to you, Todd, prompting this conversation.
----------------- elizabeth |
| 2017/11/8 6:28 | Profile | TMK Member
Joined: 2012/2/8 Posts: 6650 NC, USA
| Re: | | Thank you all for the thought provoking responses. _________________ Todd
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| 2017/11/8 7:13 | Profile | twayneb Member
Joined: 2009/4/5 Posts: 2256 Joplin, Missouri
| Re: | | Todd et. al.
To imitate in this sense does not mean to "copy" as one would mimic another. It means to pattern ones life after another. If I am an imitator of Christ, I am patterning my entire life after Christ. I am seeking, not to look like Christ, but to be like Christ. The two are very different. _________________ Travis
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| 2017/11/8 9:09 | Profile | TMK Member
Joined: 2012/2/8 Posts: 6650 NC, USA
| Re: | | CS Lewis said: “Do not waste time bothering whether you ‘love’ your neighbor; act as if you did. As soon as we do this we find one of the great secrets. When you are behaving as if you loved someone, you will presently come to love him.”
Does this have any relevance to this conversation? _________________ Todd
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| 2017/11/8 9:14 | Profile | twayneb Member
Joined: 2009/4/5 Posts: 2256 Joplin, Missouri
| Re: | | C.S. Lewis is one of my all-time favorite authors, but I believe I would have to disagree with him here, and I believe on scriptural grounds. Many will come on that day saying, "Lord, Lord, did we not do such and so in Your name." He will reply, "Depart from me ye workers of iniquity, for I never knew you."
I believe we can act as though we love someone, and that might actually make us feel more human love toward them, and it might make us actually feel friendly toward them, but it will not cause the love of God to be perfected in our heart. On the other hand, if we truly have the love of God perfected in our heart, we will naturally love even our enemies and behave kindly toward them out of sincerity.
_________________ Travis
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| 2017/11/8 15:51 | Profile | TMK Member
Joined: 2012/2/8 Posts: 6650 NC, USA
| Re: | | I think the point is that if we are very honest there are people around us who we do not like very much . Nothing wrong with that and it’s just the way it is. We then have a choice- to shun or avoid them, or we can treat them favorably, because this is how Jesus would have us treat them. This dying to our natural desire to avoid the person and instead being obedient in our action works an actual change in our heart. It’s along the same lines as true faith requiring an action as opposed to mere mental assent.
ADD- it also reminds me of Jesus’ parable about the father who asked his two sons to work in the field- one said he would go but didn’t, the other said he wouldn’t but did. The 2nd did the will of the father.
In other words, I think God will bless our obedient action even if it does not initially come from the heart. _________________ Todd
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| 2017/11/8 17:35 | Profile | Gloryandgrace Member
Joined: 2017/7/14 Posts: 1165 Snoqualmie, WA
| Re: | | Jackie Pullinger in one of her marvelous sermons spoke of compassion in this way.
"should we pray for compassion?" She said I don't think it really works like that...when you start you don't "feel" compassion because compassion is what you do not what you feel. She said go out and be compassionate, the feelings will come later. Go out and love people, feelings have nothing to do with it.
The spiritual truth lay in 'giving of ourselves', in seeing the needs of people we give out of grace that has been given to us. What we feel for people will change as in when they reject us or misuse our gifts or take for granted our compassion. The focus is on imitating Christ, our soul will catch up later. The importance of this truth lay in our willingness to persevere when men fail us or misuse our love and gifts. We persevere because of Jesus unfailing love and empowering by the Spirit, not because it is safe to be compassionate...for it will be stepped on by the ones we love.
The second truth lay in 'feeling or deeply desiring' is not synonymous with obedience and surrender to Jesus.
I haven't added anything to Todd's remarks, I only added what Jackie taught which coincides with this topic.
_________________ Marvin
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| 2017/11/8 22:12 | Profile |
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