Ah yes dearest Ginnyrose, always a blessing to read your posts.
I recall Solomon at this time, how in all his sayings in Ecclesiastes how he went after everything under the sun, and in the end he found it all vanity... Later, as you know, we read, "Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep His commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil." - Ecc 12:13-14
I just don't believe how a man can have a proper perspective on how to love a woman, if that man doesn't love God with all his heart, soul, mind, and strength. And if the Lord wills, to put His Holy Spirit in an empty vessel, and the love of God is shed abroad in his heart, then I think his partner is in pretty good hands, but not until then.
Mike, I must say, one of the words you use, kinda freaked me out - when you wrote, "my girl"... Friend, I don't know if you really mean that, but if you do, I ask you to consider - It afrights me when I hear young men talk like that. And when you say, "I ministered to her", I think Christ should minister to her through you, if that is His will.
Dear Mike, you are most sure to be a better man than I, but I ask you to watch yourself, and beware of yourself, your flesh.
A godly man should be teaching that his girlfriend love Christ as supreme, even if it costs you that relationship, or any other. We are called to suffer for His Name sake. We are strangers here and pilgrims, if we belong to the Lord. But be careful of thinking that your girlfriend is yours - this omes across as haughty to me. Her soul belongs to either God or the devil. If it belongs to God, then nuture that soul as God would have you to do, and God will bless that in the way He so chooses to do.
An unworthy member, Richie

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Richie

Scripture informs us in 1Peter 1:15,16: "But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy."

Whenever the LORD gives us a command he also provides us the means to fulfill that. He does not leave us dangling. If we do, it is our own fault. Becoming holy is a growing process. We are sanctified - set apart to holiness without the which no man will see the LORD. As we walk we will become more like He wants us to, but it requires a daily commitment of surrendering our hearts, will and mind to such. It also means we need to crucify our flesh. If we ask the LORD to teach us and be teachable, He will be ever so delighted to do so, but he can't if we resist.

Am I there yet? No, because it is a lifelong process. When I look at my own performance I consider myself dismal at best. But when I look to Jesus I experience joy...

BTW, there is a long thread led by Paul West that deals with Mortification...I highly recommend it to one and all. There is enough meat there to last you a long time. Take its message to heart and I would guess one will eventually learn something about the process of becoming holy.

God bless...

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Sandra Miller

when the olympics start up again i do not want any of you to be watching the wicked ice dancing... holiness is the prescence of God on the scene...Holy ground is holy only because God was there.you do not attain holiness by keeping rules but by having Christ. i do work at a CHRISTIAN dance studio where all the employees are born again and the only reason why i work there is because the owner wants to help me with my 800+ dollars a mo. income and that i used to be a famous dancer in the area. i have been helped and visited in sickness by customers. we have two retired lifelong missionaries as members and less gossip than any church i have been to. i have seen people get saved here and am appalled by the religeous posts that come straight from the tree of the knowlege of good and evil and not from the tree of life. you are not rewarded if you do good and damned if you do badly. you are rewarded for being in saving relationship with Jesus our redeemer and the commandments are to love the world(people) and love God. these things are greatly demonstrated where i work.we have pastors and church leaders as members as well as the local rabbi.i have seen a teacher come through here with dancing that i would term as vulgar and he was fired quickly. the head of the kinesiology dept. at lsu told me that she thought ballroom dancing was the very best exercise people can do for you can start as a young person and still be dancing in your 80s and you dont need a pool.jimp watching the older people dance is sooo wonderful and surely not sensual.

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Diane

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Lisa