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Discussion Forum : Devotional Thoughts : The deepest cuts

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 Re:

Apologies Frank, picking up on a theological point without acknowledging the beautiful picture you painted was a bit unfair and distracting. I guess l could have started another thread.

Thanks Blaine and Julius for speaking up for me. Forrests your heart is in a sorry state if you cannot disagree with someone amicably and can hurl insults as you do. I forgive you though.

 2016/7/30 1:52









 my precious brother Frank

you wrote and the arrow hit the bull's-eye, much to my grief:

"Terrible spirit about these replies, I would just like to ask people to read the OP and ignore the distractions......bro Frank"

indeed, "a terrible spirit", but even using the word "terrible" I believe you are being charitable, as I would add a "hellish spirit", forged in the anvils of the pit.....and it is only getting WORSE on this forum.

My beloved Frank, and I am NOT tickling your ear, but I understood what you meant as swept along by the Holy Spirit, when you wrote about "refining the flesh"....some term it as "holiness"....or "obedience"....Paul even spoke of how athletes train, I understood what was wrote.

i'm not addressing any poster but you precious brother, when the Holy Spirit IMPELLED you to write what you wrote, you weren't looking for or seeking "commendation", or a plethora of "amens"....BECAUSE I KNOW YOU!

i'm writing this publicly, rather than a private email or one of our FREQUENT (long) phone calls, because by God's Love, Mercy and Grace, He has allowed you and me to craft a REAL brotherhood AND love AND friendship.

In the 5 years that God blessed me, and hid me away up here, in this "Kerith Ravine", there have been so many times, where I have been vexed, or perplexed, or been given revelation....but in the natural I was alone up here....and if it wasn't for the fact, that all I had to do was pick up the phone, and call my brother Frank, my life in Christ would be impoverished...that is how much I love and esteem you, my dear brother.

Praise God He has bound us together, our wonderfully long conversations, we talk about the Deep Things of God, this Most Holy Faith, we pray....OR we talk about the everyday "mundane" things of life, I know all about your family, you most certainly know about mine....and we "hide" nothing from each other, I confess my sin issues to my brother Frank, because Frank IS my brother. Never has a cross or rash word passed between us, All Glory to Jesus for that blessed heartspace between us, knit and woven together, with care in the Holy Spirit.

I regard our brotherhood AS a Gift from God, and that is no mere sentimental humbug.....that is Agape.

I KNOW that you brother Frank did not write such to have everybody "agree" with you, "disagreement" is perfect fully valid, but what I fail to understand is this:

there are SO MUCH "stuff" I read on this forum that I ABSOLUTELY "disagree" with, but I say or write nothing in refutation....why?!?......who cares about my opinion? (I must be authentic, in that there is ONE topic I am intractable on, and WILL get right up in the "cyber" face of any poster who speaks ill of what they term as "Zionism", and/or the State of Israel...in real life, I was involved in an "industry", where many were "anti-Israel", and they learned, real world, there is no "upside", nor "profit" in tangling with me on this.)

oh Frank, I grieve with you....but stay the course, steady the rudder, don't fret, I am with you till the end of days, for what that is worth, MUCH love in Christ Jesus, your neil

ps...I long for the day I see you coming down this gravel road, the fatted calf awaits, along with my hug.

 2016/7/30 4:51









 Re:

Thank you Brenda, in apologizing you have done what some on these forums are incapable of and this is a great strength. Below I have included a piece I wrote a few years ago called " The black dot or the white canvas."............

When I was a younger man I went to an art museum and wandered around. I loved the paintings of portraits and landscapes and anything that captured a scene. In a very real sense these paintings were snapshots, photographs if you like, capturing a moment in time and space. I have never cared much for modern art though, although I like splashes of color with oils. I came to a painting that has stayed with me. It made me mad. It was a painting of a black dot in the middle of a large white canvas.

Just a very tiny black dot. Yet oh how it grabbed the attention of bespectacled rich looking people. I thought how nice it must be, thinking satirically of course, to have the time to stand about , index finger and thumb on chin, and mull over the meaning of the black dot. I imagined the painter(probably dead) of the black dot laughing somewhere about how easy it was to pull the wool over the eyes of people with more money than sense. It was hanging in a well know gallery so I assumed it was worth a lot of money. A lot of money for a black dot. The height of pretension I thought.

It is only as I have gotten older that the painting has begun to make more sense to me. Here is this large beautiful white canvas with one single tiny black dot in the middle but all of the focus is on the black dot. I have known so many people over the years, that despite all the good things in their lives, they have all of their attention on the black dot. Despite the fact that it is so tiny, it dominates the canvas. For the Christian the white canvas is the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. It is eternal salvation, it is our husbands and wives, our children, the food on the table, the clothes on our backs, a roof over our heads and a warm bed to sleep in. We have all these things but if we are not careful, this one percent, this tiny dot can draw all of our attention away from the huge white canvas of our lives.

Can I ask you a question. Do you focus on the black dot? Is there a disproportionate focus on the things that you do not have rather than a thankful focus on what you do have? Admittedly some people’s dots are bigger than others,but when you lay down your head and get ready to take your final breath, will you be able to look back on your life and know that you focused on the white canvas of your life? What you see with the eye affects every part of who you are. What do you see? Out of the heart of the thankful man flows rivers of love and joy and peace. He can see the beauty in life even in the rain. He can love because he sees the best in others. He can forgive because he can see the potential for reconciliation. He has peace in the midst of storms because His eye is fixed on something bigger than the storm. He has joy because no matter the circumstances of his life he has access to the throne-room, he can see God high and lifted up, his eyes have seen the glory of God. When you look at this world do you see what motivated God to send His only Son for the who-so-ever? Only with these eyes can one love as God loves. What do you see?

Your eye is the lamp of your body. When your eyes are healthy, your whole body also is full of light. But when they are unhealthy, your body also is full of darkness. (Luke 11:34)

 2016/7/30 9:53









 Re:

That's good Frank. Thanks for sharing it. Profound

 2016/7/30 10:23









 Re:

Love you brother.

 2016/7/30 10:45









 Re:

Love you too, brother.
Julias :-)

 2016/7/30 11:08
forrests
Member



Joined: 2016/3/11
Posts: 301


 Re: The Black Dot

Great word brother Frank, thanks for sharing!

Brenda, I apologize if I came across as harsh, I was and am being sincere. I am often the fault-finding one and was speaking from the place as an equal brother. Please believe me that I meant no harm, but good. But still, I now see that was wrong to say anything at all - I gave place to an ungodly "rebuke" outside of the confines of practical fellowship and love. I shouldn't have said anything. Please forgive me sister.

Frank, I'm sorry for contributing to the hi-jacking of your thread and taking part in the "hellish and terrible spirit." My sincere apologies. I hope this will go down in my long list of "lessons learned."

God bless you brother Frank.


_________________
~ Forrest

 2016/7/30 11:53Profile









 Re:

Listen guys, my heart is rejoicing at the outbreak of love and forgiveness on this thread, maybe that is what the Lord had in mind all along. God bless you all for the maturity it took. Forrests and Brenda have led the way in showing us what it means to be a mature saint. The ability to publicly acknowledge a fault and ask for forgiveness is, to me, cutting edge Christianity and it far surpasses any head knowledge we may or may not have. Neil, thank you for your kind words brother, you have the gift of loyalty which I learn from..............bro Frank

 2016/7/30 12:08









 Re:

You are forgiven Forrest. Thank you.

 2016/7/30 13:03









 Re:

This is indeed a good thread. Praise God.

 2016/7/30 21:51





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