Hi!

[Aleax]

*deleted by thread starter*

[Beloved Servant]

Hi Aleax,

Don't condemn yourself if Jesus doesn't.
The Love of the Lord is your righteousness, just the way you are now.

We often stop after a few steps and turn to look back.
Not so pretty — is it?

Just continue and pray in the Faith he has given you, it is a precious gift that grows deep inside us.
Concentrate on what is holy and good and the rest will fall into place.

[Nathan]

True love has no room for condemnation.  Our minds decieve us into thinking God established this religion that beats us into submission.  I'm not intending on telling you that your convictions are right or wrong.  But I will tell you that it's not you that can live up to any law and God knows that and he doesn't expect us to.   That's what the power of the cross is for. 

It sounds like the Christian friends you referred to about dying to self before you can be born again have it a bit backwards for me.  Being born again is not submitting myself to the/a churche's standard of God's desires.  It's actually an inner and intimate realization that the battle truly is not ours to fight.  We are natural beings living in natural bodies that have natural desires.  The hardest thing for people to grasp is, there is NOTHING that you can physically DO that will jeopardize what Christ has already done for you.

That's not to say there aren't natural consequences for the decisions I make.  It's simply saying that my decisions have no affect on the final outcome.  God is the one that brings you into deliverance, not you yourself.  All that's required of us is that we "believe" in the One who did all the work.

The guy was right about one thing though, we must be born again . .again . .including the person that told you  this.  I was born "again" into a religious system that I had to eventually let die again, so that I could be born again, again.  But the difference is, being born into religion leads to gult, shame and lots of labor.  Being born again in Christ leads to freedom, rest, true joy, on and on.  It leads me "away" from condemning myself for being what I am, a natural being that get's tangled up in natural desires. 

My advice?  Stop trying to force yourself into a relgious mold made by a corporation in a far away land.  And just let Christ do the transforming in you.  The key is, stop trying to accomplish your inward desire to be pure by physically being pure . . .it's got to happen inside before it will ever manifest outside.  It's as they say . . .Just let go and let God.

[willieH]

willieH: Hi Aleax... :welcome: to Tentmaker!

My dear friends Nathan & David (Beloved Servant), have already WISELY advised you... might I join them in not only agreement with what they have said, but in their welcome of you to our family...

Give yourself time bro... GOD is an ETERNAL being of which only a smidgeon of understanding can be gained of Him, within our "wisp" of a finite life...  :clock:

:HeartThrob: --- I love what Nathan said to you --- "LOVE has NO ROOM for CONDEMNATION!"  Great words... and if you absorb them, much of your anxieties will be jettisoned by them.

:HeartThrob: --- I also love what David said to you --- "don't condemn yourself, IF JESUS doesn't"

As far as "interpretations", set them aside and KNOW... that the WORD of God is a LOVE STORY, written to YOU... read it with that in mind, and know that LOVE wrote it to you... because LOVE [GOD = 1 John 4:8], ...LOVES you...

He [YHVH] is the GREAT and ALMIGHTY "parent" of us all... and LOVE, is about protecting, preserving and nurturing its children, ...and is NOT upon an agenda of VENGENCE toward them... Whom of those that YOU LOVE, or that LOVE YOU, ...are you FEARFUL?   :idea2:

Think about it... and while you do, as David suggested, ...BE who you are, where you are, and GOD shall bring you and your knowledge of Him along during your life as your heart seeks for Him to be in it... for each of us are the RAREST of things in the entire universe... each, ...ONE of a kind...  :HeartThrob:

:Peace:

...willieH  :icon_king:

[WhiteWings]

 :welcome: :newb:  :icon_jokercolor:
(better late than never...)

I've been reading through this site a lot but I'm still only partially convinced. For every argument there's a counter-argument, it seems.

True. so you have to search for the denomination that doesn't have conflicting arguments.

For example if a UR believer claims the punishment of Hell in Revelation isn't for ever but "for the ages of the ages" an ET believer can recite 1 Timothy 1:17 ("Now to the King of the ages, the incorruptible, invisible, only God, honour and glory to the ages of ages. Amen.") and pose the question "are you suggesting glory to God won't be forever but only for the ages?"

I own a PC; but that doesn't mean I don't own other things. Neither does it tell you what skin color I have.
Same with that verse. I only states God is the God of the ages. It's a odd statement for many because due wrong Bible translations the plan of the ages is not widely known.

All about Eons

[Cardinal]

 :cloud9: Just wanted to say welcome to the forum and I hope you find what you are looking for here..... :thumbsup:

[Aleax]

Thanks for the late welcomes  :laughing7:
I've got to say, though, that I'm a little embarrassed now that the thread got bumped up.  :Oops:
I was quite neurotic when I first joined here, but I feel I've grown, learnt and healed quite a bit during my stay.

[WhiteWings]

Just edit your first message  :laughing7:
Maybe the replies seem off-topic, but no one here even knows the meaning of that word  :pointlaugh:

[Molly]

but I feel I've grown, learnt and healed quite a bit during my stay.

:thumbsup:

So have I.  I've learned a lot from you.

[Aleax]

Oh my goodness.

I can only hope I haven't taught you wrong.  :laughing7: