self help or faith

[newlove]

Our life struggles and the harder things that come our
way may lead us to despair and then to seek aid in self help spirituality new age stuff budhist retreats and
non theistic coping aids. These things
do bring solace to the troubled so how does this compare and level up to seeking solace through faith
and then finding our prayers unanswered ??

[sheila]

my  :2c:   I liken to this...I can go to the doctor for relief from some physical malady...but the Doctor can not give me eternal life

  in a body that is incorruptible.

   ....and regarding unanswered prayer....the prayer must be by faith in His son..and in accordance with His will......and sometimes

   He being the creator of the universe and all...the answer may just simple be..NO.


   people self doctor/remedy..the brokeness of the spirit in man..self-help books...mood therapy etc. which may actually help...

  because they are just saying in another way...whatever is lovely whatever is good..keep dwelling on these things[positive]

  and reject the negative thought impulses[bring every thought into subjection to Christ]

[newlove]

I am sure alot of self help stuff
Is about feeling positive and better
without fully facing harsh reality
However Budhism teaches acceptance
and openness to suffering not running
from how things are.

[Tom]

God gives us the experience of evil to humble us and make us realize we can't save ourselves. Buddhist meditation will not provide immortality. Meditate on the word of God for true peace. All the philosophies of man are shortsighted because they all think man, not God, can solve the problem of evil. People think their prayers are "unanswered" simply because they don't get what they want. God is operating all according to his will. Sometimes people just don't understand why things are happening. Faith in God is definitely better than so called "self help spirituality new age stuff." 

"Trust in Yahweh with all your heart, And do not lean to your own understanding." (Proverbs 3:5)

"by faith are we walking, not by perception" (2 Corinthians 5:7)

[marie glen]

   people self doctor/remedy..the brokeness of the spirit in man..self-help books...mood therapy etc. which may actually help...

  because they are just saying in another way...whatever is lovely whatever is good..keep dwelling on these things[positive]

  and reject the negative thought impulses[bring every thought into subjection to Christ]

I so totally agree with that!

..also Far Eastern belief encourages quietness, and I think quietness is very therapeutic and healing.. calming.. Lucky us, we get to "rest in the Lord" and also in his word.. which is even better and more beneficial.. and Native Americans and others have a strong conviction of living close to nature and simplicity, avoiding worldliness..

as a matter of fact, i sort of consider that some parts of man's religions have some truth which seekers found.. but of course these get misused and built upon and changed.. I guess I kind of figure any weaving of the enemy (any weaving/tapestry of lies) has to have at least one thread of truth in it or it would unravel? :dontknow: I'm not sure why i think that, but I'm pretty convinced of it. Not that this means I should burn candles to the new age or anything like that! Or start chanting Tibetan chants or anything.. :faint:

[newlove]

Let sget more concrete here.
Life may present us ,to give just
One example, with the painful situation
of having a child go missing. Naturally
We would pray for its safe return.
Such prayers do go u.answered.
As Sheila said sometimes the answer
Is no . It seems to me that we should
be resourceful and use any comfort
we can get .It is well known that
mindfulness meditation with eastern
Origins can be very beneficial in
bringing peace to troubled minds.
It is sometimes recomended in health care
Is n t using such a technique simply
being  autoni.ous using a god given gift
and after all for whatever reason the prayer
was not answered. We would well
reason that God left us to live and
learn something. I do not believe
that something that brings good
could be wrong ? Do you agree with me
I ask anyone inteterested to answer
bearing in mind situation i mentioned.
Thankyou.

[sheila]

 ...it may appear fruitful...and the way to go. But I know something better,and this I'm trying to show.

   He designed this apparatus..so keep knocking at the door,anything that is offered..He can give you more.

   there is nothing better,Don't you know you need Him so...other things can't compare..to His spirit's flow.

                                                     

[lastpost]

Dear newlove,

May I start what can only be a preliminary answer to your query with an explanation?

I believe that the Source of all Life, the Supreme Being, whom most people call God, is manifested in the Form of Himself that enters Creation - namely the Christ of God, and that in Jesus Christ born in Bethlehem, humanity was given the most accessible and approachable Manifestation of God ever available to man.

If man wants to know who his God is, then he only needs to look to Jesus Christ and he will see his God - as best as he can in his limited state. This is the beauty of Jesus - one of the many beauties - although historically man has placed greater importance on a religious concept which has caused great hindrance to understanding the God who is Love.

God does not violate His own regulations that He brought into being for the orderliness of the worlds and galaxies and the raising up of His children, and so He came as the man Jesus in whom man could have faith.

The God who is Love stops at nothing to help His children find Him and return. God in Christ says to His children: 'Look at Me, am I a worthy God for you? Am I worth following? Am I worth loving? Study Me, judge Me, assess Me, can you have faith in Me to be doing the best for you? Can you see how much I love you?'

Prior to coming to this understanding, I used to live and work voluntarily in a fairly large meditation centre in the UK. I was the cook, and my meditation programme was two hours in the morning and two hours in the evening before meals, which included breathing exercises and yogic postures before the meditation proper. There was no religion as such involved, only a basic understanding that God is Love, although the meditation branched directly from the forests high in the Himalayan mountains.

I could still practice this meditation today, but I find that I always go to the Christ within, as that's where I want to go ultimately. I can pray 'Our Father Who Art in Heaven' or I can pray for something specific.

I believe that the spirit within wants to undergo certain experiences, and the one who allies them self to Christ will find that they are tested to the utmost extreme of their resources.

My understanding of Life is that God provides compensation for absolutely everything that happens to the innocent through the evil of the guilty. It is a beautiful spiritual Reality, but that Reality is for an individual to seek rather than me tell what would sound like fairy stories - it just does not work that way. And I promise that what He said is true: Seek and ye will indeed find - but be prepared to be prepared!

When we know Christ is within, we can easily and simply practice our own meditation and prayer. For instance...

We always are, and always will be, children of the King of Love, the Creator of all Life - we shall not cease as He shall not cease.

Spirit does not know anything of space. Spirit is both close and far-reaching.

Keep an attitude of growth and development. Find a moment to be alone, enter stillness. Think of the Kingdom of God, not blank nothingness and certainly not strain - something in between. Christ is there, God is within.

There is a stillness which is alive, it is the centre of the most exquisite bloom - and that centre is within, it is God within and you can be with God. The Christ within does not know stagnancy as He is vibrant energy, living Spirit.

The Kingdom of God is within. Stay with this holy place. There are God powers within. If you stay here a while then the crooked places will become straight. What is hilly becomes laid flat. Disquiet is evaporated. You are with Christ.

Silently, waiting upon God, the breath of God renews every minute piece of you - within is creative power. All that is without is pointless, without is the shadow world, the plane of the senses where the devils of the senses seek to trip you up and drag you down.

All must love God and their fellows from the God within, this will be completeness and unity of God's children on Earth.

God works within, it is God working now. Now live and breathe Spirit, live and breathe the deepest and most central place within. This brings better judgement, greater love for your neighbour, clearer insight, your fleshly heart will become one with your spiritual heart.

For nourishment it is necessary to give love and not to seek it.

When praying, it is a false idea that God is far away and the prayer must travel distance. There is no separation, ever - that is just man's thinking. Enter within your innermost being, be positive, be clear, be definite, now deep within yourself see your prayer accomplished, see God's Will accomplished, see nothing else, see victory in Christ's Name.

There is no place where God is not - He is deep in the deepest valley wherever the straying sheep has gone, no matter how dark the child of God feels, God is there as Christ.

When with Christ, false ideas wither. The value of prayer is so underestimated by His children. Prayer is a powerhouse and the children of God do not realise what is available to them and so they do not bother to pray or they send weak prayers to some notion of a being sitting on a throne many universes away in distance - these are not wasted but they could be better prayed.

Life and power come from faith in God. Christ is one with the spirit within, so God is not far away, God is within and the answer to the prayer is there within, do not seek it elsewhere as there is no distance from the desire.

Be in constant prayer, giving unceasingly to others and your life will dwell always in Spirit, illusions gone, shadows dissipated by the Light of Christ. Limitations must end. Live in the Eternal.

I hope that this has provided something positive to your query newlove. I previously posted something about Prayer on Tentmaker, this is it...

Faith in Prayer

The subject of prayer to, or communing with, God, is too vast to cover in an online forum, but as it has come up a few times, I beg with humility the privilege of giving my opinion to a listening ear - in as few paragraphs as possible but which leaves the coverage incomplete by far.

I refer to the bountiful gift of prayer - not the ritualistic lip service given by rote, but that of the heart's cry; that of the call of a weeping soul in need of comfort and healing, or in impending trouble, or desirous of compassionate aid for another requiring the basics of life, or for another requiring spiritual food, or perhaps simply the yearning for contact with the God who is Love.

I refer to the type of prayer the absence of which leaves a needless void in the spirituality of the world. Indeed, if a man allowed himself to truly lean on the faith he is gifted with by a generous God, he could be guided by the Agency of the Pure and Holy Spirit, and led into Truth, step by step, yet always deeper and deeper into truths awaiting his attention.

In my opinion, this world - or rather the atmosphere of this earth - is cold, and it is chilled with evil not just committed by man in general but often committed in thought, word and deed by brother against brother, sister against sister, with his or her preferred bias bringing the Spirit of Reconciliation into disrepute - and the absence of the Spirit of Truth gained through prayer and the Agency of the Holy Spirit means that never the twain shall meet. It is a self-perpetuating muddle.

This is my opinion. God prefers His child to spend his time communing with Him that He may give him the best. Prayer should not be systematic or methodical or offered without that which arises from the heart.

Prayer is, or becomes, communion of the spirit-life with God. Aligning the spirit's eye singly with the truths central to God, and not allowing nagging theological contentions of an obscure and bewildering nature to disturb the prayer and communion with God, will allow the truth to unfold; the Spirit of God makes new what is old - yet what is made new is but a new leaf on the plant which provides the base for further growth, for God is Alive and Living eternally.

A man is often too occupied to recognise the definite bonding between himself and his God after his prayer was sent to Him who is always willing to hear his prayer; and so the rapport which would be strengthened by frequent use of prayer is weakened, until man is left questioning as to why he should even bother to associate with his God - to join in mutual and intimate communion.

Prayer - real prayer - delivers to the child of God a spiritual blessing which is rich and wholesome - and man would pray more often if he understood its worth and its power. Many are generally unaware of the Divine power of the Holy Spirit around them, communicating to the Heart of the Divine, without the interruption of earthly space or time, the prayerful sentiments arising from heart and mind, and its immediate response by the God who always deals with direct prayer.

So the petition is sent forth, often most powerful when unspoken, because it is a call for aid from a heart which experiences the pangs of deep sorrow and which is grief-stricken, and the great pulsating Heart of God is always moved. Yet the petition remains un-granted in the terms of the petitioner; but the burden carried by the spirit of he or she who prays the prayer is relieved because Christ has helped to lighten the load as He indeed promised that He would - although the petitioner may not have received what he or she thought they should receive.

The answer, the response, may not be what a man or a woman requests, which, if granted, might hinder the course which the spirit desires to take for its betterment; but the prayer has opened the communication channel for which Christ has been awaiting, so that He can approach and administer a consolation and a strength, accordingly, which will help carry the broken soul through the ordeal.

The prayer can be spontaneous, devoted, wholehearted, purposeful and fervent; but not of selfish gain, or of repetitive and oppressive self-introspection, or of a dreamy and misty contemplation of an idle mind which is neither here nor there. The earnest prayer is always caught by God and is used as added power not only for the present time but in the hereafter; what is not possible or permissible for the body, is given by God to the spirit.

My opinion is that if a man could see the efforts of the Christ as He labours to allay the sorrow or grief of the damaged soul by pouring into it consolation and sympathy, then that man might be more aware of the peace which has found a lodgement in him, because his earnest prayer drew from the Heart of God His aid and His Healing Agency was despatched instantly. When a man receives that peace then that man knows of the living Father - who in reality tends to, and cares for, His children - that man knows that, even without words, there is a blessed response to the deep cry. Yet, will that man enter into frequent prayer and communion with his God once the burden has been lifted?

Therein lies a question, the answer to which would help to turn this little competitive world into a newer, more peaceful and loving world; namely, the regular and willing exercising of the spiritual blessing of prayer and Spirit communion, with untold help and assistance for man as he seeks to pacify a chaotic planet by seeking the guidance of the Holy Spirit in faith and trust rather than placing his faith and trust in his own mind.

Should a man habitually put into practice his faith in his communication with his God, whose Love is unceasing toward him, as he may sometime claim, then that man would begin to enliven his apparatus for such communication - unravelling it from its atrophied state, restoring it from its disused and corroded condition - and that man should then be able to reach the highest state of communion with his God this earth-life permits for him, knowing that his sufferings and his troubles are often a necessary part of his spiritual education so that he may draw closer to the Christ who carried the burdens of the world on His shoulders when He walked on this planet; and the man knowing too that it is possible for him to overcome all tribulations because he knows by experience, rather than words, that he is never separated from his God through Christ forever.

In my opinion, acclimatising the soul to God is achieved by genuine praise to Him with a sense of gratitude for the gift of an unending life as yet inconceivable to the human mind. The Spirit Agency of God is always lovingly moved by prayer to Him from His child.

A better condition for prayer and communion is prepared by retreating into seclusion away from the baleful influences of the world, as was demonstrated by the law-giver who ascended a mountain to receive directions necessary to mould and guide a great but wayward people at a particular time in their history; or by the Light of the World when He entered communion on various occasions, some of which are recorded.

Regarding this matter of prayer, I hope I have said enough to make the point that prayer is a part of Spirit Life, part of Divine Life. I hope I have made the point that, by the Grace of God, it is within the province of man to live his life in an atmosphere of Spirit, bearing in mind that the spirit within man does not wish to be robbed of certain experiences, demonstrated by the Way of the Master Christ, which will bring to the spirit priceless and eternal gain which it would not wish to be without.

Finally, Christ commanded the loving of "The Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength". In my opinion, this must include a perpetual prayerful communion with Him. It is not possible to achieve the first without the second.

Peace.

[Psalm91:4]

First....to lastpost,  thank you for sharing what you do.  I am finding much needed rest, to my soul, reading what the Lord has given you, through all of your posts. 

To newlove....

Let sget more concrete here.
Life may present us ,to give just
One example, with the painful situation
of having a child go missing. Naturally
We would pray for its safe return.
Such prayers do go u.answered.
As Sheila said sometimes the answer
Is no . It seems to me that we should
be resourceful and use any comfort
we can get .It is well known that
mindfulness meditation with eastern
Origins can be very beneficial in
bringing peace to troubled minds.
It is sometimes recomended in health care
Is n t using such a technique simply
being  autoni.ous using a god given gift
and after all for whatever reason the prayer
was not answered. We would well
reason that God left us to live and
learn something. I do not believe
that something that brings good
could be wrong ? Do you agree with me
I ask anyone inteterested to answer
bearing in mind situation i mentioned.
Thankyou.

The only thing that could bring me any peace of mind in such a devestating situation ( missing child ) would be to have that child back in my arms, literally.

That said,
I would not concern myself with my own personal peace of mind or care a whit about it if there was still a possibility the child was still alive on earth somewhere.  I`d be too busy looking for the child and waking up each day looking to the Lord to guide my path.  Never giving up.

Until word may arrive the child is dead.

That being the case, only in Christ do I have the comfort and assurance the child is safe and I will see the child again and hold the child in my arms again.

For me, there is no other Source of Peace than the Prince of Peace Himself.  I agree with Tom too...meditate on His word.  That will bring your thoughts under the Lordship of  His thoughts...man shall not live by bread alone but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God. And Jesus said He is the true bread that came down from heaven.  If we do not eat His flesh and drink His blood we have no life in us, He said.  It is His life in us that overcomes the world.  He rests on the storm-tossed boat while His troubled disciples panic, afraid for their very lives.

And yes, in truly loving others we are deeply invested in their well-being and would be heartbroken should harm come their way in this evil age.  But even should the worst happen,  this is when the rubber hits not the road, but the Throne of His grace in times of such sorrow.

We can still hope in God, not just in this life, but in the ages to come, that all will be made right in His victory, justice, and love, in the resurrections of each human being.

By the way,  I used to meditate, as a searching teen, did all kinds of things searching for the truth. Stayed at an ashram for a time....lovely people there, but no Jesus. 

It`s Jesus God sent to us to be our Savior and because He lives,  no matter what happens in this world, we have a Friend who has overcome.  I hope to see more and more victories in this world too, not only in the ages to come, since His true good news is being preached again.

[newlove]

Thankyou for your replies .
And thankyou Tom for that
long and valuable post . I need
time to read through it all again
and shall do so.
Though i do see the chief point
on growing in prayer. At the end
of the day you all seem to think
that although God could help and
hasn t yet you would continue having
faith in him. I fear that many would
loose faith and that would be huge
loss.

[sheila]

NL....Jacob also lost a son..missing and presumed dead. Jacob recieved dreams from God of his son during that time...that made

   him hope..that he was alive.  Your child is alive[all live unto God] whether in this world..or beyond;  you need to know this in your heart.

       I pray the Father to help you..and give you more faith. He understands..He cares..He loves both you and your child...

           may the God of all comfort..comfort you..and give you peace..in your mind and in your heart..regarding this matter.

                                                                                            :friendstu:

[Psalm91:4]

Partial quote

At the end
of the day you all seem to think
that although God could help and
hasn t yet you would continue having
faith in him. I fear that many would
loose faith and that would be huge
loss.

But I think He has helped all situations, past,  present, and future, in the death and resurrection of His Son.

We are given to know that we live in an "evil age" but it will not always be like this.  One fine day all the tears, sorrows, death, pain etc will be the "former things" that have passed  away.

Most of us who planned to bring children into this world, as-it-was/is, knew how bad it was/is, and the possible dangers that could befall our own kids.  Yet, we chose to have them anyway..... ( atheist, Buddhist, Christ believer alike ).

Why did *we* as informed adults make such a choice?  Knowing there is both good AND evil present?

After all, any of our kids at any time during the course of their earthly lives could be subjected to numerous dangers, illnesses, temptations, and tragedies, and would eventually suffer death, too, from one cause or another.

Yet, we had them anyway. Why did we do that when we all knew deep down that we were incapable of protecting them 24/7 from all the possible things in this world that could literally destroy them?

The one thing for God to do to save all of His kids has already been done.  Christ was crucified from the very foundations of the creation, planned ahead, to save us all.   We cannot save ourselves or our own kids from this present evil age.  Yet we had them.  In that regard,  I see us as more culpable,  if anyone is to take the blame....for lack of a better term.  The God of all creation, on the other hand, set us in this dangerous world of good and evil with the remedy prepared beforehand.  And a good purpose in mind.  Something we, as earthly parents, could not provide for our own flesh and blood children.

So, we can believe on the 1 He sent to save us all, and trust that our heavenly Father is good, has a good purpose in creating all He did through Christ Jesus, and that no matter how terrible the fruit of evil presents in creation, that it has not overcome Him, nor taken Him by surprise...  and it cannot overcome His purpose in Christ Jesus, and furthermore is actually doing its work in this age within the Glorious Purpose of God, under His jurisdiction.

And so we suffer now;  we are afflicted now... as are our children. And it has broken me to pieces when my own or anyone suffers evils in this world.  I'm just relying on the living God who is working all things to good without exception. What man meant for harm, the Lord meant for good and so bottom line....He is Good and trusting Him through all of this earthly stay is where I find rest.
Peace.

[sheila]

 I don't know how old your child is that is missing,NL. But my daughter went missing in her 20's for 6months and then 8.  She

  was into drug scene real bad..I was caring for her little ones. I would fear getting the phone call that her body had been found.

   ......so I don't want you to feel no-one understands..or that no-one can relate to your agony.. and it is an agony/torment

      of a mother's heart/mind/soul.   I just prayed to God for her..to keep her and protect her.   :HeartThrob:

[Tom]

I didn't make a "long" post, and whether it's "valuable" is for anybody to decide. I think you got my name confused with another. I'm aware of the benefits of meditation. What I was saying is that the best meditation is concentrating on the word of God, who is Christ, rather than mantras or simply allowing yourself to be passive to all spirits. Meditation can just be another form of salvation through works if you don't go to the source of all. The sixties produced a lot of philosophy about peace and love that a lot of folks didn't connect to the true source. Eastern religions and philosophies are popular in the Western world as an alternative to the legalistic religions many of us grew up in. When I was young, I left the Roman Catholic Church seeking the truth and checked out the Eastern religions and philosophies. The one I would probably be into now if I didn't become aware of the truth would be Taoist philosophy that some folks consider a religion, but it, like all the philosophies of man, is shortsighted because it doesn't lead to the living God of scripture, Yahweh Elohim, who we have access to through our Lord, Yeshua HaMashicach, commonly called Jesus Christ. There's a lot of talk about Christ consciousness or cosmic consciousness, but some of it doesn't seem to be centered on the truth about the Christ of scripture. I agree that the kingdom of God is within, but deceptive spirits lurk ready to mislead you if you're not focused on the word of God. Satan is transfigured as a messenger of light and his servants as dispensers of righteousness. Satan's most effective method of operation is deception, and that comes through those you trust. So beware. I also agree that there's a kernel of truth in every religion. They all came from the sons of Noah who had a knowledge of the truth, but they got distorted just like what the world considers to be true Christianity today but is what I think is really Satan's most effective deception, a counterfeit of the ecclesia, the body of Christ. It's shenanigans are what the atheists point to trying to turn seekers against God because it represents God in the eyes of the world. Christ preached true peace and love, but he also warned against the hypocrisy of the leaders of the traditional religion of his day. The Native Americans have their Peyote sacrament, and some Western doctors realize it's potential to help those dying of cancer to find peace. There are some benefits to psychedelic drugs just like some other drugs when used properly which is what Timothy Leary was trying to tell folks in the sixties, but then the media started sensationalizing bad trips. So the use of psychedelics became illegal ending the medical work with them. Those drugs provide a similar temporary experience to that of transcendental meditation, but they also don't personalize the true source of the enlightenment even though they tend to change people's lives who have used them. What really changes your life is the love of God. Paul is the best example of that. It's all right to talk about peace and love, but you need to recognize the source of that as the living God, not just drugs or meditation which are only tools to change your perception. We're not supposed to depend on our perception, but our faith in God through his son Jesus Christ, the word of God. And the best way to do that is to stay in a continuous state of prayer, in other words in the spirit, and to be edified by the holy spirit of God through the inspired written word of God. Prayer isn't just about begging God for this or that. I think prayer is about keeping it real with God moment to moment and doing God's will. We're going to suffer adversity in this life because our life is an experience of evil to humble us and make us look to God to save us, but we have an expectation that eventually all on earth and in the heavens will be reconciled to God when God is all in all. That spiritual truth is what really gives me peace, not meditation or drugs or religious ritual. I think that spiritual truth is what we need to be sharing with our brothers and sisters on the planet, not just meditating or philosophy. That's why I say the "self help spirituality new age stuff budhist(sp) retreats and non theistic coping aids" referred to in the original post are among the dead ends that I tried when I was seeking the truth before I found "the way and the truth and the life."

[newlove]

Tom , Sheila
I apreciate your posts.
I beg your pardon Tom i did confuse your
name but know very well the post
which i shall re read along with all this.
Firstly Sheila i was not thankfully referring to
my loss of child. It was just an example of such
That might well happen . It is however
the case that i do have a child troubled by mental
Illness who has gone
missing a few times . I m sure it influenced the question.
I want to be clear that new age stuff
are not at all my way . However mindfulness
meditation certainly has great worth
Not incompatible with christianity I reckon.
I attended a long retreat some 25 years ago.
I am a seeker of Christ today.
I am all the same a bit frustated
becausei  i am not here for the sake
Of argument but trying to foremost
understand faith and how and why it
Is tested. Please i am not against anyone
so don t give me a hard time -(Tom)

[sheila]

  my daughter has bi-polar and schitzophrenic  tendecies... + drugs[self-medicate]..heartache,heartache heartache.....

    I think it is because....satan has demanded to sift you like wheat...........and there is nothing he will not attempt to try

  and break our faith and trust in God and Jesus.    Those who hope in the Lord will not be disappointed.

      faith,hope love...these three things remain.

[sheila]

...some stumbled at His teaching[eat my flesh,drink my blood] and left off following Him. John 6;66  from this time many of His

  disciples turned back and no longer followed Him. He said to the 12  'you do not want to leave to do you?"  Simon Peter

answered him,'Lord..to whom shall we go? You have sayings of eternal life.  WE BELIEVE[faith] and KNow that you are

  the Holy one of God..  It is according unto our faith....though it seem impossible with men..nothing is impossible with God.

[lastpost]

Yes, Sheila, agreed, my nearest became a violent schizophrenic and it not quite finished me off. We can be broken down until all that is left is Him.

I have Him in Christ Jesus, that is how simple GOD the Supreme Being of all has made it for humanity [although too simple for religionists] - and the Holy Spirit provides the spiritual guidance - and thank GOD it is from SPIRIT and not man.

[Tom]

I'm sorry if you think I was trying to give anybody a hard time. I was just sharing my perspective about meditation and how that word represents some different things. I just share my own life experience and what I've learned from it. I was just saying that folks should be careful to discern the spirits.

[sheila]

    Tom...we know your loving heart here....your always ready to try and help.    :HeartThrob:

[lomarah]

Newlove, I know a few people who have all but "lost" their children to mental illness and/or drugs (Sheila being one of them and I can tell you she will be a loving shoulder for you if you ask!) You are not alone.

The only thing I can offer you for some sort of solace is the experience I've had with my own mental illness. As a teenager I became very troubled, to the point that I am not sure how I was able to keep myself out of a mental institution. BUT, it was that very experience that God used to draw me to Himself. I had to be brought to the point of wanting to die rather than live in the torment I was experiencing every minute of every day. I was suicidal and pretty much an alcoholic. Yet knowing what my death would do to my Mom stopped me. It was the only reason I didn't end my own life. It was then that I knew in my heart that God was the only other option. I cried out to Him and He saved me. And continues to save me, every day.

As for meditation, I meditate daily, but I meditate in His presence, seeking Him. (Be still and know that I Am God.) I do believe that the Spirit of Truth can and does use any and all methods to reveal Truth to us, and certainly could use "eastern" meditation (of which I'm not all that familiar). However, intentionally seeking Truth from our Father is, in my opinion, certainly the best way to receive it. Once we truly know in our hearts that He always is for us it makes it an easy thing to do. The problem arises when we start to doubt His love and goodwill for our lives, in which case (at least in my experience) He must use other ways to show us truth and draw us back to Him.  :2c:

[Psalm91:4]

Partial quote....

I am a seeker of Christ today.
I am all the same a bit frustated
becausei  i am not here for the sake
Of argument but trying to foremost
understand faith and how and why it
Is tested.

http://concordant.org/expohtml/HisAchievement/HisAchievement007.html

This is a link about our trials as believers that Tom just sent to me.   (Have been going through some of those pesky lil things for a while now as we all do).

Thanks, Tom.   :) 

Perhaps there is something in there that can help you too, newlove.

We are all just His kids trying to help each other through as best we can.  That`s all.
:dsunny:

[Tom]

http://concordant.org/expohtml/GodAndChrist/Reliance.html

[lastpost]

  Psalms 46
"Stop striving, let go, surrender, and know that I am Elohim"

Never fear being with the God who is Love, trust Him completely, both your ultimate goal and God's ultimate goal for you, is that you are both united in Communion for ever.

The hope in the whole and complete Saviour in you is always being revealed by the Spirit.

The Holy invisible Guide leads your will and thought into knowledge of all truth according to His Will.

When uneasy voices of the senses are silenced and hushed
When outside personalities no longer infringe
When being still is practised and learnt
When false thinking has been rejected
Then the Lord God speaks in His Holy Temple.

'Be silent! Be still!' Today has enough cares to deal with, it is surely wise to take time to be with Him alone.

Peace and again Peace.

[Tom]

http://concordant.org/expohtml/TheDais/TheDais009.html