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Originally Posted by Eph
Yes, please, Aron. I am sincere as well as Carol. Just by knowing a little about how God loves me through His only Son helps someone like me. I don't have the gift to speak about Him publicly, but I do believe some of you on the forum have a gift to share with many of us about how God loves us in our daily life.
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Thank you for the invitation but I must demur
*. I'm not qualified to give lessons. Besides, this is the internet, a virtual world, so I don't really buy deeply into it. I just post here occasionally because I like to write; I don't want to become a preacher who has to churn our a sermon every Sunday morning. But I will leave you with a couple of ideas to consider.
1. What you do to others, God will do to you. Believe me, how you treat "the least of these my brothers" is how God will treat you. Over and over this message is given in the gospels. The parables say the same thing, 15 different ways. Even the so-called "Lord's prayer" has this formula, with commentary even (!).
"Forgive us, even as we forgive others". What you do to others is what God will do to you.
In the LSM system, they will give a college Freshman a ride to the airport at 2 am because they expect a return on their investment. But an old lady? "Don't waste your time" is the FTTA directive. Instead, "Go after the good building material." But the Lord Jesus said to invite those who have no means to repay you. The LSM system only wants to "invest" in those who promise them a good return.
If you feel poor, weak, sick, or lost, think about this: there is someone near you even poorer, sicker, weaker, and more lost than you are. Tell them God loves them. Tell them about Jesus who came here because their Father in heaven loves them, and wants them to come home. Tell them, because it is true. And as you begin to help others, God will begin to help you. If you want to be blessed, then figure out how to be a blessing to others; believe me, God is watching you, and waiting for you to take a few small steps of faith. If "Help me" is your only prayer, God can't do much. If you pray, "God, use me to help others" you will be blessed beyond your capacity, beyond what you could possibly imagine.
2. DO NOT MAKE PLANS. I cannot overstress this. Do not tell the Holy Spirit what it should do, or how and when it should do it. Only the Father's will is done on earth, as it is in heaven. The Father knows everything. The Holy Spirit will never obey you; it only obeys the Father. You and I know nothing. All we are supposed to know is A) repent, and B) believe into the Lord Jesus Christ
**. This is the path of salvation. Don't add your ideas to the pathway. They will perish and you will suffer loss.
I would remind you that 74 people went up onto the holy mountain, and saw God, and ate and drank, and God did not strike them. God invited them up there for lunch. They saw the pavement of sapphire. They saw the seven spirits burning before the throne.
***
But only 72 made it down. Two of them made plans, and lit a fire. Bad move. Only seven flames are permitted to burn before the throne, not eight. The scriptural record then says "fire came out from before the throne and consumed them". Those seven flames are very jealous. Don't try to add another, of your own making. They are like the flaming swords in Genesis, turning each way; they will never let you get back to the Father. Only Jesus is qualified to walk among the seven golden lampstands. Everyone else will be consumed. Don't try it. Just watch Jesus. Watch Him carefully. He shows us the way.
Just watch Jesus. Never take your eyes off of Him. Then you will have a very rich entrance into the kingdom. Peter told us this, and Peter was a big failure, like you and me. So be encouraged, and press on. Don't ever give up. Those who endure to the end will be saved. We have the promise. Believe it and keep going.
*Demur = show reluctance
** The disciples asked, "Lord, what work should we do, that we may work the works of God?" The Lord Jesus replied, "Believe into Him whom God has sent".
***So I surmise, as Moses apparently built the "Menorah" according to what he saw on the mountain. See John's commentary in the book of Revelation