Christian Chat

I am not often triggered by being on the forum, but it may be because Spirituality, dialogue with God, and prayer and goodness hav been so essential for me.

@DownMoreThanUp Maybe less is more, but dont be a total stranger.

@Appleblossom I just checked out to see if Netflix had The Chosen, but they don't. I know there's other places too look. I'll get a friend with a bit of tech knowledge to find me one where the series is. 💛

@Appleblossom ,

I also applaud you and recognise you as the Community Elder that you are. Ten years. No wonder your name is like Forum royalty.

Thanks for your encouragement and jokes yesterday. 🙂

Thanks for voicing your view.

@ENKELI ,

You describe tough challenges. To give so generously and end up empty-handed stinks. Not just the money but the friendship and god-children. And the ex. What to do with what has to be one of life's "unforgiveables"? (Sorry, Jesus, but being cheated on in marriage is too painful. How dare a spouse spit on such holy ground?)

I think about the vulnerability that can come after giving generously. I wonder what happened next to the lady who gave everything she had to the Temple collection. (The one Jesus commended for giving more than the wealthy despite it being only one coin.) I know God sees. I know it is better to have riches in heaven. But it is not easy. On days when faith falters it can be easy to regret the giving.

@DownMoreThanUp I love the movie The Shack and bought it so I could re-watch it.

And yes while we shouldn't blame God for the bad things that happened it doesn't make life any happier for me. I still suffer from the rejection of my father, being second best with my mother. And being generous with others but getting nothing in return.

I gave it all away like God wanted me to and got nothing in return. Surely God doesn't want us to live in misery and poverty while He blesses some people and not others.

@ENKELI Yes i understand perfectly well where you are coming from, for i also suffered badly at the loveless actions of my dad, and it seemd that God did not reward me.

Jesus explained this to me. He told mew that when we work on The Sabbath God is not pleased for we are not in His Rest so His blessings on us cannot be.

In other words. It is about letting go of those who done us bad, while forgiving those who hurt us, praying for those who abuse us, and acknowledging our own inability to do anything else about that!

Only then are we in His truth when it comes to our predicament, which is the bad life hurting us, and us not being rescued from it. (Paul in Roman 7 explains this paradox stuck in bad life. The will to do right we do not, but the will we do not want to do, that we do.)

Now comes the good part! Once we are in The Truth of our situation and no longer look at others who brought us the bad life we find ourselves in, then we can easily see what a miserable situation it is. For although we want to do right sin/misery rules Recognise that?

So this is what God showed Habakkuk as well. In sin bad life gets by life, but the one with faith survives the death of bad life and comes out free to go. (Even though the vig tree does not blossom)

For if you ask Jesus to make well in you what is not well looking AT HIM and not any other when it comes to your bad life. Forgiving God, yourself and other - time and again - until in all your hurt you have died and found the new life faith in Jesus brings us.

To give you an example out of my own life with my dad. All my child, teenage and adult years my dad would not give me love or recognition, instead he always put me down. Having many horrible labels and names he would use to describe me in a horrible painful way. We never saw eye to eye so he never thought anything i said amount up to anything. And he make sure i knew he thought that of me, as well as everyone else in the family.

So in the end i hated him so for years doing that to me. It was THIS that brought me the REALLY bad life my dad merely introduced in my life doing what he did, but i cultivated towards myself for years hating him like that. For now i had hate in me.

In the end Jesus made me see this. So then dutiful struggled NOT to feel like that towards my dad (and mum as well. And indeed praying helped a lot i stopped hating him. Yet i still held onto all the loveless years he brought me, the emptiness inside of me, and all the inner conflict his treatments caused me.

Trying not ot be angry and even forgiving him did not help me anything holding onto the bad life he created inside of me doing that!

i believe this is where you are at now dear sister. Thinking, like Habakkuk, that it is futile to serve the Lord.

Jesus helped me understand this having me read the last book of to O.T - over and over again to my spirit. That explained everything! For in the end i could see how i did what God charged me with, not tithing spiritually, when it came to my bad life, because of my dad. God told me if i would only drop of ten percent of my bad life of to Him and so purify my prayers of all wrong in Jesus, then the last lines in the O.T would be fulfilled in my heart as well as my dad's before he died.

And so it has been as i already shared with you. i dropped all HARD feelings towards my dad, and forgive like Jesus unconditionally, dropping of any bad life (that is any life dwelling in me where i either love, or hurt wrong. And you know what happened in my heart? Jesus filled me to overflowing with the love my dad could never give me.

This is what happens when we refuse to eat badl ife and dine in faith love and hope on Jesus' righteousness. His good life grows in us forever and ever. Every day more of me in sin is added to the number made sinless in Jesus.

Such is the life i love to see also alive in you my dear sister. Where all the bad life you have suffered has been taken to Jesus and left there taking His good life up again instead when it comes to this.

You will see miracles when you do. i know i did having my dad bless me before he died. knocked me off my feet.

i sincerely hope i did not trigger you. For i know you mean well but those horrible forces inside your heart hurting you want to stay so i'm sure the made lots of noise.

Praying you understand what i mean.🤗

Psalm 1 is an excellent psalm to find out who the wicked are. For all those forces inside of you which has you looking at you, or another to be what Jesus is, and wants to be for you for you cannot. (Look at the promises there for all of us who love Jesus, as well as the ended of the wicked!)

Sincerely pray this is helpful in your struggle for good life here.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8yUcC93khzU&list=RD8yUcC93khzU&start_radio=1

@Appleblossom love your jokes Apple, keep 'em coming!

I understand what you are saying. I often find it difficult to reconcile my life with what Jesus promises. I especially find it difficult when I see my Christian friends living good lives, am I not faithful enough and that's why I don't get the same rewards as them?

I hope your weekend is treating you well, I am trying to stay cool in 39 degree heat. Tomorrow is 40 and Monday 38. And joy of joys, I am having a couple of broken teeth extracted Monday afternoon.

Yippee, not! Lol stay cool my dearest xo

For you! 💛

@heartathome I recommend the Chosen if you are able to watch it. I have only seen the first 2 seasons as like you I get distracted unless I b*nge watch and I am trying not to do that.

So the book of The Shack is good? Thanks for letting us know, I would like to read the book too.

@DownMoreThanUp Maybe I didn't explain myself properly. I have forgiven my father. I have forgiven everyone who has "wronged" me, including my ex friend who I am forgiving 70 times 7.

I have not worked on the Sabbath since becoming born again. Any job I have had I have stated clearly that as a Christian I observe the Sabbath and keep it holy.

I study the Bible. I pray. I give the first half hour or so of each day to God. While I water my garden I spend time with God, speaking with Him and listening.

To put it bluntly, I do exactly what my Christian friends do but I don't see the benefit. One of my Christian friends said she never has trouble falling to sleep, she asks Jesus for a good sleep and she is asleep by the time her head hits the pillow. I pray and 3 hours later I am still awake, asking God for guidance.

Another friend who I worked with was in the same financial situation as me. We would pray together. She got a large pay out and was able to pay off her mortgage and other debts. I got nothing and had to struggle for 15 years in low paid jobs.

I have been like Job. Except Job got everything back multiplied. I got a house that I now have to spend thousands of dollars on to repair, teeth that are falling out and breaking, a weight problem and no job.

So tell me where the good part is. Giving everything to God for many years and suffering constantly.
Yes, Satan attacks God's strong followers, but where is God when I have been faithful and need help?

I don't think there is a verse in the Bible that would offer me hope at this stage.