Experiencing Christ

Love your true life illustration of how God uses t...

2012-01-03T12:47:37.143-08:00

Love your true life illustration of how God uses the body to show His love and care.

Yes, it does. Your comment is much appreciated!

2010-04-13T18:36:59.602-07:00

Yes, it does. Your comment is much appreciated!

Great reminder, Sheila, thanks. I am glad you had ...

2010-04-13T17:14:09.052-07:00

Great reminder, Sheila, thanks. I am glad you had such a good outcome. I am really good at playing the "anxious" game also. I think I need to work on the "praise & trust" game more. It brings better results and a lot more peace.

Thanks Jon, I appreciate your added comments and...

2010-01-23T19:53:29.679-08:00

Thanks Jon,

I appreciate your added comments and spiritual insights. I pray many will be encouraged in their faith as they read what you have shared. Blessings, Sheila

What a great study! I am reminded of a message on ...

2010-01-23T16:45:38.090-08:00

What a great study! I am reminded of a message on trials;
Jam 1:2 ¶ My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations;
3 Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience.
4 But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.
In the NLT verse 2 looks like this;
Dear brothers and sisters,whenever trouble comes your way, let it be an opportunity for joy.

Joy is a supernatural delight in the person and purposes and in the people of God.
Joy is far more desirable than happiness that is fleeting and contingent on circumstances.
The use of the word 'count' is to look at the trial and weigh it up.
Christians are about displaying the life that is lived in God. Trials are our chance to shine the life lived in the joy of God.
Part of the pain in trials is we did not see it coming, but everyone sees these trials and our trials are varying as it says in the verse. Some have different trials but the testing of our faith is better discovered now than to find out at the end of life. Trials separate the sheep from the goats. By their fruits ye shall know them. Defection proves their faith. Trials 'prove' they test our faith. Where are when the 'chips' are down?
God's purposes are not only for us but for those around us. Trials are a examination of our faith. How do we answer the following questions in the midst of our trials;
1)Do I believe God is in control? Support your answer with scripture.
2)Is God good? ...and does He have a good purpose?
3)Will I wait on Him until the darkness becomes light?
In Psalms it says I would have despaired if I did not believe I would not see the answer in the land of the living.
The testing of our faith produces the ability to stay under until God's purpose is achieved.
We want to GET OUT from under these!!!
Remaining under is the way to receive what God is trying to produce, or accomplish in me, just to teach me how to stay in there.
In rials we want to complain, to lash out at others or just bail out, as, "I didn't sign up for this!" Or, 'Just take me now Lord!" Or we fold without a fight.
As Peter said I pray that I might humble myself under the mighty hand of the Lord.
The nail under the hammer,
The diamond under the pressure,
The gold in the refining fire,
The Christian, the Child of God will never see their purpose for the trial without going through it.

Hi Sheila...Oh, no need to clarify, for I am assur...

2009-10-29T10:00:09.065-07:00

Hi Sheila...Oh, no need to clarify, for I am assured that there are so many ways to pray in true intercession and we cannot box God in with dictating how to do it. Praying in our heavenly language, which is available to all, in the privacy of our own prayer times, is a valuable tool for all and edifies our own spirits at the same time. Yes, and amen, the groanings, crying, and sheer travail are indeed the spirit of God praying through us in the deepest of prayer. God reveals so much to us through this type of prayer. Thank you and God Bless for sharing your thoughts with me, Sheila...love, D.

Dear Dixie, Thank you for your comment. i wanted...

2009-10-28T21:16:21.942-07:00

Dear Dixie,

Thank you for your comment. i wanted to clarify one point. We can have the assurance that we are praying according to God's perfect will when we don't have a heavenly prayer language. When we groan in prayer and our needs are too deep for words, God hears us and answers according to His perfect will. When we relinquish ourselves and desires to Him, He also moves us to pray according to His plans and purposes, and when we see them come to pass we know His will was done.

Hi Sheila...love your teaching on spirit led praye...

2009-10-28T14:46:25.603-07:00

Hi Sheila...love your teaching on spirit led prayer. I especially love praying in the Spirit as He leads in my prayer language: For one who speaks in an [unknown] tongue speaks not to men but to God, for no one understands or catches his meaning, because in the [Holy] Spirit he utters secret truths and hidden things [not obvious to the understanding]2CorAmp. This always gives us the assurance that we are praying according to His perfect will....also, when we pray His word over people we are doing the same thing, in essence. Intercession is not taught much in churches these days.....Dixie

Dear Patti, It gives us hope too, which I need wh...

2009-10-28T12:24:43.762-07:00

Dear Patti,

It gives us hope too, which I need when I am praying for loved ones or requests that seem particularly hard. I would like to be able to realize more and more how much the Spirit enters in and helps us pray.

Sheila- I like the analogy of having to defend you...

2009-10-11T18:58:53.326-07:00

Sheila-
I like the analogy of having to defend yourself and not knowing how, and having a friend come alongside of you to help! It makes it a little easier to understand the Spirit's work in our praying.

I mentioned you once again in my Higher Grounds.

2009-09-05T07:41:19.632-07:00

I mentioned you once again in my Higher Grounds.

Thanks, Jeff, so do I.

2009-08-23T08:45:21.673-07:00

Thanks, Jeff, so do I.

I think the promise of the Holy Spirit as a minist...

2009-08-23T07:16:29.678-07:00

I think the promise of the Holy Spirit as a minister of our prayers is a great and greatly underutilized promise. I have a difficult time with prayer because it is difficult for me to have conversation with an all-knowing and all-powerful God. Knowing that the Holy Spirit assists in prayer is very reassuring.

"I have found that the more I ask the Spirit of God to reveal His desires and will, the more I am able to let go of my own." This statement may be an important key to the Christian walk.

Thank you for discussing the important topic of prayer. I have much to learn.

Jeff

Jeff, That is a difficult one for me, and it is ...

2009-08-22T08:42:51.398-07:00

Jeff,

That is a difficult one for me, and it is a process and I don't feel confident that we have walked through the right door immediately. What defeats me is those small daily choices when God speaks to me or convicts me and I still do as I please. Then I am stopped by my own wrong choices and Satan's roadblocks. This is the daily fight for me, responding to God and doing as He pleases NOW. SHeila

Thanks for your thoughts, Sheila . I liked the lis...

2009-08-20T22:11:39.922-07:00

Thanks for your thoughts, Sheila . I liked the list of the different ways God has spoken thru the ages.

As far as open and close doors. I always wonder about that. How do we know if God is closing a door or if Satan is putting up a road block in our efforts to serve God?

Jeff

Yes, the Word of God, the truths, insights, and ev...

2009-08-07T18:43:56.406-07:00

Yes, the Word of God, the truths, insights, and even the people and their lives can be applied to our own lives as we listen for what the Lord is trying to convey to us. The Bible is our foundation and as we listen to it we will receive the direction we so need from God himself.

If there is any way, that I can, I take it back to...

2009-08-06T15:15:30.320-07:00

If there is any way, that I can, I take it back to the word of God. For confirmation.