Why must I ALWAYS go against the grain??? :)
John 15:5"I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in me and I in him will bare much fruit, for without me you can do nothing." What does this really mean? This is one of the first verses I ever committed to memory (still wriggling into my heart) years ago when I took the Experiencing God Study Course for the first time. It is an amazing Bible study that I highly recommend for anyone... but specifically for new christians. I wish I had known about this Bible study sooner. It was responsible for reconnecting me with God and really teaching me about God the Father instead of God the Deity, as this was all I ever knew him as up to that point. But this verse still pops into my mind every now and again as I ask:
What is our dependence on God? I have been hearing a trend lately that is sending my skin crawling because I want to speak out, but I know it is completely inappropriate. But it is driving me crazy to hear people say, "I am praying that God will give me the strength to accomplish XYZ and that God will do beyond all I can ask or think." NO!!! The verse is Ephesians 3:20: "Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us." The verse says that he is able according to the power at work within us. Not only does that imply that the power is already there, but at the very least our answers in abundance requires activity on our part... even if it's just acknowledgement. Please don't confuse activity with salvation. The Bible clearly states that your works do not determine your salvation. But I do believe that your works determine your blessings. The word abide is a verb, meaning that activity on your part is required. It is not a one way street. I do not believe that God intended christians to be weak and co dependant. He intended us to know where we came from, and to trust that "it is done" by the power that is already there.
I've said it before, grace is just one of those benefits of accepting Christ as your Lord and Savior, but blessings and gifts are given to everyone (1 Cor 12:4-7). You do good, you get good. It's the simple law of reciprocity. And the irony of EVERYTHING being two-fold (physical body/celestial body, light/dark, good/evil, physical manifestations/spiritual manifestations) is not lost on me OR my love of quantum physics. One of these days I would love to talk about how I believe the brain (thought waves actually) binds both sides of the coin. I'll have to babble about that later though... it's kind of late right now. Although I will just mention this: it is only the brain that interprets physical/spiritual, light/dark, good/evil. Our brains are the "little referees" between two worlds... by that I mean the brain is the only visible (thought waves being measurable) common denominator that is present for both sides at the same time. Awesome!
Resources Sponsor ----> http://tinyurl.com/ojco7q "Learn To Study The Bible"
John 15:5"I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in me and I in him will bare much fruit, for without me you can do nothing." What does this really mean? This is one of the first verses I ever committed to memory (still wriggling into my heart) years ago when I took the Experiencing God Study Course for the first time. It is an amazing Bible study that I highly recommend for anyone... but specifically for new christians. I wish I had known about this Bible study sooner. It was responsible for reconnecting me with God and really teaching me about God the Father instead of God the Deity, as this was all I ever knew him as up to that point. But this verse still pops into my mind every now and again as I ask:
What is our dependence on God? I have been hearing a trend lately that is sending my skin crawling because I want to speak out, but I know it is completely inappropriate. But it is driving me crazy to hear people say, "I am praying that God will give me the strength to accomplish XYZ and that God will do beyond all I can ask or think." NO!!! The verse is Ephesians 3:20: "Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us." The verse says that he is able according to the power at work within us. Not only does that imply that the power is already there, but at the very least our answers in abundance requires activity on our part... even if it's just acknowledgement. Please don't confuse activity with salvation. The Bible clearly states that your works do not determine your salvation. But I do believe that your works determine your blessings. The word abide is a verb, meaning that activity on your part is required. It is not a one way street. I do not believe that God intended christians to be weak and co dependant. He intended us to know where we came from, and to trust that "it is done" by the power that is already there.
I've said it before, grace is just one of those benefits of accepting Christ as your Lord and Savior, but blessings and gifts are given to everyone (1 Cor 12:4-7). You do good, you get good. It's the simple law of reciprocity. And the irony of EVERYTHING being two-fold (physical body/celestial body, light/dark, good/evil, physical manifestations/spiritual manifestations) is not lost on me OR my love of quantum physics. One of these days I would love to talk about how I believe the brain (thought waves actually) binds both sides of the coin. I'll have to babble about that later though... it's kind of late right now. Although I will just mention this: it is only the brain that interprets physical/spiritual, light/dark, good/evil. Our brains are the "little referees" between two worlds... by that I mean the brain is the only visible (thought waves being measurable) common denominator that is present for both sides at the same time. Awesome!
Resources Sponsor ----> http://tinyurl.com/ojco7q "Learn To Study The Bible"
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