tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5558980250242671917.post4956585496929842679..comments2023-07-21T04:42:37.885-04:00Comments on Unfolding Mystery: Self-Rule, Self-EffortRichhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12630150578438657112noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5558980250242671917.post-33738386081667562402009-12-13T15:03:49.633-05:002009-12-13T15:03:49.633-05:00Thanks for the enlightening dialogue and the time ...Thanks for the enlightening dialogue and the time it took you to write it. I will indeed follow up on those book suggestions. I had not heard of either. (So much to learn!)Elizabeth Mahlouhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00334700057953625321noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5558980250242671917.post-71933631787226179672009-12-13T14:42:45.888-05:002009-12-13T14:42:45.888-05:00Elizabeth,
Our God and Father is only going to ha...Elizabeth,<br /><br />Our God and Father is only going to have sons (and daughters) filling His house because they KNOW they are Loved. The story of the generous and loving Father in Luke 15 illustrates imo an identity theft that had robbed both sons from know first, whose they were and secondly, who they were in relation to their Father.<br />Our Father longs for us to know and to continuing growing in the true knowledge of his total unconditional love for us whereby as He demonstrates His love (those whom he loves, he chastens, corrects, disciplines) by allowing us to learn as our elder brother Jesus did, obedience by that which we will suffer.<br /><br />Without the solid unshakable foundation of His total unconditional love for us deeply established in our inner most being, when his loving correction comes which it will, we will usually mistakenly see it as rejection rather than that which is desperately needed to bring us into a fuller and richer expression of the life that begot us in its seed form.<br /><br />Two books I want to highly recommend to you if you so choose to follow up on are, Identity Theft, by Kevin Avram and Wes Best, and The Misunderstood God by Darin Hufford, each in there own right powerfully point out with great clarity.Richhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12630150578438657112noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5558980250242671917.post-72743667601692380652009-12-13T14:01:12.925-05:002009-12-13T14:01:12.925-05:00Rich, good points. So, I could draw a conclusion h...Rich, good points. So, I could draw a conclusion here that perhaps God did not want simply Pharasaic behavior, even if it was not tinged with self-righteousness, but a loving relationship without fear. After surviving all that he experienced, I imagine that Job would never experience adversity in the same way again or be truly afraid, but rather feel fierce trust and deep love. Job is an interesting story, for sure. I think there are levels of meaning far deeper than we usually discuss.Elizabeth Mahlouhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00334700057953625321noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5558980250242671917.post-55972084128597104632009-12-13T13:38:25.279-05:002009-12-13T13:38:25.279-05:00Hi Elizabeth,
Thanks so much for causing me to do...Hi Elizabeth,<br /><br />Thanks so much for causing me to do some thinking!<br /><br />In my opinion, God knew Job's heart very well. But JOB didn't know Job's heart. God loved Job too much to allow him to remain in his state of self-righteousness. Job didn't know God's heart whatsoever. Like most of today's Christians, he served a demanding, judgement-exacting deity. Job thought that to appease God he had to do so via his upright behaviour or his blameless performance. He did not know God's heart of love for him. Job also did not see the depravity in his OWN heart. He truly thought he was doing everything 'right' and so did everyone around him.<br /><br />So - how could a God of love allow Satan to do what he did?Richhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12630150578438657112noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5558980250242671917.post-74365360222687849002009-12-13T12:40:20.664-05:002009-12-13T12:40:20.664-05:00Rich, let me then throw your own question back to ...Rich, let me then throw your own question back to you because I am not sure that I can answer it coherently. Why would God allow Satan that unkind opportunity? So that we grow? So that we learn to trust? I know some people say that it is to test us, but then why do only some people get tested and does not God know our hearts without such testing?Elizabeth Mahlouhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00334700057953625321noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5558980250242671917.post-8089598033585564992009-12-13T12:03:03.085-05:002009-12-13T12:03:03.085-05:00Elizabeth,
I appreciate your question and at the ...Elizabeth,<br /><br />I appreciate your question and at the same time trying to understand it.<br />For example here is something that I want to offer for consideration re: your question... But the Lord said to him, "Go, for he is a chosen instrument of Mine, to bear My name before the Gentiles and kings and the sons of Israel; for I will show him how much he must suffer for My name's sake."<br /><br />Also re: the situation with God and Job and his sufferings, God didn’t imo cause them, but did allow Satan to do a much similar thing as when Jesus said to Peter that Satan had repeatedly asked permission to sift Peter like wheat and Jesus telling Peter in advance that was exactly what was going to happen.Richhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12630150578438657112noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5558980250242671917.post-83105275755670600192009-12-13T01:19:09.346-05:002009-12-13T01:19:09.346-05:00Did I misunderstand? Are you saying that God cause...Did I misunderstand? Are you saying that God causes our suffering? I thought that the message of Job was that God does not cause it but protects us through it -- if we let Him.Elizabeth Mahlouhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00334700057953625321noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5558980250242671917.post-12574650236619371632009-12-11T23:33:39.596-05:002009-12-11T23:33:39.596-05:00Dumela,
Thanks for taking a peak at this interest...Dumela,<br /><br />Thanks for taking a peak at this interesting blog :)Richhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12630150578438657112noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5558980250242671917.post-44949433399364240852009-12-11T18:38:40.281-05:002009-12-11T18:38:40.281-05:00An interesting blogAn interesting blogDumelahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02857977113577639162noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5558980250242671917.post-7607517462761417782009-11-19T22:09:07.273-05:002009-11-19T22:09:07.273-05:00Maris,
So cool Father comforting you my dear frie...Maris,<br /><br />So cool Father comforting you my dear friend and brother..Ciao!!Richhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12630150578438657112noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5558980250242671917.post-64908814200876562002009-11-19T09:53:19.275-05:002009-11-19T09:53:19.275-05:00I was comforted through these words.I was comforted through these words.Mārishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01442069719580299673noreply@blogger.com