DISCIPLE! - Please Read the OP

[Bondman]

Disciple! Index​

Click on Any Discipleship Message to Go Directly to It​

#1 The OP of Disciple! (Explaining what the Thread is About!)
#2 Satan - and Making it to God in Heaven!
#3 You Can Have Victory Over Sin in You Life!
#4 Don't Look DOWN, Look UP!
#5 "The Devil Made Me Do It"
#6 Human Activity... is a NO!
#7 The New Testament Love Commandments - Part A (starts in #7)
#8 But Who Wants to Hear About Tribulation?
#9 The New Testament Love Commandments - Part B (starts in #7)
#10 Help From the Holy Spirit - What's OUR Part? - Part A (starts in #10)
#11 When We Need the Holy Spirit to Be Active in Our Lives - Part B (starts in #10)
#12 Error Multiplies, and is VERY Dangerous - Plus the Tribulation!
#13 Yes, But WHEN Will Jesus be Ready to Return?

• • OUR SPECIAL "BLOOD OF JESUS" SERIES • • ​

#14 Following Jesus as True Disciples
#15 TODAY WE START!!
#16 The Blood of Jesus is Crying Out for JUSTICE!!
#17 Who?... ME?
#18 Continuing our Search for Justice
#19 Where Jesus Shed Blood Has NO Effect!!
#20 Bondman, a Message, and the Devil
#21 What Should We Actually DO with The Old Testament? - Part A (starts in #21)
#22 Then What Should We Actually Do with the NEW Testament? - Part B (starts in #21)
#23 I Reckon We Can Do This (We Better!!)
#24 Get Ready for Fireworks...
#25 Agape - Our FAITH and Our (Good) WORKS
#26 tnorF ot kcaB (Back to Front) - Part A (starts in #26)
#27 You Really Need to: Change Your Mind - Part B (starts in #26)
#28 Looking Forward to Our Spiritual Future!! - Part A (starts in #28)
#29 Get Ready for the Tribulation
#30 It's CRUNCH Point: SERIOUSLY Getting Ready for Our Total Future with God - Part B (starts in #28)
#31 You and Me DECISIONS! - Part C (starts in #28)
#32 How Do You Eat an Elephant?
#33 Misconceptions, Confusions, Presumptions, and More
#34 The Church, Your Tithe, and You
#35 Teaching in a School in Far North Queensland... a Wonderful Discipleship Story!
#36 The Tribulation and the Rapture - What Happens WHEN?
#37 Getting Guidance from the Lord - Closed and Open Doors

 

[Bondman]

STATEMENT OF INTENT

I'm going to write this strongly in places but the smiley above is always there in ALL that's below, okay!

I started The Inner Room thread over 18 months ago on 1-1-08, and counting double and triple posts have done nearly 300 Messages which I've sometimes called mini-sermons, but effectively are Condensed Sermons, that take as much to write as a parson's regular sermon. Except I do one every two days!

Like a lot of ministers I work 7 days a week, averaging 60 to 70 hrs each week on my ministry here on CFS. Unlike pastors it's now approx. 19 years since I (and we) have had a holiday!! And unlike most pastors I've been too sick to work a normal job for the past 31 years. So I do this instead! (As I've said before, "Can't keep a good man down!!")

IT'S TIME

BUT IT'S TIME!! Time I got my life back to coin a phrase! Do I regret all that I've put into first the IR thread and now the new Disciple! thread? NO WAY!!! I LOVE what I do, and will continue doing it so long as He wants me to. What I need to do is "change the rules" a bit. You see, I'm a hopelessly CONSCIENTIOUS BLOKE!!! Can't help myself. You know how many in the world rebel against God and His rules, well I've basically never done this - even before I was saved! Which is hardly surprising because I'm such a concho that I don't even REBEL against my own "rules"!

How this works is that rain, hail or shine I put up a Message even two days. So on the day in between, what am I doing? Exactly! (give the man a coconut!!) - I'm preparing the next day's Message! Any spare time? "Spare time," what's that??

There is so much around here now that's been put off, and put off, and put off, that it's a wonder Beloved is even still talking to me. A VERY forgiving and understanding Lady!! All this is quite apart from the fact that I HATE not getting things done that should be done!

I PROPOSE...

I intend to do my best - which will NOT be easy for me! - to cut down on the number of Messages I do here. Not quite so often I mean. This should NOT adversely affect my ministry here - or YOUR LIVES. Because the Lord's graciously showed me something about that. Most expecially I now know that many here are still reading the 250 to 300 message posts on the other thread. WOW!! So on days that I don't put up a Discipleship Message, there's PILES still to be read here. Please don't tell me that: 1) You've read every mesage on the other thread 2) That you took in all of what you HAVE read, and 3) That you are now living it all out!!! NO offense meant to ANYONE!!!

I've now put the links to the Indexes of "The Inner Room", "Reaching Higher", "Gems" and Disciple!" permanently into my Sig: so you will have access to them always, and THUS to every Message I've ever written!! If I WERE to stop writring messages today, how long do you think it would be before you'd PM me to say, "BM, I'm now 100% LIVING OUT all that you wriote. Please write some more Messages"???

HERE'S HOPING!

Well, here's hoping this will work!!! Please pray for me to share my time out more equitably. In no way am I CHANGING or LESSENING my ministry as such: just the amount of time I spend on CFS.

I'll put this on the IR as well, for people who are only reading there. Thankyou so much for understanding!! I love you all so greatly!!!!

- BM

 

[Faithwoman]

BUT, if I will stop for even a few seconds AND LOOK UP to the Lord God, ha!! - now we're cooking with gas!! With our eyes (mind, emotions, and all) OFF the problem here below, and ON the Lord above - things can start to change!! - FOR THE BETTER!!! Question: is it possible to be LOOKING UP and LOOKING DOWN at the same time?? Of course not!! It's one or the other, right! The PROBLEM here is that, because of our physical faculties - and ESPECIALLY our eyes - we keep SEEING and EXPERIENCING the problem!!! This is SO typical of the normal lives of many Christians...

Please ACCEPT that earnest life for the true Believer will be tough. Jesus PROMISED this!! He said, in John Ch 16:33 "In the WORLD you WILL have... what? A good time? A great life? Prosperity, money, and all the rest? NO!! - we will have: "TRIBULATION!!" That is, tough times, trials, and hardship. I didn't say this, HE did!! Question: WHY is it that we don't we take full NOTE of what the Bible says??? The New Testament is perfectly clear from Matthew to Revelation that for God's people it's: hard times HERE, so that we may enjoy rejoicing and GREAT times 'up there'. No, make that fantasmagorically wonderful and amazing and superb times with God in eternity!!!! Did you get that?

I am getting it slowly but surely! I stepped out in faith today and gave my 60 day notice on my apartment. I have no clue where I am going but I do know this, God will proivde for me during these tribulations. A testimony to this is the woman who God led me to and she, and her kids and husband received salvation. This past Sunday our Pastor spoke of keeping our light lit and going forward to find the lost, that we should not become tired and weary. He walked around on the altar with a lantern.

I stood up in church and said I was tired and weary and I needed prayer.
The mom was with me. I spoke of how God uses Care-A-van to go forth and we appreciate the support of the church.

Yesterday the mom showed up at my home with a gift. a lantern of my own.

The card read:
This is just a little something for you. You have been so kind and so helpful to me and the kids. Without you we would have never found God the way we have. Our lives have tremendously changed for the better since God brought you to us. When Pastor Dan spoke at church yesterday on the lantern and the fire being lit and not burning it touched me in a way I cannot describe.

I thought of you in my heart and all your going through also and this lantern is my gift to use so you can always remember when it is lit that God is your fire and you will never burn out. He will keep your fire lit and guide you oin the right direction always!

Now how awesome is that folks! A new babe in Christ and she is understanding that our Lord will keep our fire lit and he will guide us in the right direction always!

So I will light this little lantern and keep letting God lead me! Praises to our Lord.. and Bondman.. it is the weak side of the flesh that says i am struggling.. got to work on the spirtual warfare battle and kick that darn devil back!

I have attached a pic of the wonderful woman God placed in my life!
and God led a man to me just out of prison in December that lives for Jesus now to give me a very special message to! Boy.. I think the Lord is saying wake up.. see me.. Don't look Down.. Always Look up!

 

[Bondman]

How beautiful and wonderful what Brandy did for you!!! I LOVED what she wrote on the card!

You said: "it is the weak side of the flesh that says i am struggling.. got to work on the spirtual warfare battle and kick that darn devil back!" Yes your struggle certainly seems to seriously be with your flesh. I can't see where any "spiritual warfare battle" is needed. Go back and reread Message #3. The answer is all there in Romans Ch 6!! No spiritual warfare, and no devil either!!! Just JESUS and His death and resurrection to RELEASE you into FREEDOM!!!

To use a word we used to use a lot when I was younger, you gotta APPROPRIATE into your life what God speaks as BEING TRUE in the Romans chapter!! Praying!

Blessings, dear one!!

- BM

 

[Bondman]

Discipleship Message #5

"The Devil Made Me Do It!"​

The Devil - the Ultimate Scapegoat!​

There are many churches and people around who blame the devil for almost every problem known to man! Yes, there certainly are NT verses setting forth how the devil is still messing with people's lives. But what I am going to say CATEGORICALLY is that the devil is most certainly NOT the sole problem-producer and sin-producer in this world!

The Bible speaks of our INNER enemies as being (at a bare minimum) the world, the flesh and the devil - NOT necessarily in that order!! FIRST, I've written a lot about changing your attitude to the world, and becoming un-worldly and Spiritual rather than worldly! SECOND, our flesh is a major, MAJOR problem to us!! This is the inner man of sin who’ll be there till you finally meet Jesus, the inner man who wants what YOU want, is determined to go your OWN way rather than God’s, and fights AGAINST God in your life.THIRD, the devil is always there aiming to cause as much catastrophic stuff as possible in the world, AND to do all he can to mess up your Christian walk.

Those who want to put the devil FAR ABOVE all else as THE arch enemy of the Christian spend a lot of their lives and a great pile of time in their church meetings 'fighting' against the devil. The devil SIMPLY ADORES IT when you give him air time and talk about him!! He just LOVES hearing his name being spoken over and over and over in churches (sometimes even said more times than the name of Jesus!) Me, I want to speak the NAME OF JESUS!!!

The devil barely gets any air time in my life at all!!! Anyone who can show me clearly that the New Testament teaches differently, I'd like to hear from them. Yes, the devil certainly TEMPTS you and tries to 'get' you! - but check out THIS amazing verse: James Ch 1:14 But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. 15 Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death.

Some of us are very quick to say that it’s THE DEVIL who tempts us. But here GOD is telling us a very different and POWERFUL TRUTH!! Please LISTEN to me and take HEED: OUR desires and OUR lusts are what DRAW us away and ENTICE US to sin!! Then what do we do? - we cover this up to ourselves and others by blaming the DEVIL!! Effectively we’re saying: "The devil made me do it!" NO HE DIDN'T!!! He cannot make you do ANYTHING YOU DON’T WANT TO!! Stop blaming HIM!!! It’s time we STOPPED making him the scapegoat for what are our own sinful desires!! NOTE: he can make unbelievers do things - because they are his (as we all used to be!)

Completed in next post...

 

[Bondman]

... Completed from previous post

Satan can’t MAKE a Christian sin because of the MAJOR DEFEAT he suffered at Calvary! HE LOST US when JESUS WON US!!! That's a Hallelujah!!! Another reason is that our ALL-POWERFUL GOD ALWAYS LIVES IN YOU! The devil can’t beat God, so you’re already wonderfully protected from him! Always hold these WONDERFUL TRUTHS in your life, and never let them go! Then you will be victorious and an OVERCOMER!

I know the devil is walking around (only) 'LIKE' a roaring lion seeking who he may destroy - but he must treat him as the DEFEATED ENEMY that he is! Okay, he WILL still throw sinful suggestions into your mind when you’re not ready for them. BUT just RESIST and REJECT them! Speak James Ch 4:7 to THE LORD (not the devil - DON'T talk to him!!!) "Lord, I am submitted to You. I RESIST THE DEVIL - and he must FLEE from me. Thankyou, thankyou, thankyou!!!"

Read what Peter says straight after the "LIKE a lion" bit: 1 Peter Ch 5:8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about LIKE a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. 9 Resist him, steadfast and strong in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world. Does THAT sound like God is writing in His Word that the devil has to be feared and can tear you up whenever he wants?? The devil is full of bluff and bluster: he roars simply to try and convince you that he CAN beat you. He CAN too - but not if you refuse to let him! RESIST HIM!!!

And how about this verse! Speaking of evil things that are in the world God speaks this brilliant truth:John Ch 4:4 You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. The Holy Spirit IN YOU is infinitely more powerful than any men and any devils in this world!!! The Lord is affirming to you that you have overcome the evil things in the world, oh Saint of the Lord God!! Always remember that you are a Saint! You are SET APART for God, separated from the world around you, for HIM alone! Set apart to serve Him; to obey Him; to love Him; and to please Him! WOW!!!

- BM (with his Lady)

​

 

[Faithwoman]

Wowsa! Great post! allelullia! Great verses for me to meditate on! Thanks a bunch!

 

[Bondman]

You've very welcome, hon. Hope it all helps!

- BM

 

[Fluffy]

Great posts!
Are ya gonna take a break now? LOL!!!

Just kidding!!

No, not totally. See, your post about taking a break now and then is just what I was talking about. There is such strong 'meat' in your posts, we need time to 'digest' what you have written. Like a friend of mine is always saying "build it layer upon layer, precept on precept". Some things take time to ruminate in our minds before we can say "aha! NOW I get it!" and can move on to the next thing.

You have done a wonderful job in indexing your posts so that people can go back and go over them again without having to wade through all the pages to find it! And I see your indexing the Disciple thread as you go. Good move! That should save you piles of time and energy!

Take a nice break, and tell your Lady we are still praying for the both of you!

 

[Bondman]

Thankyou for your post, Fluf, and for some gentle 'encouragement' to me to take it easier. Getting the right balance - in many things in our lives - isn't easy, is it? Like, how much do I write, how often, and so on.

I know what I write is all too much to take in at once, and certainly too much to 'grab' and start to live it all out. I guess because I've spent over 50 years always "being behind", in the sense that I was not being taught at all means that I want folks to have all they can handle - and more!! Not be starved and held back all the time like I was.

Like you said people can go back and read or reread. You may be interested to know that more are reading back in the IR thread than on Disciple so far! THAT, to me, is most ENCOURAGING!!! And does help me in 'letting go' more easily.

One other thing I've think I've not mentioned for some time, is the fact that all I can do these days is work here at the computer, PLUS it is what's literally keeping me alive - until God heals us by miracle, that is! I am a workaholic like my Dad, and always have been. Then I am also 'driven' from within because of my love for Jesus to teach every soul I can about Him!! I care little about my own state, just about what I may do for my Lord and Master - and am mature enough in the faith to know what to do and what not.

It IS taking me time to get less busy here, if that's not too much of a contradiction! - so hopefully we'll see fewer Messages soon! Thankyou SO MUCH for caring, dear Fluf!! Love you!!

- BM

 

[Faithwoman]

It IS taking me time to get less busy here, if that's not too much of a contradiction! - so hopefully we'll see fewer Messages soon! Thankyou SO MUCH for caring, dear Fluf!! Love you!!

Hey there Fluffy and Bondman.. so true.. we do need the time to digest things and there are times in our life that we need to get less busy.. that is what I feel lately as well.. don't know how that will happen with having to move and all.. This week-end is a crazy busy week-end ahead , I am heading to Meadville, PA to speak at the Bethesda Children's home where my grandparents ran the home for 34 years..
Bethesda Children's Home in Pennsylvania

I have been asked to be a guest speaker for their 90th anniversary.. how awesome is that.. I will see my daughter and spend a few days with her and take her to look at a college.. she graduates next year.

So i will be on a sabbatical myself until next week. I hope you all have a blessed week=end!

Faithwoman

 

[Bondman]

Wow, I remember that you were asked to speak at the Bethesda Children's home your grandparents ran for so many years. HOW EXCITING!!!

I hope it all goes well, and also concerning daughter and the college.

The Lord knows where you need to be, hon, so He will take care of you, of your shift, of any changes, THE LOT!! Put yourself INTO HIS LOVING HANDS, trust - and rest!!

How awesome that Almighty God will take time to look after you and me!!! Whoo-hoo!! Quite blows my brain. But I CAN handle it!!!!

Piles of love and hugs, dear one!!

- BM

 

[Bondman]

Discipleship Message #6

Human Activity... is a NO!​

Human activity is NOT what will get you to your final destiny as a Christian here on earth. I'm TOTALLY aware that this is how we ALL tend to think - the TEMPTATION to do it this way is simply too great!. One of my weaknesses in life has been that I simply try too hard. Notice WHO is doing that! Yes, ME!! And I had to learn to STOP that (amongst a lot of other stuff) if I was ever going to learn to live in RIGHTEOUSNESS rather than sinfulness!! (these are virtually opposites.)

But HOW? The way to stop our human activity is accomplished by giving in to God and relinquishing yourself - that's all of you - to the Lord!! Until you've done this fully, then YOU will still be doing piles of things in a quite futile effort to truly live the real Christian life!

I know that you want to be RIGHTEOUS, and HOLY, and to live a life that's PLEASING TO YOUR GOD! I KNOW that!! But you're never going to achieve it by your struggles, by your efforts. This is another area of our lives where it's NOT about me. It's about HIM!!

My struggling, and trying, and working hard, and struggling some more is simply NEVER going to cut it! But when I turn to the Lord and firstly ADMIT that I'm just NOT up to the task, that it's just too hard! (cos it IS!) Then secondly ACKNOWLEDGE that God Himself, by His Spirit in me, is MY ONLY WAY OUT, THEN I'm starting to get on the right track!!

Your goal NOW is working towards MORE RIGHTEOUSNESS in your life (living right)-by being OBEDIENT to Him, doing what He wants, and seeking always to PLEASE Him and make Him happy! You seriously NEED this to help move you from child, to primary age, to teen, to adult, and finally to Spiritual Maturity in the Lord Jesus Christ!!! You think that YOU cannot possibly reach Maturity in Christ?? RUBBISH!!! You belong to Him, right! Don't you GET that you're a true Saint of God? You're now His child, an esteemed member of HIS personal family!!!

So it's: QUIT your human activity and strugglings (and maybe, like me, trying too hard) relinquish it ALL, and all of YOU, to your Lord. Then you PRAY and keep praying: pray about the thing you want to move into, or the thing you want to get rid of. YOU cannot do this. You can't! In fact, you can't do ANY of it!! Only the Holy Spirit in you can!! Consider this to be your personal path for and with God that you start on TODAY!!

- BM (with his Lady)

​

 

[Bondman]

UPDATING!

The "LIST"

Hi everyone!! Just to let you know that I'm still using time to try and catch up on "life" here at home, i.e., all the jobs that have piled up!

And I did something I've not done in ages. I actually wrote a "list" - you know, one of those things where you record a great pile of tasks that need doing but most of which you won't actually get done... then you transfer them to the "new list", and so it goes on!!

Well I was very careful to put only the 'essentials' down, and so my list has just 11 entries. Okay, only 3 are crossed out so far, but I'm very proud of them there 3 wot I'VE GOT DUN!! And I have a harddrive being formatted at this very moment ready for me to set up a decent backup system to it - needed to be done for AGES, but just haven't had the time!! *me bad!* Once formatting is finished then I get to the bigger task of making the backup program do what I need it to...

THE IR and DISCIPLE

Meantime, here are the numbers for the past week's daily visits (can I call them "visitations"?) to the IR thread:

79, 134, 131, 63, 85, 52 (Sunday - always lower), and 121 for yesterday. I'm rapt, just RAPT; I'm sure God is pleased, and I hope this is an encouragement to you like it is to me. We are NOT "wasting" our time and energy here - the Lord is teaching and training and ultimately changing lives!!! Yeee-harrrr!!

If I add in visits to Disciple, then the totals are even more amazing:

156, 153, 177, 104, 125, 64 (Sunday!), and 154. "From the bottom of my heart I bless and thank You, Lord, for all your wondrous deeds, not the least of which is what you are doing here on CFS!! How it's possible, and why it's happening has to be ALL YOU!!!"

Finally, I asked you to pray for someone to really get their act together with the Lord - and you'll remember that this started within 24hrs!! I have to report that the work is still going on, and some of it is almost miraculous: a life being transformed!! Wow!! Thankyou Jesus; thankyou all you lovely caring people!!!

Much love to each of you!

- BM

 

[Bondman]

Discipleship Message #7

The New Testament Love Commandments - Part A ​

We have THREE major Love Commandments direct from the lips of our Lord and Master!! Most folks know the first two of these, but some seem unaware of the high importance of the third. Then of course, sadly there are those of us who don't seem to ever manage to obey any of the three!! Oh, and every time "love" is mentioned below it is always agape (God's special love). Here are the first two Commandments. Jesus spoke:

Mark Ch 12:30 "And you shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength. This is the first commandment." Are you like I was for SO long? I read this commandment that Jesus said is #1, promptly thought: well that's certainly impossible to do! - and that was it! *erps!!!* In time I realised that "commandment" means, well, "commandment", and that I better have a rethink about it all! Thus I now KNOW that you and I CAN love God with our whole heart (as via His Spirit I now do). And we ALL better work towards doing so if we ever hope to PLEASE Him, and really and truly and personally actually get to KNOW Him!! Plus... what's not to love!!!!

31 "And the second, like it, is this: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. There is no other commandment greater than these." Now THAT can certainly be more difficult!! - we're to love everyone else, along with ourself. So God's COMMAND to love others is the 2nd most important one in the whole universe!! BUT... 1 John Ch 4:20 If someone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen? What a wow of a point John is making here!! So do I really love God? - well, NO! - NOT unless I agape others!!

Having trouble loving others? That's a JOB for the Holy Spirit in you!! He can, and He will give you LOVE for them, help you to FORGIVE them if need be, and give you a CARING heart for others. Do you think it's really an ACCIDENT that God wrote the very first aspect of the Fruit of the Spirit as... (click) Galatians 5:22-23. To love others, keep praying to get Filled with the Spirit, and keep praying for more love according to Galatians Ch 5:22. There's no shortcut to this, same as there's no shortcut to any other important thing you're wanting to do to grow towards maturity in Christ! Rome wasn't built in a day. Neither has Bondman been!! Nor will you be!! Work away. Don't get tired with it all, and don't ever quit!

Continued in Part B...

- BM (with his Lady)

​

 

[Faithwoman]

Having trouble loving others? That's a JOB for the Holy Spirit in you!! He can, and He will give you LOVE for them, help you to FORGIVE them if need be, and give you a CARING heart for others. Do you think it's really an ACCIDENT that God wrote the very first aspect of the Fruit of the Spirit as... (click) Galatians 5:22-23. To love others, keep praying to get Filled with the Spirit, and keep praying for more love according to Galatians Ch 5:22. There's no shortcut to this, same as there's no shortcut to any other important thing you're wanting to do to grow towards maturity in Christ! Rome wasn't built in a day. Neither has Bondman been!! Nor will you be!! Work away. Don't get tired with it all, and don't ever quit!

Good morning! I loved this message on love. I think the above is one of the hardest things I had to work through and still do at times.. I loved the saying Roman was not built in a day nor was Bondman, nor was Faithwoman, but I have to tell you.. the building our Lord has done in the last year has been pretty amazing!

I gave the message at the children's home this past week-end. Bondman. I had 3 typed pages of what I was going to say and guess what.. I got up to the podium and the Lord completely changed it. I set the papers aside and spoke a total different message! I used no notes.. I spoke from the heart.. the only t hing I used off of the papers was part of a prayer I wrote! My son videotaped it and I tried to upload it to you tube and another site, but it is to many MB.. It was 236 MB. I was so dissapointed as I really wanted to share it with you all.

God had a suprise waiting for me when I arrived. Paul and Bridget the founders of our ministry drove 3 hours to surprise me! It was the first time in 10 years that they entrusted part of the team to do the street church on Sunday so they could come support me.. now talk about love! We all went back to my parents place, went boating, the next day I took my daughter to visit a college and she drove my car home.. yikes.. she will get her license at the end of the month.

I spent quiet time by the lake with just God and I.. I asked him to keep examining me and help take away those things that are not of him in my life. Balance is one huge thing I lack. Your message on doing works was fantastic.. deep down I realized last nite that one of the things of doing the ministry is the love I feel back.. as you know there has been much shame and rejection in my life and of course the biggie of learning to love myself and realizing I am worthy.

Last nite I actually just spent time at home.. believe it! whoo hoo.. set a few small goals to get done.. I need to get a list started as well. Ok.. so yesterday is gone the past years are gone, I no longer have to be a prisoner of my bad choices and weak decisons- that all just brings me guilt and regret. Those things of the past were keeping me at bay, keeping me from what our Lord really has for me. He has a brand new life for me .. even at the age of 47.. how excting is that folks!

I now look forward to the journey.. how exciting to be moving to a new apartment.. hey I don't even know what it looks like or where it is.. but God does.. if I keep seeking him and allowing him to lead me to where I will be living.. it will be awesome!

Agape love.. Let it shine, let it be.. may I continue to learn to love others, forgive them.. but most of all forgive myself as Jesus has..

Looking forward to part 2

Love you all!
Faithwoman

 

[Bondman]

Oh wow, that was pretty awesome!! Throw the notes away, huh!! Rely on the Holy Spirit as to what GOD wants to be said. What a rebel you are!! Just kidding!! Well done, sweetie, WELL DONE!!!

It was good that you'd done notes however, because "putting God to the test" is a very bad and dangerous thing, i.e., assuming that He will give you the words. (UNLESS, of course, He has told you beforehand that He will.) This is kind of a "balance" thing too. We must NOT be LAZY on one hand, as some are, and not prepare what we will say. We must NOT, on the other hand, fail to TRUST Him to come through for us if He's clearly said He will give the words at the time.

That was so WONDERFUL of Paul and Bridget to surprise you like that! They sure DO love you! I didn't know Bridget was okay, or out of hospital. Sorry if I missed something? How is she anyway?

I just loved: "Ok.. so yesterday is gone the past years are gone, I no longer have to be a prisoner of my bad choices and weak decisons- that all just brings me guilt and regret." All great, all true!!!

And also: "I now look forward to the journey.." We ALL should be!! Looking forward with Godly anticipation in FULL FAITH to all the things He is going to TEACH us, and REVEAL to us - about ourselves, about Himself, AND about the future in the sense of what we'll EXPERIENCE when we reach Maturity!!!

Love ya!!!

- BM

 

[Faithwoman]

She is doing better, she did not have to be in hospital. she was suppose to take prednisone medicine to help her, but she would not take it as it makes her bloat up.. their daughter's wedding is this week-end. We all continue to thank the Lord for her healing.

Her eye is better and the drooping in the mouth is doing better as well. Praise the Lord!

Tonight is going to be another night just home relaxing in the Lord, going to spend some time and get some rug burn.. you know when you lay out all flat and praise him and just let him love you and speak to you!

What a journey it has been and continues to be so.. off the top of my head right now
F false
L laziness
E expectaions
S self
H hardships

Living in the flesh has brought me false, laziness, expections and hardships. but living in the spirit with the Lord has brought me joy and peace and truth. The flesh is all about ourself, we get lazy, we have expectations and we bring on our own hardships.

Oh the lies I was living in when I was truly living full flesh.. it is dying to that flesh and living as God wants us to live.. everything in our lives must be focused on him.. The sin that was abound in my life.. oh my looking back.. what a prisoner I truly was to so many things..
Hey this walk is getting better each day.. keep opening my eyes Lord.

I read in one of my emails today

Whenever God Closes One Door He Always Opens Another, Even Though
Sometimes It's Hell in the Hallway"

I called the HR director that sent it to me and I was laughing so hard.. I said my gosh Carolyn.. those hellish hallways he takes us to.. those hallways that need his love and for the people to come to him.. Lord.. let thy will be done in Faithwoman's life!

Hugs
Faithwoman

 

[Bondman]

Man, that is brilliant news about Bridget! God be praised!!

More coming in a post.

- BM

 

[Bondman]

Discipleship Message #8

But Who Wants to Hear About Tribulation?​

... Faithwoman's post here. I really thought your F-A-L-S-E was good! And I know you are meaning hardships that you've put YOURSELF through in the flesh - because we WILL have hardships in the Spirit! John Ch 16:33 These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world. So Promise #1 from the Lord Jesus: as a Believer you WILL have HARDSHIP in this world!! Promise #2 from the Lord Jesus: But I have overcome the world (from which the HARDSHIPS come) - so stay positive, confident, and even cheerful! More on this in a moment.

ON SIDE #1 OF THE COIN: I just love what I once heard someone say: "I had hardships before I became a Christian. When I got saved they got worse; and when I got filled with the Spirit worse still!!" If you're new to Disciple! and The Inner Room that may freak you out!! But please don't let it!!! Jesus has OVERCOME the world. God is totally in charge at all times. Put yourself FIRMLY in His mighty hands, and nothing, that's NOTHING, can ever clobber your spirit, and thus clobber YOU!! Yes, this all DOES have to be learned, by experience, as you walk with the Lord!! The clear message here from the Lord is that tribulation and hardships ARE the normal Christian life!!! That is, if life's always pretty easy for you, you should be concerned!!

ON SIDE #2 OF THE COIN: BALANCING up hardships are all the BLESSINGS we get - too many to be counted! - that the earnest Christian receives from a LOVING GOD! He's never going to be IN YOUR DEBT! WE will always be INDEBTED to HIM! The more you are PREPARED to go through hardships, ACCEPTING THEM FROM HIS HANDS, working towards NOT complaining about them, and seeking the power and ability from the Holy Spirit in you to learn how to ENDURE them, the faster you are going to grow as a son or daughter of the Most High!!!

But let's take a careful look at some of the BLESSINGS that DO BALANCE our life hardships as Believers: we get absolute ASTONISHING things in our lives like:"PEACE that passes understanding", "if the Son shall make you FREE you shall be FREE indeed", "the LOVE of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who is given to us", "These things I have spoken to you, that My JOY may remain in you, and that YOUR JOY may be full. And I could keep going on and on and on!! We are blessed beyond measure. HERE'S THE RULE FOR YOU TO REMEMBER ALWAYS. Jesus speaks to us (through Paul): 1) "Share my sufferings NOW." 2) "Share my GLORY later!" (click) Romans 8:18. And you're NOT going to have 2. without 1. Clearly this involves a quite MAJOR PHASE SHIFT in our THINKING. The sooner you do this, the sooner you'll be growing towards maturity.

- BM (with his Lady)

​