In what ways does the Holy Spirit act in you?

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Mar 17, 2021
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I just went by what the Holy Spirit told me in response to my question about dreams and visions. He told me I didn't need dreams and visions because I had the reality of Christ in me through the indwelling Holy Spirit and I had the written Scriptures that contains everything God has said to us. That was good enough for me, and has been since 1969 when the Holy Spirit told me that. I have lived by faith in the Written Scriptures ever since and have witnessed many remarkable things as a result, in terms of guidance, provision, and people being healed when I have prayed for them.
I made a typo in the last sentence. I have corrected it in the quote.
 

Lafftur

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Apr 18, 2017
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Here is something I have just read in a commentary by a major Reformed Bible commentator.
"There are two types of believer: (1) the believer who needs experiences and emotions and if they don't get them their walk with God comes to a halt until they have their next sensory experience. This is because their faith is not strong enough to just trust the written Word of God in order to continue walking in the Spirit. (2) Those who have total faith in the written Scriptures and continue walking in the Spirit regardless of how they feel or any sensory experiences they may have. They may be afflicted, depressed, confused, and feel that Christ has deserted them; but they continue on in faith, trusting the written promises, not allowing their negative experience to hinder their walk with God in the Spirit.
So....where does communion with God’s Holy Spirit fit in....:unsure:

....and like John on the island of Patmos being “in the Spirit” on the Lord’s day and writing the book of Revelation....or Phillip being translated just to minister to an Ethiopian eunuch reading the book of Isaiah 53....:unsure:

Let go of human logic and reasoning.....God’s Ways are MUCH higher!!!! Let go and soar! God has much to show you! :love:(y)
 

2ndTimothyGroup

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Feb 20, 2021
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@PaulChristensen - What is the most incredible miracle you've witnessed, or what is the most powerful experience, or encounter, that you have had with our Powerful God?
 
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The Holy Spirit kept me from sinning earlier today. He works in my life like that all the time, without stopping.

I pray to the Father in the name of Jesus and through the Holy Spirit.

He baptizes me, seals me, fills me, illuminates me, and encourages me. And yes, He is a He and not an "it." He is one of the three persons of God. But not necessarily the third.

Thanks to the beloved Holy Spirit, I can live on this side of Pentecost (Acts 2). And I can continue to reap the rewards of my salvation. Otherwise, without Him, I would continue to be dead in my sins as so many are right now.

I am going to say something bold:

The Holy Spirit is of equal value to His people as Jesus Christ and the Father. He is not a second-rate person of God. He is not even the "third," as so many scholars attempt to elucidate. The Holy Spirit, to me, is a real person.

For clarity, though, I advocate praying to the Father in the name of Jesus through the continuing work of the Holy Spirit. I hear a lot of followers praying, "Thank you, God, thank you, Jesus, thank you Holy Spirit."

While I don't think there's anything wrong with that, it can confuse a new believer. They're left wondering who the person is really praying to. And quite frankly, I think the person praying that way gets confused, also.

And yes, for that reason, most denominations come across as putting the Holy Spirit last. But I don't think anyone means to do that. After all, it's the Holy Spirit who brought us all to Christ in the first place.

Dear Father, I thank you for the gift of your Holy Spirit, in Jesus's name. Amen.
 

shittim

Senior Member
Dec 16, 2016
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John 16 says a lot to explain His role in our lives, He only speaks what He is given to speak, guiding us in all truth.
did He keep you from sinning? Or did He bring to your mind the temptation you were presented with that you could then flee from the temptation?
blessings
 
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So....where does communion with God’s Holy Spirit fit in....:unsure:

....and like John on the island of Patmos being “in the Spirit” on the Lord’s day and writing the book of Revelation....or Phillip being translated just to minister to an Ethiopian eunuch reading the book of Isaiah 53....:unsure:

Let go of human logic and reasoning.....God’s Ways are MUCH higher!!!! Let go and soar! God has much to show you! :love:(y)
You are talking to a person who has being living in the light of God's countenance for the last 53 years! :)(y) If you PM me, I will attach my book on how God speaks to me. I would attach it here but I don't think I'm allowed to promote a book on here.
 

shittim

Senior Member
Dec 16, 2016
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ALL of us. By default that is our place were it not for His working in our lives.
Recently volunteered at a VA facility, one of my first people had served as a medic for two tours of duty when the average life expectancy for a medic was 14 days. He went on to serve the Lord, he and his bride, with their whole lives. It seems favor rests on some as the Lord knows the end from the beginning and knows what they will do for His Kingdom far ahead of time.
Blessings
 
Mar 17, 2021
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@PaulChristensen - What is the most incredible miracle you've witnessed, or what is the most powerful experience, or encounter, that you have had with our Powerful God?
In a Christian camp, I had a word of knowledge for a young woman which had a very dramatic effect on her, and found out afterward that she had been counselled earlier in the day concerning that very thing!

I prayed for my work supervisor for her arthritic knee. All I prayed was "Jesus heals you." Three weeks later she had a subsequent Xray and the arthritis that was seen on her first Xray had totally disappeared.

In an equipping meeting I prayed for a nurse who had strained her back while lifting a patient, and was in serious pain. The next week she was to give me a lift to the meeting and she bounded across the road saying that after I prayed for her, all the pain disappeared and her back was totally healed.

In another equipping meeting I prayed for a wife who had been diagnose with a medical condition with a "tongues" like Latin definition, that stopped her being able to conceive. I put my hand on her shoulder and prayed, "Jesus heals you" and three months later her husband told me that she conceived the very night I prayed for her.

In the course of a healing conference that I led, there was a woman with a chronic back condition that had caused her pain for years stopping her sleeping at night. I put her in the "hot" seat at the front and invited members of the congregation to come and pray for her. I told them to pray simple prayers like "Jesus heals you" or "I cast out this spirit of infirmity". 30 people came up and prayed for her. The next day, the pastor emailed me to say that all her pain disappeared and she had the best night sleep she had for years!

During my mature student years, (32 years of age), I used my savings because my student allowance just paid my board. Halfway through my second year I got down to my last 100 dollars. I told the Lord that I had always had a good job and never had to pray for money, but now for the first time I needed help if I was to continue my studies. Two days later I received a phone call from a local postmaster (I worked for the Post Office before I started university) offering me a part-time job. This provided enough funds to get me through the year until I was able to become a qualified typing teacher and got a part time keyboarding teaching job at a local secretarial college. That got me through the rest of my university time.

When I left teaching after 19 years, I got a job with the District Court. My salary went right down from $40.000 a year (in 2004) to $35,000 which didn't pay the mortgage and bills. At the very same time, my wife's sister sold her home and moved to Australia. My wife had lent her $50,000 to buy her home and was paid back. That supplemented our income for two years.

At a conference around two years after that, the Holy Spirit told me to put my lunch money in the offering. I don't usually contribute money to offerings because I'm a miser. However, on this occasion I obeyed the prompting of the Spirit, expecting to have to fast over lunchtime having no money to buy lunch. As a result, I was offered two lunches, received around $300 as my share of the ministry love offering, and my District Court salary went up $12,000 per year which enabled my mortgage and bills to be paid with money left over.

When I retired, and went on Superannuation, which covers only essential expenses (I had paid my mortgage off by then), I had been chairperson of a local budgeting agency since the late 1990s. I volunteered at the office as management support, and after six months I received wages for three days a week which amounted to $400 per fortnight. This provided more than enough to continue paying the bills. By the way, I continued to work at the Court for three years after I started receiving the superannuation (it is not means tested and everyone gets it when they turn 65), so we lived on my Court salary and banked the Super. As a result on leaving the Court in 2014, we had a very healthy bank balance in our savings account.

Is that enough? It shows that God always provides for His saints. I have been made redundant three times during my teaching career, and never had a time when we didn't know where our next meal was coming from. One year I was relief teaching and on unemployment benefit, and quite a number of times I earned enough to have the benefit suspended for that month and reinstated when my relieving teaching earnings went down again.

The wonder is that I was once a young man and now I am old and I have never been forsaken and none of my children have ever had to beg for food.
 

2ndTimothyGroup

Well-known member
Feb 20, 2021
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In a Christian camp, I had a word of knowledge for a young woman which had a very dramatic effect on her, and found out afterward that she had been counselled earlier in the day concerning that very thing!

I prayed for my work supervisor for her arthritic knee. All I prayed was "Jesus heals you." Three weeks later she had a subsequent Xray and the arthritis that was seen on her first Xray had totally disappeared.

In an equipping meeting I prayed for a nurse who had strained her back while lifting a patient, and was in serious pain. The next week she was to give me a lift to the meeting and she bounded across the road saying that after I prayed for her, all the pain disappeared and her back was totally healed.

In another equipping meeting I prayed for a wife who had been diagnose with a medical condition with a "tongues" like Latin definition, that stopped her being able to conceive. I put my hand on her shoulder and prayed, "Jesus heals you" and three months later her husband told me that she conceived the very night I prayed for her.

In the course of a healing conference that I led, there was a woman with a chronic back condition that had caused her pain for years stopping her sleeping at night. I put her in the "hot" seat at the front and invited members of the congregation to come and pray for her. I told them to pray simple prayers like "Jesus heals you" or "I cast out this spirit of infirmity". 30 people came up and prayed for her. The next day, the pastor emailed me to say that all her pain disappeared and she had the best night sleep she had for years!

During my mature student years, (32 years of age), I used my savings because my student allowance just paid my board. Halfway through my second year I got down to my last 100 dollars. I told the Lord that I had always had a good job and never had to pray for money, but now for the first time I needed help if I was to continue my studies. Two days later I received a phone call from a local postmaster (I worked for the Post Office before I started university) offering me a part-time job. This provided enough funds to get me through the year until I was able to become a qualified typing teacher and got a part time keyboarding teaching job at a local secretarial college. That got me through the rest of my university time.

When I left teaching after 19 years, I got a job with the District Court. My salary went right down from $40.000 a year (in 2004) to $35,000 which didn't pay the mortgage and bills. At the very same time, my wife's sister sold her home and moved to Australia. My wife had lent her $50,000 to buy her home and was paid back. That supplemented our income for two years.

At a conference around two years after that, the Holy Spirit told me to put my lunch money in the offering. I don't usually contribute money to offerings because I'm a miser. However, on this occasion I obeyed the prompting of the Spirit, expecting to have to fast over lunchtime having no money to buy lunch. As a result, I was offered two lunches, received around $300 as my share of the ministry love offering, and my District Court salary went up $12,000 per year which enabled my mortgage and bills to be paid with money left over.

When I retired and went on Superannuation, which covers only essential expenses (I had paid my mortgage off by then), I had been chairperson of a local budgeting agency since the late 1990s. I volunteered at the office as management support, and after six months I received wages for three days a week which amounted to $400 per fortnight. This provided more than enough to continue paying the bills. By the way, I continued to work at the Court for three years after I started receiving the superannuation (it is not means-tested and everyone gets it when they turn 65), so we lived on my Court salary and banked the Super. As a result on leaving the Court in 2014, we had a very healthy bank balance in our savings account.

Is that enough? It shows that God always provides for His saints. I have been made redundant three times during my teaching career, and never had a time when we didn't know where our next meal was coming from. One year I was relief teaching and on unemployment benefit, and quite a number of times I earned enough to have the benefit suspended for that month and reinstated when my relieving teaching earnings went down again.

The wonder is that I was once a young man and now I am old and I have never been forsaken and none of my children have ever had to beg for food.
I would think that these experiences have left a profound effect on you. If so, have they strengthened, or supported your Faith?
 

shittim

Senior Member
Dec 16, 2016
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All who experience the Lord, and that has ALWAYS been His plan, that we experience Him and not merely read about Him, are required to mature and go from the occasional event to the lifestyle of experiencing Him, keeping our minds "stayed on Him" and "praying without ceasing".
Jesus modeled how we are all to live, and He only did what He saw the Father do, and I have heard it taught this wording indicates visionary revelation, and He only said what Her heard the Father say.
So sad that most will only hold to an outward form denying His power.
He was clear that we have not because we ask not, we ask and receive not because we ask amiss.
blessings
 
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I would think that these experiences have left a profound effect on you. If so, have they strengthened, or supported your Faith?
Yes they have. It shows that because the Holy Spirit dwells in us, we can be always prepared to minister to people anywhere. We don't have to wait until we get to a church meeting in order to see the Lord's healing power working. After years of going to local Charismatic healing meetings and seeing no one healed, I became a skeptic for many years; not because I didn't believe that Jesus could heal people, but in the way these Charismatics were going about it in their very theatrical healing meetings.

I learned that Jesus didn't do it that way. He healed most people in the street, or in someone's home. There was only once when He healed a guy of a withered hand in the Synagogue and that made the folks angry because He did it on the Sabbath.

My faith was increased in that I can believe that if I touch someone's wrist and say, "Jesus heals you." there is the distinct possibility that they will get healed.
 

2ndTimothyGroup

Well-known member
Feb 20, 2021
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Yes they have. It shows that because the Holy Spirit dwells in us, we can be always prepared to minister to people anywhere. We don't have to wait until we get to a church meeting in order to see the Lord's healing power working. After years of going to local Charismatic healing meetings and seeing no one healed, I became a skeptic for many years; not because I didn't believe that Jesus could heal people, but in the way these Charismatics were going about it in their very theatrical healing meetings.

I learned that Jesus didn't do it that way. He healed most people in the street, or in someone's home. There was only once when He healed a guy of a withered hand in the Synagogue and that made the folks angry because He did it on the Sabbath.

My faith was increased in that I can believe that if I touch someone's wrist and say, "Jesus heals you." there is the distinct possibility that they will get healed.
Ok, so what I was doing was showing that you actually agree with me, and likely, Lafftur, regarding the things we were saying. Just as your spiritual experiences have enhanced your Faith, so too have ours.

I don't think that Lafftur was ever trying to say that she puts Faith and Trust into her experiences alone. Just because I have felt the Raw, Almighty Power of God, this does not mean that I think about this Power each second of the day, nor do I process each Word of Scripture through that experience. Rather, I take each Word of the Bible and stack it against itself . . . not of myself or that experience that the Lord allowed me to share.

Now, with your being a pastor, I was a bit surprised to see that you were not understanding something that was being explained rather clearly. I'm not trying to hurt your feelings, but I do think that it is wise to perhaps slow down with Pastorship, and maybe allow your ears to be opened a bit. I realize that you've been doing this for a very long time, but don't make your tenure your downfall. People who feel that they have the Bible "down" can easily fall victim to "I have the Favor of the Lord" or, "What I say has been established by the Lord!" or, "I am a prophet of God!" - I tend to run when I hear that. Why? Because their ears are Fort Knox shut . . . total waste of time. They think that have such a direct connection with the Wisdom of God, they rudely shut a person down simply because they themselves hadn't been aware of such foreign knowledge. I've seen it so much . . . it's difficult to stomach.

I don't agree with all that Lafftur says, nor is there any human alive that agrees with all that I believe. Such thinking is illusory. But I do want to say that there [are] plenty of smart people, here. They may be few, but they're here. I keep waiting until someone eventually shows me something that seems right and worthy . . . and that might happen for you should you be a little more receptive.
 
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When the Spirit of the eternal living God infused my soul within Himself.
It is interesting that I had to concede to my friend on another forum concerning who God has given the Holy Spirit without measure. I have always thought it was exclusively Jesus. But she pointed me to the Scripture and when I read it, Jesus wasn't mentioned at all. It says that God gives the Spirit without measure, in other words abundantly, and so much so that He flows out of us.

then it made me think that if we have received the Spirit so abundantly, why don't we see more souls saved and sick people healed? What seems to come back to me was that these things happen according to our faith. If we believe that when we take a person by the wrist and say, "Jesus heals you" that healing will take place, then there will be a good possibility it will happen. The reality though is that we often don't have the faith or the courage to commit ourselves when confronted with a soul to be saved or a sick person to be healed. It takes courage to step up to an unsaved stranger who has a medical condition and offer prayer.

In actual fact, I have never had a refusal when I have taken the chance to offer prayer for someone. One of the young ladies injured her foot in the gym where I go, and she appeared on two crutches. I offered prayer for her and she agreed. A week later she came on one crutch and said, "Look at me. I'm getting healed! Thanks for the blessing." I prayed for another non-Christian at the gym who had rheumatoid arthritis and she was doing gym work to keep her joints from freezing up. She agreed to prayer. I don't know the outcome of that one.

What I do is tell them that I go to a church that believes that Jesus heals people, and that they don't need to have faith because I have faith for both of us. I then hold their wrist and pray, "Jesus heals you." And that's it. I tell them that I can't heal a flea with a headache and all I can do is pray a prayer of faith and leave the outcome to Him. The feedback I have received from non-Christians is that they have appreciated that someone cares enough to want to bless them with a prayer.

In one shopping centre, I saw a lady in a wheelchair coming toward me. She had only one leg. I said to the Lord, "I don't have enough faith for that one!" I noticed that she had a large bandage on her arm. She went over to a stall where they were taking donations for Guide Dogs. I had some change in my pocket, so I went over and made a donation and then I said to her that I go to a church...etc., and offered to pray for her arm. She accepted, and after the prayer she said, "What about my leg?" I had to tell her that I didn't have enough faith to grow new legs. But she appreciated my prayer anyway.

It is interesting that offering prayer in a very low key way, especially in public where a person could be embarrassed by a theatrical show of prayer, unsaved people will be agreeable and accepting if the request is genuine and simple, and where we don't come across as God's person of faith and power who can guarantee healing. I never guarantee healing. I tell them that all I can do is pray, and then it is up to Jesus to decide whether to heal the person or not.

If people see that we are genuine in our desire to help them, then they will warm to that and accept prayer when ordinarily they would never go to a healing meeting.
 
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Ok, so what I was doing was showing that you actually agree with me, and likely, Lafftur, regarding the things we were saying. Just as your spiritual experiences have enhanced your Faith, so too have ours.

I don't think that Lafftur was ever trying to say that she puts Faith and Trust into her experiences alone. Just because I have felt the Raw, Almighty Power of God, this does not mean that I think about this Power each second of the day, nor do I process each Word of Scripture through that experience. Rather, I take each Word of the Bible and stack it against itself . . . not of myself or that experience that the Lord allowed me to share.

Now, with your being a pastor, I was a bit surprised to see that you were not understanding something that was being explained rather clearly. I'm not trying to hurt your feelings, but I do think that it is wise to perhaps slow down with Pastorship, and maybe allow your ears to be opened a bit. I realize that you've been doing this for a very long time, but don't make your tenure your downfall. People who feel that they have the Bible "down" can easily fall victim to "I have the Favor of the Lord" or, "What I say has been established by the Lord!" or, "I am a prophet of God!" - I tend to run when I hear that. Why? Because their ears are Fort Knox shut . . . total waste of time. They think that have such a direct connection with the Wisdom of God, they rudely shut a person down simply because they themselves hadn't been aware of such foreign knowledge. I've seen it so much . . . it's difficult to stomach.

I don't agree with all that Lafftur says, nor is there any human alive that agrees with all that I believe. Such thinking is illusory. But I do want to say that there [are] plenty of smart people, here. They may be few, but they're here. I keep waiting until someone eventually shows me something that seems right and worthy . . . and that might happen for you should you be a little more receptive.
I am not a pastor now. I am just an ordinary Joe Palooka fellowshiping in a small Union church with six elderly ladies and one gentleman. If I ever came across high and mighty, God's man of faith and power, my wife would be quick to bring me back down to earth. believe me!

I asked my daughter whether I was different at church than I was at home. This was because I was aware that some church people are like angels at church and devils at home. She said, "You're just the same at church as you are at home. Crazy!" She said it in a nice way, to show that she didn't think I was a hypocrite and that I didn't suddenly turn into a holy Joe when I turned up at church on a Sunday morning. She knows, because I was her Sunday School teacher for a number of years so she saw what I was like at church. But I think I was a bit too much down to earth for some religious folk at church though, and I got told off once about my crazy sense of humour, that "God's work is serious and you have to take it more seriously". My view is that life is so serious that we shouldn't take it seriously at all.

So I need to assure you that I am not some high and mighty pastorial type, and, quite frankly, I don't have time for people like that. I had one pastor tried to tell me to come under his authority and I gave him the bum's rush before the whole congregation and walked out of the meeting. I believe in pastoral ministry, but not in pastoral "authority'. Jesus never gave authority to any person. He gave authority over sickness and demons. He kept His authority to Himself. When I led the church for those few years, I led from so far behind, that no one would have known that I led it at all. But when the buck had to stop, it stopped at me, and there were times when I had to make important decisions, and I did.
 

2ndTimothyGroup

Well-known member
Feb 20, 2021
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I am not a pastor now. I am just an ordinary Joe Palooka fellowshiping in a small Union church with six elderly ladies and one gentleman. If I ever came across high and mighty, God's man of faith and power, my wife would be quick to bring me back down to earth. believe me!

I asked my daughter whether I was different at church than I was at home. This was because I was aware that some church people are like angels at church and devils at home. She said, "You're just the same at church as you are at home. Crazy!" She said it in a nice way, to show that she didn't think I was a hypocrite and that I didn't suddenly turn into a holy Joe when I turned up at church on a Sunday morning. She knows, because I was her Sunday School teacher for a number of years so she saw what I was like at church. But I think I was a bit too much down to earth for some religious folk at church though, and I got told off once about my crazy sense of humour, that "God's work is serious and you have to take it more seriously". My view is that life is so serious that we shouldn't take it seriously at all.

So I need to assure you that I am not some high and mighty pastorial type, and, quite frankly, I don't have time for people like that. I had one pastor tried to tell me to come under his authority and I gave him the bum's rush before the whole congregation and walked out of the meeting. I believe in pastoral ministry, but not in pastoral "authority'. Jesus never gave authority to any person. He gave authority over sickness and demons. He kept His authority to Himself. When I led the church for those few years, I led from so far behind, that no one would have known that I led it at all. But when the buck had to stop, it stopped at me, and there were times when I had to make important decisions, and I did.
What an amazing set of three paragraphs. Truly. What I like about what you've written, and it has nothing to do with what I wrote, is what your daughter had to say about your while at home verse at Church. I began to see the value of such living late in life . . . around 50 years old. Anyway, I appreciate the good model that you provided.
 
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What an amazing set of three paragraphs. Truly. What I like about what you've written, and it has nothing to do with what I wrote, is what your daughter had to say about your while at home verse at Church. I began to see the value of such living late in life . . . around 50 years old. Anyway, I appreciate the good model that you provided.
Be careful about praising me up too much. I have just finished watching the movie of Pilgrims Progress, and noted the warning "beware of the flatterer" where a character leading Christian and Hopeful off the right track lulled them into not seeing the danger by telling them how good they were in that they had come this far along the journey. Then they got caught in the trap of their own pride resulting in being flattered. :giggle:
 
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never had a time when we didn't know where our next meal was coming from
Me too. And I've done some really stupid things financially. I took financial risks and got burned several times. But I still have a house and am able to support my young son. I can't explain it other than God's supernatural power.

I think we have to acknowledge that we as the church have been given that power through the Holy Spirit. And just as a side note, I'm glad this thread hasn't devolved into a denominational war. Kudos.
 

2ndTimothyGroup

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Feb 20, 2021
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Be careful about praising me up too much. I have just finished watching the movie of Pilgrims Progress, and noted the warning "beware of the flatterer" where a character leading Christian and Hopeful off the right track lulled them into not seeing the danger by telling them how good they were in that they had come this far along the journey. Then they got caught in the trap of their own pride resulting in being flattered. :giggle:
There is no flattery coming from me . . . just encouraging you to do this more and more.