Not By Works
- Thread starter dcontroversal
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I'd like to address the idea that the other 11 disciples simply sat in the boat in fear while Peter got out.
The truth is that Peter is the ONLY disciple who was invited to come. Peter said, If you ask ME, I will be able to come out to you. And the Lord said, "Come."
Please notice that first we ask Him. And then we walk on His response in faith.
The lesson here is that we must trust His responses and not look at our circumstances like Peter did.
The key to faith though is being fully persuaded in our heart. And this comes from remembering who He is, what He has said and what He is saying in our life. And finally not letting the voice of the wind in our circumstances takes us away into doubting what He promises us.
The truth is that Peter is the ONLY disciple who was invited to come. Peter said, If you ask ME, I will be able to come out to you. And the Lord said, "Come."
Please notice that first we ask Him. And then we walk on His response in faith.
The lesson here is that we must trust His responses and not look at our circumstances like Peter did.
The key to faith though is being fully persuaded in our heart. And this comes from remembering who He is, what He has said and what He is saying in our life. And finally not letting the voice of the wind in our circumstances takes us away into doubting what He promises us.
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First I want to address your first sentence, then I'll read the rest, I promise! 
Well...I didn't have the capacity to fully understand, yet I received Him. And not like one of the people who slowly come to an awareness of the Holy Spirit in them either - my receiving was dramatic and unmistakable! But I didn't even fully understand that Jesus was God - not sure when I realized it. I didn't go to a church to realize it either - He taught me just fine with Himself and the scriptures I read. I didn't fully understand ANYTHING. I'm serious. All I could keep repeating over and over was: I'm so sorry, I didn't know, I didn't know. In one moment of time I saw that God WAS where before I hadn't seen that ever. And it all happened by reading the gospel. The only thing I fully understood was that what I read was true and that I'd ignored God all my life. But within the next few days, I rented Mel Gibsons movie, and came to think I loved Jesus but did not care much for God because He could have found a better way than to kill this man I now loved! Can you believe He would save someone as stupid as me??
Well...I didn't have the capacity to fully understand, yet I received Him. And not like one of the people who slowly come to an awareness of the Holy Spirit in them either - my receiving was dramatic and unmistakable! But I didn't even fully understand that Jesus was God - not sure when I realized it. I didn't go to a church to realize it either - He taught me just fine with Himself and the scriptures I read. I didn't fully understand ANYTHING. I'm serious. All I could keep repeating over and over was: I'm so sorry, I didn't know, I didn't know. In one moment of time I saw that God WAS where before I hadn't seen that ever. And it all happened by reading the gospel. The only thing I fully understood was that what I read was true and that I'd ignored God all my life. But within the next few days, I rented Mel Gibsons movie, and came to think I loved Jesus but did not care much for God because He could have found a better way than to kill this man I now loved! Can you believe He would save someone as stupid as me??
Okay, I read the rest of your post EG.
I look at the verse about poor in spirit in a different way. You say we must become poor in spirit/spiritually bankrupt. I think we already ARE poor in spirit but just haven't realized it yet sometimes. That's how it went with me anyway. I had to keep trying to be good because I couldn't see or admit yet that I had nothing with which to accomplish being good. I just thought He had saved me and I owed it to Him to do as He said.. (There were some other motivations mixed up in that too, but the main one was a desire to actually BE good after what He'd done for me.)
I look at the verse about poor in spirit in a different way. You say we must become poor in spirit/spiritually bankrupt. I think we already ARE poor in spirit but just haven't realized it yet sometimes. That's how it went with me anyway. I had to keep trying to be good because I couldn't see or admit yet that I had nothing with which to accomplish being good. I just thought He had saved me and I owed it to Him to do as He said.. (There were some other motivations mixed up in that too, but the main one was a desire to actually BE good after what He'd done for me.)
First I want to address your first sentence, then I'll read the rest, I promise!
Well...I didn't have the capacity to fully understand, yet I received Him. And not like one of the people who slowly come to an awareness of the Holy Spirit in them either - my receiving was dramatic and unmistakable! But I didn't even fully understand that Jesus was God - not sure when I realized it. I didn't go to a church to realize it either - He taught me just fine with Himself and the scriptures I read. I didn't fully understand ANYTHING. I'm serious. All I could keep repeating over and over was: I'm so sorry, I didn't know, I didn't know. In one moment of time I saw that God WAS where before I hadn't seen that ever. And it all happened by reading the gospel. The only thing I fully understood was that what I read was true and that I'd ignored God all my life. But within the next few days, I rented Mel Gibsons movie, and came to think I loved Jesus but did not care much for God because He could have found a better way than to kill this man I now loved! Can you believe He would save someone as stupid as me??
Well...I didn't have the capacity to fully understand, yet I received Him. And not like one of the people who slowly come to an awareness of the Holy Spirit in them either - my receiving was dramatic and unmistakable! But I didn't even fully understand that Jesus was God - not sure when I realized it. I didn't go to a church to realize it either - He taught me just fine with Himself and the scriptures I read. I didn't fully understand ANYTHING. I'm serious. All I could keep repeating over and over was: I'm so sorry, I didn't know, I didn't know. In one moment of time I saw that God WAS where before I hadn't seen that ever. And it all happened by reading the gospel. The only thing I fully understood was that what I read was true and that I'd ignored God all my life. But within the next few days, I rented Mel Gibsons movie, and came to think I loved Jesus but did not care much for God because He could have found a better way than to kill this man I now loved! Can you believe He would save someone as stupid as me??
Sweet, Stunned!
I was pretty ignorant too. I didn't know anything and didn't know that Jesus was God. I don't know when I realized He was, but I was part of a church and that helped because I know if the mid-week study is how I found out.
And He came to save people just like us!!!
\o/ praising Him for His grace and mercy!!!No one is hanging themselves by their words. We're having a good conversation and we are all bringing to the pot what He has shown us and sharing it. We aren't hanging ourselves - we're speaking freely with each other without recriminations and accusations. We're all both teaching what we've learned in getting to know Him and hearing and learning at the same time.