What's the point? Everything is selfish.

[Desertsrose]

I'm glad you wrote this post, Rose.

Dai, this is what I've been trying to get you to do for others. Even in the midst of her own agony, Rose took time to pray for you, because she cares about you and wants to support you. This post of hers is exactly what you can post to others here.. You have the gift of typing, use it to support someone in need.

Rose, I'm glad you got an MRI done. I mean this very literally when I say, I feel your pain. Been there, went through it. Sheer agonizing hell is how I'd describe it.. lol

Thanks so much Blue for your kind words. I thank you for taking the time and talking with me about your experience. That also is one part of the body ministering to the other part. And I appreciate it.

Magenta private messaged me too and had some kind words and a video that encouraged me. I asked her to pray for the MRI and this is another example of the body ministering to one another as well.

Also, Blue, I thank you for your prayers and encouraging me to get the MRI. And yeah, it's nice when others know what you're going through. It's definitely a pain you never want to continue experiencing.

 

[blue_ladybug]

You're welcome.. Yeah, the pain of sciatica is an agony that I wish no one had to endure. I honestly don't think I could handle it a second time, even with not having to take care of a sick cat on top of it..

Thanks so much Blue for your kind words. I thank you for taking the time and talking with me about your experience. That also is one part of the body ministering to the other part. And I appreciate it.

Magenta private messaged me too and had some kind words and a video that encouraged me. I asked her to pray for the MRI and this is another example of the body ministering to one another as well.

Also, Blue, I thank you for your prayers and encouraging me to get the MRI. And yeah, it's nice when others know what you're going through. It's definitely a pain you never want to continue experiencing.

 

[Tinkerbell725]

It is human tendency to be rebellious when he feels hopeless. But hopelessness is a lie from the devil. Jesus has given us hope and a future. Problems are meant to distract us from focusing on Jesus. The devil kills your faith, steals your joy and destroys your life. Maybe you can find that focus that will help regain your joy and hope in life and still give glory to God despite all your sufferings. Happiness is inside out. Everything is meaningless and just chasing the wind once you lost your joy and reverence in the Lord which is the reason why we are here in this world. A broken spirit is our sacrifice for the Lord. A humble broken hearted joy is an affection that is like a sweet aroma to Christ.

 

[kaylagrl]

Thanks, Kayla. I should have read all of the posting and maybe I would have figured that out. I didn't realize you were a traveling preacher. Wow, those tears must have been such a blessing to you!!!

Right you are - my only reason for mentioning that was to show him to not put anything above others or put a certain gifting on a pedestal. I didn't mean you at all or anyone in particular that may be that traveling preacher he meant. I thought maybe in England that traveling preachers was common because I don't think they are that common here anymore. But maybe I'm wrong.

And I also agree that while we may have a selfish moment, it doesn't mean that all of our motives are selfish. We do and can live a self less life because that's what Jesus has called us to and He has made us new creations that now look at how to serve others. Out of curiosity, where and when did you preach and travel and for how long?

My family traveled for 20yrs singing and preaching. We traveled in Canada and then began to travel in New England. Before long we headed down south. And then we all moved south. We all loved it so much. I never made it west,I wish that I had been able to do that. But I met so many wonderful Christians in both countries! We had so many wonderful friends that we still keep in touch with today.It was such a blessing to worship with other believers. My sister and I get lost in our memories sometimes and we can talk for hours.lol

 

[Desertsrose]

My family traveled for 20yrs singing and preaching. We traveled in Canada and then began to travel in New England. Before long we headed down south. And then we all moved south. We all loved it so much. I never made it west,I wish that I had been able to do that. But I met so many wonderful Christians in both countries! We had so many wonderful friends that we still keep in touch with today.It was such a blessing to worship with other believers. My sister and I get lost in our memories sometimes and we can talk for hours.lol

​Wow what a wonderful blessing that must have been. You got to meet many saints before you get to
heaven! Are you originally from Canada?

One day I was musing and sort of said to the Lord, "Oh Lord my God I would sing to you, if only I had a beautiful voice." And then I felt like He said to me, "Why would you sing when you don't." So I put it to a tune in my head as a reminder. I need to sing more to the Lord ....... to Him when no one else is watching or listening. Just like our prayer time. We need a singing closet.

 

[popeye]

True, but do you think it's helpful to tell the pastor's wife, that she's got a poor attitude and needs to do more, and stop being so selfish thinking about herself. As most people say here? Not the type "helpful" point that is needed by most. Who knows. Maybe it works for some.

God is the "inspite of" God.
Here is a portion from pilgrim's progress:
[FONT=&quot]"...... but being weary, they fell asleep. Now there was, not far from the place where they lay, a castle, called Doubting Castle, the owner whereof was Giant Despair, and it was in his grounds they now were sleeping: wherefore he, getting up in the morning early, and walking up and down in his fields, caught Christian and Hopeful asleep in his grounds. Then with a grim and surly voice, he bid them awake, and asked them whence they were, and what they did in his grounds. They told him they were pilgrims, and that they had lost their way. Then said the giant, You have this night trespassed on me by trampling in and lying on my grounds, and therefore you must go along with me. So they were forced to go, because he was stronger than they. They also had but little to say, for they knew themselves in a fault. The giant, therefore, drove them before him, and put them into his castle, into a very dark dungeon, nasty and stinking to the spirits of these two men. Here, then, they lay from Wednesday morning till Saturday night, without one bit of bread, or drop of drink, or light, or any to ask how they did; they were, therefore, here in evil case, and were far from friends and acquaintance. Psa. 88:18. Now in this place Christian had double sorrow, because it was through his unadvised counsel that they were brought into this distress.....

[/FONT]......[FONT=&quot]Well, towards evening the giant goes down into the dungeon again, to see if his prisoners had taken his counsel. But when he came there he found them alive; and truly, alive was all; for now, what for want of bread and water, and by reason of the wounds they received when he beat them, they could do little but breathe. But I say, he found them alive; at which he fell into a grievous rage, and told them, that seeing they had disobeyed his counsel, it should be worse with them than if they had never been born.

[/FONT].....[FONT=&quot]Now night being come again, and the giant and his wife being in bed, she asked him concerning the prisoners, and if they had taken his counsel: to which he replied, They are sturdy rogues; they choose rather to bear all hardships than to make away with themselves. Then said she, Take them into the castle-yard to-morrow, and show them the bones and skulls of those that thou hast already dispatched, and make them believe, ere a week comes to an end, thou wilt tear them in pieces, as thou hast done their fellows before them....

[/FONT]......[FONT=&quot]Now, when night was come, and when Mrs. Diffidence and her husband the giant was got to bed, they began to renew their discourse of their prisoners; and withal, the old giant wondered that he could neither by his blows nor counsel bring them to an end. And with that his wife replied, I fear, said she, that they live in hopes that some will come to relieve them; or that they have picklocks about them, by the means of which they hope to escape. And sayest thou so, my dear? said the giant; I will therefore search them in the morning.[/FONT][FONT=&quot] Well, on Saturday, about midnight they began to pray, and continued in prayer till almost break of day.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] Now, a little before it was day, good Christian, as one half amazed, brake out into this passionate speech: What a fool, quoth he, am I, thus to lie in a stinking dungeon, when I may as well walk at liberty! I have a key in my bosom, called Promise, that will, I am persuaded, open any lock in Doubting Castle. Then said Hopeful, That is good news; good brother, pluck it out of thy bosom, and try.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] Then Christian pulled it out of his bosom, and began to try at the dungeon-door, whose bolt, as he turned the key, gave back, and the door flew open with ease, and Christian and Hopeful both came out. Then he went to the outward door that leads into the castle-yard, and with his key opened that door also. After he went to the iron gate, for that must be opened too; but that lock went desperately hard, yet the key did open it. They then thrust open the gate to make their escape with speed; but that gate, as it opened, made such a creaking, that it waked Giant Despair, who hastily rising to pursue his prisoners, felt his limbs to fail, for his fits took him again, so that he could by no means go after them. Then they went on, and came to the King's highway, and so were safe, because they were out of his jurisdiction."[/FONT]
Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress

 

[Dan58]

Just wondering if anyone else thinks that all this has no point except to be better off in heaven after death. As every dream or effort seems to have a selfish connection no matter what. Unless your a travelling healer preacher.

Perhaps that's the point? We're here to learn not to be selfish. "If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me" (Matthew 16:24). He died for our sakes, not his own, nothing selfish about that. If his example is best, I'd follow it without the promise of heaven.

 

[kaylagrl]

​Wow what a wonderful blessing that must have been. You got to meet many saints before you get to
heaven! Are you originally from Canada?

One day I was musing and sort of said to the Lord, "Oh Lord my God I would sing to you, if only I had a beautiful voice." And then I felt like He said to me, "Why would you sing when you don't." So I put it to a tune in my head as a reminder. I need to sing more to the Lord ....... to Him when no one else is watching or listening. Just like our prayer time. We need a singing closet.

Yes,I am from Canada but haven't lived there in 16yrs. And by all means sing! I believe singing uplifts our spirit,and I believe God loves to hear it. We dont all have a perfect singing voice but I dont believe He cares. Its about joy and praise. I think you'll be in perfect tune to His ears.

 

[Depleted]

Quote "The preacher or healer isn't greater than the one who cleans the bathrooms in the church."

He was referring to me and my testimony. And yes,Ive cleaned bathrooms and done whatever else was needed in my home church. Cleaned a pastors home from top to bottom so he and his wife could have a night out. Talk about being rewarded. She had four kids under the age of five and was in tears when she came back to a sparkling home. You can do a lot of little things in life and be rewarded but that depends on what you consider a reward.

Quote"So what do you mean by every dream having a selfish connection no matter what. Also, the traveling preacher or healer or what ever can have selfish motives as well.

Yes,we can all have selfish moments in our lives,we're human. That doesn't mean everyone is entirely selfish or have wrong motivations.

Wait! You give people a night off, take care of kids, and clean an entire house while they're out? Where do I sign up?

We tried that once -- minus the clean the house part. A young couple with a baby that cried all the time. Spent the night trying to stop the baby from crying, figured out he has colic, and they came home early because their car broke down.

Lesson learned? I ain't never babysitting a baby ever again! lol

 

[Depleted]

I forgot this, thanks. But in essence, vanity, in this text, implies as far as i know, that vanity is the only thing we feel and think about. So everything is vanity that a human thinks, roughly, unless it's for someone or something else and not ourselves. So others are first. Not sure how to apply it in most of my life though. Will have to make a list. Probably forget

How to apply it? About where we left off last time.

You live with someone. (I think your parents, but I'm not sure.) Help them. Do what they don't like doing or never get around to doing. Even the little things.
-- Hubby likes breakfast in the morning, so I like to try and have the kitchen cleared up enough for him to have space to make that breakfast.
-- He doesn't like to talk until his first cuppa, so I don't talk to him until he's done -- no telling him a light bulb exploded and I was worry about an electrical fire, no telling him the hospital called and wants ___, no telling him something broke, no telling him I broke, (if things go wrong, I tend to break), none of that until after his first cuppa.
-- He likes to use herbs from our garden for dinner, so I'm rearranging the garden (container garden), so he doesn't have to go all over the place to find the herbs.
-- He wants to grill a chicken for Easter. Um, I'm rearranging the garden! So, my goal is to rearrange it enough that he can grill that chicken, (no guarantees, highly unlikely, since we have to go shopping today, and we're both disabled, but I'll try), and have something of a spot to eat by Sunday. (Won't look pretty, but his big thing is to enjoy the fresh air and sunshine. Both of them happen even if the garden is a mess.)

And he loves me and takes care of me just as much, so he's already told me it's okay if we have the chicken roasted in the oven.

I can't do a lot, but I can do what I can for the person I'm living with.

And when we go grocery shopping, I'm the nutsy chick who cracks a joke with strangers just because they seem in a foul mood, to get them to smile. Or I'm the nutsy chick who gives up my seat in a doctor's waiting room, because I don't need a cane, but that guy does. Or I'll protect that parking spot for the person behind me going to that doctor's appointment in the hospital just because the person behind me might be having a bad day (he/she is going into a hospital for some reason, and this isn't staff parking, so pretty likely it's a bad day), just so they see something good happen on a bad day. Or while I'm out at the nursing home (when I was visiting hubby) having a smoke, I'm the one the inmates....err residents confused come to see because they know I'll get them to laugh at the silliness of the way things are run. ("You got a real shower all by yourself?" Cracked the guy up, because hubby was in the nurses-give-body-bath wing.)

Honestly, I'm very much like you in that I don't have a grand life, can't do anything big, but I do small when I can. And that is what makes the difference. Vanity (thinking about me) vs. what God wants us to do (Love him. Love others.) No healing preaching required.

 

[Depleted]

I'm still on here. I must be too stupid, stubborn or bullheaded for my own good.. lol

Well, you really do have stubborn and bullheaded going for you.

(Pot calling the kettle black. lol)

 

[Depleted]

I think it was Abe Lincoln who said: "Most people are about as happy as they have made up their minds to be."

Henry ford said these:

If you think you can do a thing or think you can't do a thing, you're right.

Failure is simply the opportunity to begin again, this time more intelligently.

In which case, I should be a full-fledged genius!

 

[Depleted]

Willie-T,
Good quote.

How might Dai be happy in his present condition?
Myself, I would be disappointed.

I could and would find reason to rejoice in the Lord.

But suppose someone is not at your level, doesn't have your strength. What then?
Some folks live in pain and suffering, close to as if it's all they know. What about that?

Not challenging you. Not looking for an argument.

Actually, that IS why we come to God. We absolutely know what we're unable to do, and only through him do we get any ability.

 

[Hungry]

To be clearer, you have basically listed, being a preacher and healing giving you rewards. I and millions of Christians are not healing preachers. So, no reward or positivity in living in general. You don't work in a chemical factory or other as it seems. And have not, as it seems, worked outside of church etc for 20years+. So your experience as a "normal" everyday Joe is what? And your remarking about me seeing little or no reward unless i became a traveller preacher. Please think it through. I have seemingly, no future, no rewards or known "gifts/talents". So it seems, me living is just long suffering with a few good days in between. Anyone else think this too?

The reason that this world holds no joy for you is because you measure joy by carnal standards. If you are walking in the Spirit, and love others then their joy will be your joy. When a child tries hard to makes a nice picture, they can't wait to get home and give it to Mom. It isn't because Mom will give the child a reward because the picture looks like a lost Renaissance masterpiece. It's because the child loves the mom and wants to make her happy. Her joy is the child's joy because he/she loves her. We work in this world, to do the best we can, because we love God and want to make Him happy. It doesn't have to be a masterpiece, just the best we can.

We are the hands and feet of the Almighty. He works through us to bring love into the world. Every good deed out of love for God puts a smile on His face and it should in turn put a smile on our face. This is joy!

 

[Depleted]

​Wow what a wonderful blessing that must have been. You got to meet many saints before you get to
heaven! Are you originally from Canada?

One day I was musing and sort of said to the Lord, "Oh Lord my God I would sing to you, if only I had a beautiful voice." And then I felt like He said to me, "Why would you sing when you don't." So I put it to a tune in my head as a reminder. I need to sing more to the Lord ....... to Him when no one else is watching or listening. Just like our prayer time. We need a singing closet.

Psalm 100:1 [FONT=&quot]Make a joyful noise unto the [/FONT][FONT=&quot]Lord[/FONT][FONT=&quot], all ye lands.[/FONT]

It doesn't say "Sing pretty." "Joyful noise." I can't sing (pretty or otherwise), I do noise well. God is fine with that. (The person next to me may not be, but I live with him, and he just laughs, so that's okay. )

 

[kaylagrl]

Wait! You give people a night off, take care of kids, and clean an entire house while they're out? Where do I sign up?

We tried that once -- minus the clean the house part. A young couple with a baby that cried all the time. Spent the night trying to stop the baby from crying, figured out he has colic, and they came home early because their car broke down.

Lesson learned? I ain't never babysitting a baby ever again! lol

Quote "Wait! You give people a night off, take care of kids, and clean an entire house while they're out? Where do I sign up? "

Lol The angel on my shoulder wins out every once in a while.She was just really overwhelmed and needed a break. One of the little ones had a heart condition. So sometimes its just the right thing to do and her happy tears made it all worth while. Now that sounds like tooting my own horn,but thats not my intent.My point was that when we take the focus off ourselves and do things for others it can be very rewarding and pull you out of depression. People appreciate the small things.We dont have to have a big talent,its the little things.And I think when we bless others we get a blessing back.

 

[mcubed]

Just wondering if anyone else thinks that all this has no point except to be better off in heaven after death. As every dream or effort seems to have a selfish connection no matter what. Unless your a travelling healer preacher.

Lol… you sound almost like the book of Ecclesiastes. The point is to die and go to heaven and take as many as we can with us all else is meaningless!

 

[Dai3234]

Lol… you sound almost like the book of Ecclesiastes. The point is to die and go to heaven and take as many as we can with us all else is meaningless!

The great mental torture I feel, is in regards to probably the same things Paul mentioned, i do not do what i want to do, i do what i hate to do, I'm a worm etc.

But also, John F MacArthur's YouTube explanation of the Parable of The Good Samaritan, showed we cannot be perfect. But Jesus Christ asks us to treat our "neibhor" as ourselves, apparently. When that's impossible for us as JFM explained? Mental meltdowns occur because you have to be a professor to understand fully, but come as a child to God? So annoyingly confusing.

 

[blue_ladybug]

It isn't impossible to treat your neighbors the way YOU would like to be treated..

 

[Dai3234]

It isn't impossible to treat your neighbors the way YOU would like to be treated..

If you watch the YouTube explanation of the Parable of The Good Samaritan by John F MacArthur. You can see that it's impossible.