Reasons I am not a good "christian" by CC standards

Its Jesus in us that reigns in the carnal. We are all wicked. Jesus Himself said it. You that are evil if you give good things to to your children, how much more will your father in heaven give you. To paraphrase.
It is good to be humble and realistic, still, those that are making the effort, that pray, employ the Spirit, being obedient, that's what separates us from the world.
We can give ourselves a pat on the back once and a while. Just not to often...

Oh man, when I read this post yesterday my flesh was like, "YAY! It’s nice to be validated!"

Except I know better in my heart. I was mad as a hornet before I posted my previous messages. I was like Peter drawing the sword when I read the posts targeting our dear brother Yahweh_is_gracious. In fact, I’m naturally like that because of the abuse of my past. There’s not a day goes by that I don’t have to be reminded by God to put my sword down. I die daily to it.

I had to walk away from the computer when the Holy Spirit reminded me that my flesh ain’t mindful of the things of God but the things of man. I was standing at my kitchen sink mulling it all over when the Holy Spirit reminded me I’m not God. The Lord stirred in me that he is still God and has everything under control and that I needed to trust his guidance and not my feelings. And I believed him because my flesh always gets me in trouble.

When I had sufficient time to put to death my angry flesh and surrender my self-righteousness to the Lord, then I sat back down at the computer and wrote from his Spirit in me.

This morning when I woke up, I asked God to explain to me what Paul meant when he said in Romans 5:

[SUP]1 [/SUP]Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,
[SUP]2 [/SUP]through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God.
[SUP]3 [/SUP]Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance;
[SUP]4 [/SUP]perseverance, character; and character, hope.
[SUP]5 [/SUP]And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.
[SUP]6 [/SUP]You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly.

I mean, I understand it to a degree in my intellectual mind. Suffering works patience. Got it! Even the world knows that being patient is a virtue.

But I wanted more than a carnal understanding of the Word of God. I wanted to know… become one with… be intimate with the truth of Christ in that matter. I wanted to be made alive in that truth. Because I hate when my emotions try to control me. It sickens me! It’s death! I wanted to be set free in my heart. And of course, Jesus is faithful to do it.

So here I sit admitting to you folks that there ain’t a darn thing in me that’s godly or good except for Christ ruling in me in spite of my weakness. I ain’t no better than anyone here, and you know in your heart of hearts that’s an absolute fact.

So whatever wonderful thing our dear brother JosephDreams saw in me, wasn’t AuntieAnt at all. It was Christ shining through an anxious, agitated, sword-wielding woman. And this ain’t no attempt to be humble because c’mon, I don’t have a humble bone in my entire carnal body. I’m telling you the truth, I’m rejoicing and boasting about Jesus Christ our Lord because he is able to subdue us like he did the raging storm, he is able to keep us from falling and reign in us his holy temple. He IS our Peace. Our God reigns in his people because he's God and he can do a thing in spite of our weakness!! Hallelujah!!

Lord, we bless your holy name that you are able to keep us all from falling. Thank you for being our faithful, merciful & kind Father. Thank you for giving us a spiritual family that we can all belong and all share in your love, joy and peace. Thank you that you have leveled the playing field and make us all saints in your image, nobody better than another. Amen.

I'm done talking about this. We're getting nowhere, and we'll never sort it out. I'm just going to put my cards down, push back from the table, and walk away. Not interested in playing these games anymore. It's all yours.

Sometimes that the best thing to do. I can empathize with you. All too often people simply cannot understand where we are coming from and it is best to just walk away and do something else.

But don't walk away from those of us who are accepting you as you are. You are a valued part of our lives.

Again, what about those who WEREN'T accepted as they are?
Why don't people see the harm, even devastation of 'selective acceptance'?

Just making an observation of what happens too often.

I don't find his comments at be funny at all. And if you've visited the BDF, even for a short while, you'd see how he would go after people like Magenta and others. It was horrible. Sure, I've seen some good posts from him, and I'm not going to be part of a mob, but I also won't miss him.

I think the big stark difference between me and you is that I am smart enough to know that you and I clash so I don't follow you around on threads and throw rocks at you cuz you rub me wrong. In case you haven't noticed it's been you yourself that has been engaging me. And now you throw this passive aggressive bc at me. Look....heres the deal..... I don't really talk to you about much other than when you directly engage me...and I certainly don't chase you around from thread to thread bringing up other threads to throw in your face. So, why don't you do us both a favor and back off for at least a little while.....clear your head, take stock etc. I think that would help the overall atmosphere of this place if you afforded me the same courtesy I have given you.

This is really nice and it was obviously from the heart, so I'm at risk of being misunderstood and beat up for what I'm about to say, but I will risk it in defense of others.

I wish everything you said here was true, meaning I wish it applied across the board for everyone that comes here and is a sister or brother in Christ.

But there have been many who have never been called 'our dear brother Y-I-G' or 'our beloved sister AA'. Many who might have benefitted immensely by just hearing that said, who knows.

Many who's offenses were similar-type sarcasms or arguements, that are considered so cute and endearing when done by some here, but yet they got a bit bullied, or criticised, ostracised, ignored, neglected, 'reported', condemned, and either banned or were 'forced' to leave in sadness or bitterness to avoid further misunderstanding and mistreatment.

I know some close and personal, others through different means of communicating/sites, etc., friend of a friend of a contact, things like that, so there's some knowledge of people and places ahead of time, plus anyone can read along before making a decision to register/join this site, so not everyone has to come here totally foreign to how things can go.

I also don't know the rules of computer sharing, (lots of us do that) but I guess not everyone have to have their own account. I know there are some married people or bf/gf who occupy the same space, and there's friends and family members, through marriage, parent child, siblings, etc., (whether they have their own name or share, who knows), but there's a natural tendency to support/defend people you know over strangers, and overlook their 'defects' of character, while harshly judging another with similar 'faults'.
I understand that, it's a part of life.

And being forgiving and loving towards some happens, for a variety of reasons, while being cold towards others, and it's usually over a misunderstanding of communication, not any horrible, unforgiveable crime.

I could name at least 4 people right now that were treated like outcasts, before either leaving or being banned, but I won't mention their names now, but people that were solid believers in Jesus, not atheists or catholics or some others that just wanted to antagonize for the sake of arguement, or no desire for sisterly/brotherly love.

Though most all of us have a tendency to play favorites, it's a shame that the damage is done for many, with little to no chance for redemption or reconciliation within the body here, and I wonder if any of that damage has a trickle-down effect toward others outside this site due to rejection/ridicule, or bitterness.

I'm sorry, I don't mean to pass a general indictment, there are many wonderful people and opportunities on this site, prayer/praise/proclamation of Jesus, fellowship, scripture study/discussion/debate, humor, flirting, romance even, friendships that will last forever, growth in grace and knowledge of our God and Savior, ALL that and more.

I just think that there's some out there that deserved or still do deserve better, and I don't know how it could ever happen in this life, or in eternity, but there still seems to be some apologies/forgiveness due amongst the professing body of Christ, and much of it could have been avoided if those things that AuntieAnt talked about in her post regarding Y-I-G or others were more of a working reality.

Sorry for the lengthy post. May we all continue in love to grow and learn of Jesus.
Have a great weekend.

Again, what about those who WEREN'T accepted as they are?
Why don't people see the harm, even devastation of 'selective acceptance'?

Funny, there was even a thread saying Jesus accepts us as we are, and some protested that it wasn't saying enough about the gospel, but now there's select members being told their accepted just as they are, even though some of the things they said were almost ban-worthy. Yet others are ignored.

It's not much different than the popular club in school, I guess.

(Not an accusation against you EarnestQ, your post should be the norm for everyone who comes here. Just making an observation of what happens too often)

Again...

We ARE accepted for who we are! And then changed to whom we were meant to be.

I AM a loud mouth, opinionated, obnoxious, pushy person. Do you really want me to stay like this? Christ (and most Christians) accepts me for who I am. But everyone single Christian also prays like crazy that my change happens faster.

Right?

Riiigghhhhttt?


(I think we might have just hit something we can agree on. lol)

I agree. Yahweh_is_gracious is an example of your observation.

You know why married men die before theirs wives do? Cuz they want too. Lol

Oh, please, God. PLEASE!

Just because I was confident in my position, I went back and read through all of my posts to find this alleged "attack on Magenta". Guess what? There isn't one. Magenta and I always had nice exchanges and she liked a great number of my posts. So, you may chalk this accusation up made against me into the FALSE category.

Maybe you got me confused with the banned former member Th0mas? Maybe? Could happen, I mean "Th0mas" and "Yahewh_is_Gracious" look so similar it would be easy to confuse one for the other. Oh, and not to mention, the Union Jack over his name and the Stars and Stripes over mine look almost identical too.

LOL. All your false accusations; all the following me around and bullying me; all the back-biting comments after you thought I was gone - it's all been more fun and laughter than I have had in a long time. I need more laughs in my life, and you folks sure provided that to me. Thank you for that.

Just remember, to get it correct - you turn your head to the LEFT to say "Praise Jesus" and to the RIGHT to say "go to Hell, Jon".

Who was this directed at? I never said a word about anything you may have said to magenta. My posts were a reply to AA. I thought it was nice she defended you. I was saying I wish EVERY one was defended like that. You'd have to read my posts again if you thought I was accusing you here.

Good to see your post. I smiled when I saw it.... and I don't smile often.

Again...

We ARE accepted for who we are! And then changed to whom we were meant to be.

I AM a loud mouth, opinionated, obnoxious, pushy person. Do you really want me to stay like this? Christ (and most Christians) accepts me for who I am. But everyone single Christian also prays like crazy that my change happens faster.

Right?

Riiigghhhhttt?


(I think we might have just hit something we can agree on. lol)