A conversation about nothing in particular

Whats the best breakfast youve ever had?

Good morning.. Headed to Walmart in a bit. Gotta get more iced coffee, Vaporub and who knows what else.. lol


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I know that I'm a sinner
I know that Jesus died to forgive
I did ask him into my life
but I have issues on surrendering to Jesus

When I first started trying to serve the Lord. I figured I would pass to Him one of my bad habits at a time. He could then clean that up and pass it back to me, then I would give Him the next one. One bad habit at a time, and I figured we could clean me up that-a-way. Unfortunately, that didn't go as planned. I never got the first bad habit cleaned.

I was going to church and doing everything I know to get right with God. That is when I got stuck on the road in an ice storm on Christmas eve. I was in a motel and turned on some tele-evangelist. He was preaching on James one. He got down to verse 5 and said if you lack wisdom, just ask God for it. I'm thinking: I have been. He then goes to verse 6 and says you have to ask in faith, and not to waver. He compared wavering to an ocean wave, Part of the time there and then it is not.

Then he goes to verse 7 and says "let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord." I start thinking: Wow! I have gotten anything from God. That was an explanation of my faith, there and then not. Then in verse 8, it says "a double minded man is unstable in all his ways." I'm thinking, yep, that is me.

I turned off the TV and got on my knees beside the bed. I prayed: God I know it is not you holding back. I now see it is me. I don't even know how to serve you. I promise you this, I will find out how and I will do that. The next thing I know this powerful thought comes into my mind: "Now that, I can use." God started talking to me right then and has been doing so ever since. I had to just give myself to God totally, not just partially.

Rom. 12:1 "I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service."

Good Morning my beloved peoples.

First off, I will confess - I have been hurt deeply by Jewel and tourist and Blue these last couple of days, especially tourist and Blue - for I love you deeply well. And I have felt alone. If there is any wrong I have done I would ask to have those things brought before me and I would allow God to offer them to you to be forgiven. But as I examine my actions - I have not been convicted of any correction or rebuke from God.

So now I face a new challenge. Do I allow satan to win in tempting me or not in retaliation? And I have made my decision on that - I will not submit to satan's request to retaliate with my old man's emotions. Nor will I carry a briefcase full of facts satan is begging me to collect on a mission to right the wrongs against my person for that would not be God's will for me or the body of Christ to do. It is not about me - nor has it ever been about any of us - it is about "we should be unto the praise of His glory."

Thus, I have been in prayer and have squashed it in His formidable and powerful love before anything ungodly can take seed in me. Y'all have been placed at His feet. God has made it clear to me now - forgive what is mine to forgive and defend only as God defends Himself thru me in His commissioned timing.

Ironically thru all of this - I have found myself hopeful to learn thru it. God showed me (Habakkuk 2:3) of all things - "though it tarry, wait for it." God is teaching me even now that patience is not indifference; patience conveys the idea of an immensely strong rock withstanding all onslaughts. And I am learning it is the vision of God that is the source of my patience, because it imparts in me a moral inspiration. I saw Moses story too in this light, as God reminded me of him in the Bible. Moses endured, not because he had an ideal of right and duty, but because he had a vision of God. He "endured, as seeing Him Who is invisible." God is calling me to a vision of Himself - therefore I am not devoted to a cause or to any particular issue; I am devoted to God Himself. I know this is the vision of God because I have received the inspiration that has come from it. I have been energized notably by God in all this. If God wills to give me a time spiritually, as He gave His Son actually, of temptation in the wilderness, with no word from Himself at all leaving me feel dry - I must chose to endure. This is how that Passage in Habakkuk is transforming my thinking.

"Though it tarry, wait for it." performing my death to the right to myself is the proof I have the vision that I must reach out for more than I have grasped. God is teaching me it is a bad thing to be satisfied spiritually. Even the "Island of Misfits," phrase tourist used - God has used in me to move me to this conclusion."What shall I render unto the Lord?" said the Psalmist. "I will take the cup of Salvation." We are all apt, aren't we, to look for satisfaction in ourselves - "Now I have got the thing; now I am totally Sanctified; now I can endure." But God is showing me that attitude is on the road to ruin. He is showing me that our reach must extend our grasp. "Not as though I have already attained, either were already perfect." If I have only what I have experienced; I have nothing - If I have the inspiration of the vision of God, I have more than I can experience. I have learned never to be too relaxed spiritually thru all of this. All things turn out for good who love Him. Amen.

I will not fight here then to be right, I will be right in fighting to submit to another in Love in His power and Might - above myself, as myself in Him.

I want to be able to come in here and praise my Father with my brethren and not feel trapped or imprisoned, and love sinners alike with encouraging support by my brethren as well - and I feel the warfare going on - not against flesh and blood - but against the dark powers that surround us in trying to make us separatists in honor of rightness pumping up self-awareness and puffing people up unrighteously - which in God's eyes is only pompous piety - something He will assess in His judgements. I will not fight for rightness, although I could on the merits of human reasoning but I will live in Christ with His boldness to be loving as a living sacrifice to His will and purposes here in this thread - as well as in life outside of this thread as well. I have not been given a spirit of timidity, I have been given the power to be broken bread and poured out wine for others in His name...and in His Spirtual truths - powerfully.

I pray we move on now in His peace.... Your loving Brother - Dan.

Jewel and tourist and Blue - I have loved you in the Lord, and I will remain in His love...loving you all still.

I'm certain it was none of our intentions to hurt you, Dan.. But I felt that I didn't get any clear, straight forward answers from you regarding the questions I asked you in PM. Primarily about what I asked about being baptized into a cult, and if God would still accept that as a (Christian) baptism or not. The response you gave me only served to totally confuse me. Getting an adequate, informed answer was important to me, because I unknowingly got baptized into a cult, which I didn't realize until many decades later. But I have since asked someone who I KNOW could give me a clear answer to my question, and they sufficiently answered it for me.

As for Jewel and Tourist, well, maybe they felt they didn't get clear enough answers to what they wanted to know, either.. I don't know what you and Jewel talked about in PM, and I don't want to know, because it's not my business.. But when someone can't clearly answer another person's question regarding salvation and baptism and her status as a Christian, then maybe the person who can't answer needs to ask God to give them more clarity and discernment in being able to share His knowledge with other people..

Sometimes it takes time for us to be satisfied on what answers God gives us versus what answers we seek. I am sorry the answers I gave you seemed to you to be unclear. I pray whom ever gives you His answers that you trust - will be clearly His answers offered.. in that line - I am glad He was able to give you that clarity. I pray you do not judge me ... as well.

As far as the "island of misfit toys" crack that Jerry made, well, I believe you're the only one who took exception to it. Why? We ARE all misfits, we don't fit into this world. We never have. This world is literally satan's playground, and we're unfortunate enough to be inhabitants on it..

As for this self-awareness you keep talking about, regarding the comment you made to me the other day, which was to the effect of "don't let self-awareness give you tunnel vision". Yet another thing from you that had me saying "Huh?" I have no earthly clue what that even means..

Shouldn't God offer clear answers through ALL who are queried about Him? Why give one person the ability to answer clearly, but not another?

I would never slap Jesus in the face and call me a misfit. I am a child of God in which I am not perfect but I am seen in His vision and in His eyeshot of perfection. A misfit is accepting a place we are never allowed to accept in a active living life in Christ. A hopefulness of grasping in oneself more than we have experienced as our own history. The fact most people didn't take objection to it, is of no concern to me. It is if God or many counselors in godliness take exception to it. To this I have taken exception to it in factual premises in Spiritual truth. I am just stating what God is showing me is all.

I will pray God will show you more about self-awareness then. I have written plenty about it. So now I will simply pray and let God. Self-awareness gives us all tunnel vision in that it is sinful nature being rendered powerful again to blind us from the truth.

Jesus was a misfit here also. He was an all-powerful God in a human body, who came to this hell hole called earth to die for all wicked sins and every type of human monster.

Maine is awesome, my favorite state. I love the looks of it during the fall season the best. You have a favorite area?