spirit, soul, & body

[Book of Jeremiah]

This is such a simple teaching video that explains the make up of each one of us. We are spirit, soul and body. We were made in the image of God. We are a trichotomy because we are made in the image of God. Look at what God said when He created Adam and Eve!

It is written:

And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. So God created man in his own image, the image of God created he them. - Genesis 1: 26

Who was God speaking to? His Spirit, the Holy Spirit and His Word, Jesus Christ. God is not three. God is One. 1 x 1 x 1 = 1. You were made in God's image. You are a trichotomy. Made up of spirit, soul and body. 1 x 1 x 1 =1. Others do not see three of you. They see one. Because you are one. One who is created in the image of God! You were created to have a relationship with God! He loves you!

This video will give you a better understanding of spirit, soul & body - and how God desires to have a relationship with you! You are loved by God!


[ame=http://youtu.be/hGv5gE0zRwQ]spirit soul & body - YouTube[/ame]

 

[Book of Jeremiah]

For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world, that the world through him might be saved. - John 3:16,17

 

[Avatar4321]

The Spirit and body are the soul of man. That's what the scriptures teach.

BTW if the Bible is all we need, why do we need to watch the video to understand it? Shouldn't the scriptures be enough?

 

[Book of Jeremiah]

I'm not familiar with your Book of Mormon scriptures, Avatar. This video is based on the Holy Bible scriptures.

As to why would the video be important? I believe it gives a visual aid of the division of spirit, soul and body and how man was created in the image of God as a trichotomy - a three part being - spirit, soul and body. The Holy Bible is the Word of God and God has no qualms with man using a graph or a diagram to explain a point. There is liberty in Jesus Christ to use all sorts of teaching tools to help others understand the Gospel.

I do understand that as you are a Mormon - the Book of Mormon and your teachers have taught you that man is a two part being but my bible disagrees with your Book of Mormon in that man is made in the Image of God - Father, Son, Holy Spirit, a triune being and us being made in His image makes us a trichotomy - that is -------> Tri <---------- as in three - we are made in Gods image, in God's likeness did He make man. It is truly a wonderful teaching and I was blessed to listen to it and thought it good to share with others here.

I'm glad you have learned something that distinguishes my faith as a Christian and what the scriptures in the Holy Bible teach from your faith as a Mormon and what the scriptures in the Book of Mormon teach. That is a good beginning.

 

[Book of Jeremiah]

1 Thessalonians 5:23 May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.


And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

 

[Mr. H.]

I tend to hearken back to a moment 13 billion years ago. That moment is my book, not a man-written book.

When you learn to see yourself in the birth of the physical cosmos then maybe you can skip the Bible fluff.

 

[Mr. H.]

So I climbed to the height of a mountain line
Is there a vision here
Woven to touch
And all to capture light?
Surely the stream of consciousness
Flows to the sea
Where drifting I found
That I can be
I'm really getting to know the empty space
Beneath the surface of common days...

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZuI2fev8omE]YES - "Believe Again" Sample (Official / New Album / 2014) - YouTube[/ame]

 

[Book of Jeremiah]

I always like seeing you, Mr. H. ! Tonight is no exception! I am turning in now and wish you the sweetest of dreams. - Jeri

 

[September]

Your belief that God was referring to your "Holy Trinity" when he said "Let us create man in our image, after our likeness" is only an interpretation- primarily held by fundamentalist Baptist Christians.

Have you ever considered what it might mean if God was not referring to your Holy Trinity? How often do you ask yourself "What if ______?" when reading the Bible?

God could have been talking to Angels...

Or...

Even better...

God could actually be a group of gods who share the same Mind, or somehow became "One". Not this "Trinity" that Christians are so obsessed with, but something more... something ancient, primeval, extraterrestrial, and extremely advanced and powerful.

If Demons have the ability.. ("We are Legion for we are Many") who is to say that God does not?

There are many ways to interpret that verse but it would be best if you didn't go around preaching your interpretation is if it were factual, or shared by all humans who worship the highest God, YHWH. I will not dismiss your theory, but I will not embrace it as some undeniable proven truth.

 

[Mr. H.]

The brightest of modern-human minds of God's creation have utilized His actions to determine our origins to be 13 billion earth-years in the past. And therein lies The Book. The Genesis. The Beginning.

If you do not see yourself in this Genesis then you do not see.

 

[Mr. H.]

Demons don't exist in nature but only in the human nature.

 

[Mr. H.]

There is no God/Anti-God. There is only God and His self-chosen will. God chose to adopt an other. 13 billion earth-years ago. At that juncture, God (Adam) became self-aware. That self-awareness begat Eve... the non-self. And that is when the shit hit the fan.

And now you know the rest of the story. G'day!

 

[Avatar4321]

I'm not familiar with your Book of Mormon scriptures, Avatar. This video is based on the Holy Bible scriptures.

As to why would the video be important? I believe it gives a visual aid of the division of spirit, soul and body and how man was created in the image of God as a trichotomy - a three part being - spirit, soul and body. The Holy Bible is the Word of God and God has no qualms with man using a graph or a diagram to explain a point. There is liberty in Jesus Christ to use all sorts of teaching tools to help others understand the Gospel.

I do understand that as you are a Mormon - the Book of Mormon and your teachers have taught you that man is a two part being but my bible disagrees with your Book of Mormon in that man is made in the Image of God - Father, Son, Holy Spirit, a triune being and us being made in His image makes us a trichotomy - that is -------> Tri <---------- as in three - we are made in Gods image, in God's likeness did He make man. It is truly a wonderful teaching and I was blessed to listen to it and thought it good to share with others here.

I'm glad you have learned something that distinguishes my faith as a Christian and what the scriptures in the Holy Bible teach from your faith as a Mormon and what the scriptures in the Book of Mormon teach. That is a good beginning.

Considering I am quoting the Bible, you don't have to be.

 

[Book of Jeremiah]

Your belief that God was referring to your "Holy Trinity" when he said "Let us create man in our image, after our likeness" is only an interpretation- primarily held by fundamentalist Baptist Christians.

Have you ever considered what it might mean if God was not referring to your Holy Trinity? How often do you ask yourself "What if ______?" when reading the Bible?

God could have been talking to Angels...

Or...

Even better...

God could actually be a group of gods who share the same Mind, or somehow became "One". Not this "Trinity" that Christians are so obsessed with, but something more... something ancient, primeval, extraterrestrial, and extremely advanced and powerful.

If Demons have the ability.. ("We are Legion for we are Many") who is to say that God does not?

There are many ways to interpret that verse but it would be best if you didn't go around preaching your interpretation is if it were factual, or shared by all humans who worship the highest God, YHWH. I will not dismiss your theory, but I will not embrace it as some undeniable proven truth.

I'm glad to see you here asking questions, Ashtara. I am not a Baptist and this is not a Baptist doctrine but the doctrine of Christ. God said, Let US make man in OUR IMAGE and in OUR LIKENESS. ( Genesis 1: 26 ) I have to correct you in your assumption that God was speaking to angels. He could not possibly have been speaking of angels because He specificly said, LET US........ angels were not partakers of creation - or man - only God created man and he created man in His Image. With that said, Jesus Christ is God. Another reason angels could not have been the subject of who was addresses is that man is not made in the image of angels. Angels have wings. We do not have wings. Let's look at who Jesus Christ is...

We can go back to the beginning of the book of John and read here:

It is written:

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. the same was with God in the beginning. - John 1: 1

John the Baptist was not in the garden with God the Father, God the Word - Jesus Christ - God the Holy Spirit. John the Baptist came AFTER Jesus because Jesus has been with God from the beginning.

Jesus is as much God as you are living in your own body and operating out of your own soul and call yourself one person. One day you will leave this earth and your body will go back into the ground and you - who are a spirit - made in Gods image - a human spirit - will go with your soul ( the seat of your mind, will and emotions is your soul ) and face the judgment just as all mankind shall do.

This is the future of us all - to one day leave this earth and as a spirit - which we are - made in the image of God - we shall live eternally one of two places. Heaven or hell.

If we choose to have a relationship with God through the reconciliation of the cross - repenting of our sins and accepting the forgiveness which Jesus offers us and accepting the pardon he paid for through His own shed blood on the cross - then we shall be in heaven with the LORD.

If we reject that and follow other gods or goddesses or whatever religion that denies Jesus Christ is God and is the only way to enter into heaven ( it is written: You must be born again to enter the kingdom of heaven - thou shalt not have any other gods before me says the LORD ) then there is only one alternative and that is hell. Hell is a place of eternal torment and that is the place that Jesus does not want any of us to go to! He paid the price for our salvation at the cross. This is the good news of the gospel, Ashtara and this is the good news for you and for me. That God so loved the world that He gave his Only begotten Son that whosoever should believe on him might not perish but have everlasting life. The choice is a free will choice for all mankind. Choose life or choose death. This is an eternal decision so it must be considered in the light of truth.

When I say in the light, I mean in the light - God's light - Jesus Christ is the light - we examine ourselves by the light of the Word and according to the Word we see whether we have believed or we have not believed. If we are struggling with belief we can come to Jesus and say, LORD, I believe! Help my unbelief! What Jesus is looking for here is sincerity in the heart of the individual - to come to Him as they are.. just as they are to come to Him and ask Him to come into their hearts and forgive them of their sins. It is a gift. You cannot earn it. You could not possibly earn it. If you could earn it, it would not be a gift! Gods gift to you is Jesus Christ. I pray you accept him because truly He loves you far more than any human ever could! Far more!

 

[Book of Jeremiah]

Your belief that God was referring to your "Holy Trinity" when he said "Let us create man in our image, after our likeness" is only an interpretation- primarily held by fundamentalist Baptist Christians.

Have you ever considered what it might mean if God was not referring to your Holy Trinity? How often do you ask yourself "What if ______?" when reading the Bible?

God could have been talking to Angels...

Or...

Even better...

God could actually be a group of gods who share the same Mind, or somehow became "One". Not this "Trinity" that Christians are so obsessed with, but something more... something ancient, primeval, extraterrestrial, and extremely advanced and powerful.

If Demons have the ability.. ("We are Legion for we are Many") who is to say that God does not?

There are many ways to interpret that verse but it would be best if you didn't go around preaching your interpretation is if it were factual, or shared by all humans who worship the highest God, YHWH. I will not dismiss your theory, but I will not embrace it as some undeniable proven truth.

I'm glad to see you here asking questions, Ashtara. I am not a Baptist and this is not a Baptist doctrine but the doctrine of Christ. God said, Let US make man in OUR IMAGE and in OUR LIKENESS. ( Genesis 1: 26 ) I have to correct you in your assumption that God was speaking to angels. He could not possibly have been speaking of angels because He specificly said, LET US........ angels were not partakers of creation - or man - only God created man and he created man in His Image. With that said, Jesus Christ is God. Another reason angels could not have been the subject of God was addressing is that man is not made in the image of angels. Angels have wings. We do not have wings. Let's look at who Jesus Christ is...

We can go back to the beginning of the book of John and read here:

It is written:

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. the same was with God in the beginning. - John 1: 1

John the Baptist was not in the garden with God the Father, God the Word - Jesus Christ - God the Holy Spirit. John the Baptist came AFTER Jesus because Jesus has been with God from the beginning.

Jesus is as much one with God as you are living in your own body and operating out of your own soul and call yourself one person. ( 1 x 1 x 1 = 1 not 3 ) One day you will leave this earth and your body will go back into the ground and you - who are a spirit - made in Gods image - a human spirit - will go with your soul ( the seat of your mind, will and emotions is your soul ) and face the judgment just as all mankind shall do.

This is the future of us all - to one day leave this earth and as a spirit - which we are - made in the image of God - we shall live eternally one of two places. Heaven or hell.

If we choose to have a relationship with God through the reconciliation of the cross - repenting of our sins and accepting the forgiveness which Jesus offers us and accepting the pardon he paid for through His own shed blood on the cross - then we shall be in heaven with the LORD.

If we reject that and follow other gods or goddesses or whatever religion that denies Jesus Christ is God and is the only way to enter into heaven ( it is written: You must be born again to enter the kingdom of heaven - thou shalt not have any other gods before me says the LORD ) then there is only one alternative and that is hell. Hell is a place of eternal torment and that is the place that Jesus does not want any of us to go to! He paid the price for our salvation at the cross. This is the good news of the gospel, Ashtara and this is the good news for you and for me. That God so loved the world that He gave his Only begotten Son that whosoever should believe on him might not perish but have everlasting life. The choice is a free will choice for all mankind. Choose life or choose death. This is an eternal decision so it must be considered in the light of truth.

When I say in the light, I mean in the light - God's light - Jesus Christ is the light - we examine ourselves by the light of the Word and according to the Word we see whether we have believed or we have not believed. If we are struggling with belief we can come to Jesus and say, LORD, I believe! Help my unbelief! What Jesus is looking for here is sincerity in the heart of the individual - to come to Him as they are.. just as they are to come to Him and ask Him to come into their hearts and forgive them of their sins. It is a gift. You cannot earn it. You could not possibly earn it. If you could earn it, it would not be a gift! Gods gift to you is Jesus Christ. I pray you accept him because truly He loves you far more than any human ever could! Far more!

p.s. I once met a woman named Helen who had a struggle with the idea of a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. She feared letting go of her own life and what would happen to her if she would surrender her life, her all to Jesus. She didn't realize that by surrendering to Jesus she would lose the fear of letting go of herself and all the other unfounded fears she was worried about! It was her door to freedom!

 

[September]

1. I never "assumed" that God was referring to Angels. I said "what if". There is a difference. An assumption is you claiming he could have been referring to angels "because they have wings" and Man does not.

Did the Angels who visited Abraham and told him his wife would give birth have wings? No they did not.

What about the Angels who visited Lot in Sodom before it was destroyed? No they did not. But perhaps they were just "possessing" a human vessel. It is of my belief that Angels shapeshift in ethereal form of Light just like Demons do. Except for Demons, instead of Light, they are usually composed of "smokeless Fire"...

2. What about when I said-

"God could actually be a group of gods who share the same Mind, or somehow became "One". Not this "Trinity" that Christians are so obsessed with, but something more... something ancient, primeval, extraterrestrial, and extremely advanced and powerful."?

You never responded to that. It is not an assumption on my part, instead, it is me asking questions in an attempt to explore outside the limits of commonly accepted perceptions about God.

3. Human beings created in "the likeness of God" does not mean we have to look anything like God. That could instead be referring to the Mind or the Soul, or something else.

4. When God said "Have no other Gods before me", that could mean various things as well. It is my belief that as long as I worship and bow only to God, and as long as I continue to acknowledge God as the highest and most powerful deity, God has no issue with me communing with other deities to aquire wisdom and enlightenment.

Since God is the most powerful being, it could be said that, compared to God, all other deities are not like gods at all... which falls in line with the Muslim and Christian belief that God is the "only god." That does not mean that these beings do not exist. Compared to humans, they most certainly are godlike, and there is much we can learn from them.

5. To be "born again" could refer to the concept of putting the Will of God above your own self interests in Life. Thus, Christians do this with Jesus, Muslims to this with Allah, etc.

 

[Book of Jeremiah]

1. I never "assumed" that God was referring to Angels. I said "what if". There is a difference. An assumption is you claiming he could have been referring to angels "because they have wings" and Man does not.

Did the Angels who visited Abraham and told him his wife would give birth have wings? No they did not.

What about the Angels who visited Lot in Sodom before it was destroyed? No they did not. But perhaps they were just "possessing" a human vessel. It is of my belief that Angels shapeshift in ethereal form of Light just like Demons do. Except for Demons, instead of Light, they are usually composed of "smokeless Fire"...

2. What about when I said-

"God could actually be a group of gods who share the same Mind, or somehow became "One". Not this "Trinity" that Christians are so obsessed with, but something more... something ancient, primeval, extraterrestrial, and extremely advanced and powerful."?

You never responded to that. It is not an assumption on my part, instead, it is me asking questions in an attempt to explore outside the limits of commonly accepted perceptions about God.

3. Human beings created in "the likeness of God" does not mean we have to look anything like God. That could instead be referring to the Mind or the Soul, or something else.

4. When God said "Have no other Gods before me", that could mean various things as well. It is my belief that as long as I worship and bow only to God, and as long as I continue to acknowledge God as the highest and most powerful deity, God has no issue with me communing with other deities to aquire wisdom and enlightenment.

Since God is the most powerful being, it could be said that, compared to God, all other deities are not like gods at all... which falls in line with the Muslim and Christian belief that God is the "only god." That does not mean that these beings do not exist. Compared to humans, they most certainly are godlike, and there is much we can learn from them.

5. To be "born again" could refer to the concept of putting the Will of God above your own self interests in Life. Thus, Christians do this with Jesus, Muslims to this with Allah, etc.

Excuse me, Ashtara, I apologise. You didn't use the word assume.. as you said they "could" have been angels I should have said no, they could not.

Either way we arrive at the same answer. It is not possible.

It is also not possible for me to explore with you something that is clearly not found in scripture. The idea that God is not the God of the bible, that God didn't mean what He said in the bible, that God is not to be taken literally. God is most clear in His Word that we are not to worship other gods, that we are to worship Him alone as God and that He is one with His Son, Jesus Christ and His Holy Spirit. God is also very specific about not listening to what we know is not true, not to open our minds to such things - the Word of God is explicit in this - even the scripture that commands us - what to think upon.

Think upon things which are true, holy of good report......
http://biblehub.com/philippians/4-8.htm

Finally brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable--if there is any moral excellence and if there is any praise--dwell on these things.

Another reason it is so important for us to think on things which are true, honorable, just, pure lovely, whatever is commendable - moral excellence - is this : it effects who we are!

As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he.

When I meet someone who is full of vile words, hatred, wrath, seditions, murderous words, I know that this is who they are. They are what they speak, Ashtara. When I meet someone who is full of love, kindness, gentleness, mercy, who does not use their tongue to attack others - I know that person is a good person. Freedom Becki comes to my mind, when I think of a gentle, loving kind person. I always enjoyed being around that woman because she had such lovely things to say and share here on USMB. She loved butterflies and was so full of beauty, she was a delight to be around. She had a good effect on others. The same is true of the person who speaks evil words and exhibits a hateful heart - out of his or her mouth it comes forth and people are repulsed by that sort of thing. ( out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks ) Because our normal desire as humans is to be around what is uplifting, edifying, beautiful, God has created men and women this way, you see. I hope this gives you an interest in studying proverbs because you can learn a great deal about human beings from reading the Book of Proverbs and the entire Bible!

I hope you will continue to read my threads and hear the Written Word of God because faith comes by hearing the Word of God and I believe that is how one comes to know Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.

It is one person who will plant a seed, another comes along and waters it, yet another waters it and one day there is a harvest and the hearer of the Word takes hold and receives Jesus Christ and then goes on to share Christ with others.

p.s. you may want to look up the word image and likeness in Websters Dictionary. Then consider that when a man or woman receives Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior God is "restoring" that persons image back into the orginal state He had intended - the original image of beauty he stamped in both Adam and Eve. It is quite a beautiful picture - the Cross -the power of the Cross and all that has been redeemed for those who receive Christ. Even the Image of God is redeemed as we surrender to Jesus and let Him take up residence in us! Thank you for your response!

 

[Book of Jeremiah]

Let me say one more thing about God who is Love. Love is not rude. Love suffereth long and kind.... love envieth not, it vaunteth not up itself..... it is not puffed up. Love does not demand it's own way. Love is gentle, love never returns evil for evil.

Everywhere you go people are talking about love, yet there has never been a more hateful world than the one we are living in right now... Love is something we do, not something we talk about. Love is a verb.

Perhaps we need to revisit what Love is and why the love the world is offering these days is not working! I will make a point of doing a thread on that in the future. God willing. Good night.

 

[September]

I see now, Jeremiah, that it is impossible for you to explore outside the confines of the mental and spiritual prison that you have willingly allowed yourself to rot in... because you do not even realize it is a prison! You feel safe and secure in that place... which is only an illusion... but you will never realize it because of your Mundane Nature.

I do not see why I even bothered attempting to discuss the mysteries of God with a fundamentalist Xian Mundane who cannot see past a single religion that Mankind has pulled over his eyes to restrict, indoctrinate, and enslave him.

Your thoughts are not even your own.

Your behavior is programmed to obey unquestionably.

Your desires were set in motion by humans long before you were born.

Your destiny is not even a product of your own True Will.

Such is the case with all you Mundanes. You are all more than willing to allow other humans to dominate your weltanshaung... which is why you, Jeremiah, will never understand my message.

The dragon and the sheep do not share the same thoughts, abilities, or Will. They most certainly do not share the same Nature.

 

[Book of Jeremiah]

I see now, Jeremiah, that it is impossible for you to explore outside the confines of the mental and spiritual prison that you have willingly allowed yourself to rot in... because you do not even realize it is a prison! You feel safe and secure in that place... which is only an illusion... but you will never realize it because of your Mundane Nature.

I do not see why I even bothered attempting to discuss the mysteries of God with a fundamentalist Xian Mundane who cannot see past a single religion that Mankind has pulled over his eyes to restrict, indoctrinate, and enslave him.

Your thoughts are not even your own.

Your behavior is programmed to obey unquestionably.

Your desires were set in motion by humans long before you were born.

Your destiny is not even a product of your own True Will.

Such is the case with all you Mundanes. You are all more than willing to allow other humans to dominate your weltanshaung... which is why you, Jeremiah, will never understand my message.

The dragon and the sheep do not share the same thoughts, abilities, or Will. They most certainly do not share the same Nature.

Let me respond to you this way, Ashtara. I am one who believes in full obedience to Jesus Christ who is God. Not partial obedience. Full obedience. There is no such thing as partial obedience. See Saul and the Amalekites for that story.

I am fully submitted to God in mind, body and spirit "Only" by His Grace which has given me the ability to do that. That is what Grace is for. Grace grants us the ability to obey God! Before the cross we could not. After the cross we can. Jesus said, If you love me, keep my commandments. Jesus never said, "I'll keep them for you". If we love Him? We'll obey him.

My thoughts are not my own. I have the mind of Christ. I thank God for that because the Word of God commands me to Submit myself to God, resist the devil and he will flee. Flee is an interesting word, Ashtara. It means to run in terror. Satan runs in terror from those whose are fully submitted to God in soul ( mind, will, emotions) and in spirit and in body.
The Word of God declares that those whose minds are stayed on God - will be kept in perfect peace. The world cannot find peace outside of God and so they search for it in other places and the enemy ends up holding them in the prison of addictions, lusts, sin, which is why Jesus said, He came to set the captives free.

I am not in any prison because I have perfect liberty in Christ. Like Paul all things are permissable for me but not all things are beneficial. ( See 1 Corinthians 10:23 )

I will not use my liberty to sin against God in broad daylight of the truth! That is not something any Christian should do. There is only one Gospel and that is the one found in the Bible. That is the one I preach.

On this point you are correct, The dragon which in the bible is identified as Satan, does "not" share the same thoughts as the followers of Christ who are identified as "sheep". Nor could he because he does not have the mind of Christ. His mind is consumed with evil thoughts continually and he roams about the earth like a lion seeking whom he can devour. He cannot devour a Christian who is abiding in Jesus Christ because the will of the Christian is submitted to God. So once again the only thing the dragon can do is flee in terror from that one.

In abilities humans are no match for the dragon - Satan - because he is full of cunning and subtilty and the Christian should always be led by the Holy Spirit in their response / warfare against him because the battle is the LORD's.

On the matter of Satans will ( the dragons will ) which is to take to hell all he can through deception, unbelief, enticing to sin, to join him in his rebellion against God Almighty- he is a defeated foe and under the feet of all who belong to Christ but to those who live in rebellion he can devour them at an unexpected moment ( suddenly ) and this is a very sad truth. Which is why I am happy to call myself a child of God, fully dependent upon God, in God Almighty do I place my trust, In Him, do I obey, and in Him I live and move and have my being. As scripture tells us we must do. Now let me reciprocate by telling you what I see happening to those who follow the dragon and listen to his voice instead:

The reason you cannot accept the truth of the bible has nothing to do with your mind. You are an intelligent woman, you are very capable, it is not your mind that has you blinded to the truth. It is your heart. As Watchman Nee once stated, the contraversy of the universe is centered on who shall have the authority. You see, Ashatara, since the whole universe is under the dominion of God Almighty, we have to subject ourselves to His authority. Let no man steal God's glory. ( that includes the dragon - Satan ) The closing words of the Lords Prayer are this:

For thine is the kingdom, and the power and the glory, for ever. Amen. ( Matt. 6:13)

Whose kingdom, power and glory is it? The Lord God Almighty's! Not Satans! Satan is a usurper! He was stripped of his rights at the cross by Jesus Christ!

So the first thing that must be addressed is God's Throne Establishes Authority. I will quote Watchman Nee for you in this matter:

The acts of God issue from His throne, and His throne is established on His Authority. All things are created through God's Authority and all physical laws of the universe are maintained by His authority. Hence the bible expresses it as "upholding all things by the word of his power," which means upholding all things by the word of power of His authority. For God's authority represents God Himself whereas His power stands only for His act. Sin against power is more easily forgiven than sin against authority, because the latter is a sin against God Himself. God alone is authority in all things, all the authorities of the earth are instituted by God. Authority is a tremendous thing in the universe - nothing overshadows it. It is therefore imperative for us who desire to serve God to know the authority of God. - Watchman Nee quote from Spiritual Authority - Page 10
http://watchman-nee.net/


The greatest demand God makes upon man is not service or sacrifice or giving offerings. The greatest demand God makes upon man is obedience. As I mentioned Saul to you earlier - Saul's disobedience cost him a kingdom. For those who disobey God today and reject Jesus Christ as their Savior - it will cost them alot more than an earthly kingdom. Which brings me to my final point. The matter of the heart.

Watchman Nee once said this, It is due to the hardening of the heart that life is alienated from God, because of the alienation from the life of God the understanding ( of the mind ) is darkened. All the corruption of man is in the heart. - quote from Watchman Nee

It is with your heart that you believe and with your mouth that you confess Jesus Christ is Lord. See Romans 10: 9,10 and you will find this is the way to salvation.

It is with the heart man rebelled against God. Let us look at Genesis 6:5 and examine what displeased God greatly enough to destroy man from the earth.

It is written:
And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of THE THOUGHTS OF HIS HEART was only evil continually. - Genesis 6: 5

Two magnificent revelations God gave Watchman Nee and I will quote him here:


The archangel turned into Satan when he overreached God's authority, competed with God, and thus became an adversary of God. Rebellion was the cause of Satan's fall.
- Watchman Nee

To overthrow God's authority is to overthrow God. - Watchman Nee

http://watchman-nee.net/


That is why Scripture indicates that "rebellion is as the sin of divination, and selfwill is as iniquity and idolatry. - I Samuel 15: 23

A rebellious heart is a hardened heart and will resist truth as iron bars will resist freeing the one held captive inside it's cell. In Psalms we read, The fool has said in his heart, there is no God. ( Psalm 14: 1 ) It isn't his mind that is telling him there is no God, it is his heart telling him that. His mind is perfectly capable of receiving truth but he has hardened his heart against allowing his mind to receive that truth.

This is why the bible states that Satan has blinded the minds of the unbelievers. How did it happen, Ashtara? They didn't heed the warning in Proverbs which states: Guard your hearts will all diligence for out of them flow the issues of life. What am I telling you? That those who do not guard their hearts and protect their hearts from lies spoken by the devil and even his workers - will not be able to stop their minds from becoming blinded. If we do not protect our hearts, we open our minds to deception. It is just that simple.

Romans 10:10 says this: For with the HEART man believeth unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the scripture saith, "WHOSOEVER BELIEVETH ON HIM SHALL NOT BE ASHAMED".

As I told you earlier and I will say once again, As a man thinketh in his HEART, so is he.

If you would like to learn more about the heart acccording to scripture and some great sermons on the subject please look up the thread "Mental Attitudes". Thank you for reading, Ashtara. I do hope you have a change of "heart" soon. - Jeremiah