suffering for Christ

Clyde: yeah, i don't know... so the question is do you think jesus thought he had enemies
10:36 AM me: i think he knew he did
10:40 AM Clyde: i think jesus only reconized one ememy in satan.... everyone else was either someone who needed his love and grace more an more or satan was working through them to get at jesus
me: yea i could see that
10:41 AM i mean he really had power over everything
so his enemies only could do what he allowed them to do
i think that relates to us
10:42 AM Clyde: yeah i agree with that
me: which can be hard to understand when you consider people who are being persecuted daily for worshiping God
10:43 AM I mean I don't understand that
But people only stay in authority if it is in God's will
10:44 AM he might let crap happen but eventually they get what they deserve
10:45 AM Clyde: yeah, so i was reading Philippians today and this verse stuck out to me phil 1:29-30
For it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for him, 30since you are going through the same struggle you saw I had, and now hear that I still have.
10:46 AM and i have been trying to figure out how i truly suffer for christ... and does this verse mean that you are a believer because you suffer or your beliefs bring suffering
me: 2Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. James 1:2-3
Clyde: yeah, thats like one of my favorite verses
10:47 AM what trials do i face though... accept from me in times when my faith is lacking
10:48 AM me: well..
i dunno man you'll have to see that for yourself
10:49 AM Clyde: ha yeah, guess i will
10:50 AM me: suffering will come, we live in a broken world
Also, when you are in a time that your faith is lacking, that is a trial.
10:51 AM It shows the character of a person when you see how they act during times of lacking faith
If you continue to seek him you shall see a reward.
10:52 AM which is you will find him
thats what i think
10:53 AM Clyde: yeah, that is what me and kolia talked about last week, that it sucks but its also exciting to see that reward and to know that god will keep his promises to us
10:54 AM me: not everybody will have really tough trials, which sometimes I wonder if the reason I am not in a place where Christianity is illegal is because he did not trust me to be in that positon
10:55 AM Clyde: yeah, i have thought that to myself too, and god knows what we can handle and he won't push us past that until we are ready
10:57 AM me: yea definitely
11:01 AM my sister used to always tell me and encourage me that God would never give me more than I could handle.
11:02 AM not that she doesnt now..
11:05 AM 3Is any one of you in trouble? He should pray. Is anyone happy? Let him sing songs of praise. 14Is any one of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord. 15And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven. 16Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective. james 5:13-16
11:06 AM it is important to remember while you are not suffering, that you aren't doing anything wrong
We can remember and support those who are
11:07 AM as well as continuing in worship and praise
i think this is something i need to remember as i forget often
Clyde: yeah i agree
11:08 AM 1 cor 10:13
13No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.
me: yep yep
that one is pretty clear
11:18 AM Clyde: ha yeah, i like that verse, but i can never remember what it is :)
i need to work on that
11:19 AM me: yea i really wish i knew scripture well
Clyde: yeah me too
11:20 AM the verse i worked on today is phil 1:21
for to live is christ and to dies is gain.
hahah die
11:23 AM me: that is shohn's fav verse
he is going to have my sister paint it on his motorcycle

Good Convo about God's reality in my life

me: And about the God stuff, i feel the same way about certain things in my relationship with Christ. I feel alot of times that I hit a wall and can't get past it to grow any deeper.
for me I believe it is because I don't know how to love god as much as I should
12:14 PM someone: yeah i am with you on that
12:15 PM me: It seems that I can not let myself love him because I hold on to too much here on earth.
12:16 PM I pray that God will make the things invest here less important and that I become dependent on the spirit and less dependent on anything else not from the spirit.
someone: yeah, exactly, and for me the things i find myself holding too are things that i don't even want, but i can't let it go
me: yep, i know what you mean
12:17 PM another thing for me is that there is too much "noise" at my house, not to make excuses but I feel like I need to get away
12:18 PM someone: yeah, i feel the same... not just bout my house, but bout my life in general.. but i'm scared to get away cuz... honestly i think i'm scared of being in the presence of God
12:19 PM me: Yea, i dunno what he would say to me
12:20 PM I have caught a glimpse of his presence in the past and it was very different to my image of God before
I was worshipping somewhere and I was trying to imagine what it would be like to be in front of God.
12:21 PM Before I always thought it was like a king on a throne, but I asked God to be in my presence..
12:22 PM Then I had this image, well more of a feeling like God was not just my king, but someone who just wanted to hold and embrace me
then I got this sensation and it changed my perspective on God in my life to someone who is my best friend and someone who cares infinitely for me..
12:23 PM It was pretty much awesome
12:26 PM someone: dude that is awesome... i dont' remember the last time i really embraced god's presence like tat
that
me : i don't really think i told anyone that before
12:27 PM someone: wow, thank you for sharing that with me
me: i had to test and see if it was real or if it was my imagination and i dunno never really felt like sharing before.
12:28 PM Yea there are some weird things in my past and testimony that I don't even understand yet
12:29 PM someone: yeah, i feel like the more i grow and the more i look back through my testimony, the more i realize things differently or see how that made a bigger impact than i thought
12:31 PM me: also, i think I am less evident of my growth. I am realizing it takes other people looking in to see if I am growing. I tend to focus on things I suck at and not focus on holiness and awe of God
12:32 PM someone: yep, if beating yourself up was a sport, i would be a pro for sure, I can't get past my self sometimes to be focused on God
12:33 PM me: yea doesnt it suck to be good at the wrong things
12:34 PM someone: yeah it sucks really bad
me: yep yep
12:40 PM i feel like I have another blog post coming after this discussion