Gretchen

{The Acts17 11 Project} Fellowship with God

"But you have received the
Holy Spirit, and he lives within you, so you don’t
need anyone to teach you what is true. For the Spirit teaches you
everything you need to know, and what he teaches is true—it is not a
lie. So just as he has taught you, remain in fellowship with Christ. And
now, dear children, remain in fellowship with Christ so that when
he returns, you will be full of courage and not shrink back from him in
shame." 1 John 2

What does it mean to be in 'fellowship with God'?

Fellowship is defined as "comrades, friends, companions".

Psalm 25 defines friendship with God as "reserved for those who reverence Him".

It means that there is nothing blocking that relationship, ie, with God = sin.

Sin blocks our relationship with God, interferes with it, ruins it.

The psalmist, in Psalm 66, speaks of heartache at his sin blocking his prayers, thus ruining his fellowship with God.

" Come and listen, all
you who fear God, and I will tell you what he did for me. For I cried out to him for
help, praising him as I spoke. If I had not confessed the sin in my heart,
the
Lord would not have listened. But God did listen! He paid
attention to my prayer.
Praise God, who did not ignore my prayer or withdraw his
unfailing love from me."

So, we see that sin blocks our relationship, fellowship with God. So what happens next?

The
Holy Spirit will call to us, called conviction, reminding us of our sin
and the pressing urgent need to confess it to God and repent of the
behavior - seeking not to repeat it. Over time the Holy Spirit's voice
will become quieter and quieter (grieving) until at some point, when we
refuse to bend our knee to God in admittance of our sin, He is quiet
(quenched).

The Holy Spirit's words will ALWAYS be in line with, or AGREE, with The Bible.

Usually
the Holy Spirit will use a specific Scripture to address our situation
(fear, pride, greed, money, self, gluttony, selfishness,
judgment/criticism, lack of trust, disobedience. ..) because it IS God
speaking to our hearts, calling to us to forsake our sin and embrace
God.

As James says it in chapter 4, turn from the devil and turn toward God. That is the act
of confession and repentance. Scary thought, isn't it? If we are in sin, we're not facing God.

Now we can deny the truth (aka lying) but truth is Truth. Sin is sin.

When
we decide to repent, confessing our sins to God, He forgives, cleanses
us from sin's unrighteousness (unholiness) , casting our sins as far as
the east from the west (1 John 1, Psalm 103).

And if we have
sinned against another person, the same applies: confess it, repent from
it (turn from it with the intention of not repeating the behavior) and
seek restoration of the fellowship of the relationship.

So how do the false teachings relate to this?

The
false teachings seductively, deceptively lure us to believe a lie about
God so that we do NOT stay in fellowship with Him, do NOT
confess/repent of our sins, do NOT prioritize the eternal welfare of
others (salvation), do NOT obey Jesus.

False teachings may use Scripture but woven in to the
words somewhere is a lie.

NOTE: The Holy Spirit, The Truth, will ALWAYS AGREE with Scripture when He speaks to us, to our hearts, minds, soul.

That's how you can discern the difference between what you 'hear' and what is Truth.

False
teachings deny Jesus is God, number one. They also promote money, self,
pride, possessions, books other than the Bible, greed, gluttony, lust
(sexual or material), unforgiveness. ...

All these things directly CONTRADICT what Jesus commanded and what God says in the Bible.

NOTE:
False teachings can also whisper lies to your heart that 'sound like'
God but in reality are lies. How to tell? CHECK OUT what you hear with
Scripture. Do a 'phrase' look up on www.biblegateway. com to see if what you heard or read is IN the Bible, and if so, how it is
used. False teachings, ie lies, twist Scripture, as satan twisted
Scripture in his failed attempts to tempt Jesus to sin, Matthew 4.

How to
be 'in fellowship' with God?

Obey Jesus, pray the Lord's Prayer every day, PRAY IT don't recite it. Say it with heartfelt meaning.

Deal with your sin DAILY...before God.

Forgive. Apologize.

Learn
to live like Jesus - loving, kind, accepting, tolerating, merciful,
compassionate, generous, caring for the 'least of these' (those society
rejects)...

Jesus also modelled fellowship with God, John 17...involves obedience, submission, and love...

Jesus also KNEW the Truth, the Scriptures.. .so LEARN The Bible, read it through EVERY YEAR.

And most importantly, LOVE the LORD your God with ALL your heart, soul, mind and strength. Matthew 22.


For more info, see -->

Being Born Again ---- http://www.billygraham.org/SH_StepsToPeace.
Living as a Christian
http://www.ccci.org/training-and-growth/classics/the-spirit-filled-life/index.htm

Copyright 2010 Gretchen Offord, The Acts 1711 Project. All rights reserved however permission to forward
electronically allowed only if no changes made. All other publishing
requests, send to author.

What is 'religious', in The Bible?

"Walk with the wise and become wise; associate with fools and get in trouble." Proverbs 13

The term 'religious' has many meanings, depending upon who you ask. But according to The Bible, a religious person
is one who is more concerned with their own appearance than anything, or anyone else. They wear masks, making
themselves appear to be what they are not. They are very proud, full of themselves, are quite coldhearted - having
little compassion for anyone they feel is beneath their high standing.

They may be well versed, even trained, in The Bible but their hearts have remained, or become, hardened to the
things of God that matter most to God: others. Note: God sacrificed Jesus so that all of us could have the chance
to have a relationship with Him.

They may be born again Christians but chosen continual sin (for which they have not confessed or repented) has blocked
-- put on hold -- their relationship/ fellowship with God.

Or they may not be true Christians, and are just going through the motions for whatever reasons.

Good insights from Jesus on religious people can be found in Matthew 23, and Luke 11.

If a religious person donates to charity, it is to look good themselves.. .for they have little understanding of pain
and/or suffering, and as such they blame those who suffer for their own problems.

Religious persons often are hiding a 'root of bitterness', that subterranean piece of poison, buried in and working
through the heart, that
occasionally can be seen but more often shows itself in their
insensitivities to others, and their self righteousness.

They can be scathingly hateful toward anyone they feel is inferior to them, makes them look less than perfect,
or of whom they are jealous (fear of losing, such as their perfect appearance) or envious (resentful for
not having what they feel they should have).

"But if you have bitter jealousy (envy) and contention (rivalry,
selfish ambition) in your hearts, do not pride yourselves on it and thus

be in defiance of and false to the Truth. This [superficial] wisdom is not such as comes down from above, but is
earthly, unspiritual (animal),
even devilish (demoniacal) . For wherever there is jealousy (envy) and contention (rivalry and selfish
ambition), there will also be confusion

(unrest, disharmony, rebellion)
and all sorts of evil and vile practices.
"But
the wisdom from above is first of all pure (undefiled); then it is
peace-loving, courteous (considerate, gentle). [It is willing to] yield
to reason,

full of compassion and good fruits; it is wholehearted and
straightforward, impartial and unfeigned (free from doubts, wavering,
and insincerity) ."
James 3

As Solomon says in this proverb, associating with a fool leads to trouble. Religious people can be considered
fools for they know Truth (as many are active in churches, even as leaders), but refuse to let Truth, as in Jesus,
change their hearts. Thus, associating with a religious person or persons can lead one to become like them,
in attitude and heart. One can become a 'fool' and get in much trouble, for one's common sense can become
blurred, leading to massively wrong choices. One can become poisoned by that hidden root of bitter jealousy
or envy and make choices accordingly.

If you consider that you might have been poisoned by a religious person, and consequently made choices that
hurt others, take the time to get right with God...

see http://www.ccci. org/training- and-growth/ classics/ the-spirit- filled-life/ index.htm

Then ask God for His wisdom and guidance on how to make amends, in His way, with those He wants you to make
amends. This is very important, for God does not make allowances for us to avoid apologies ...

"So if when you are offering your gift at the altar you there remember that your brother has any [grievance] against you,
Leave your gift at the altar and go. First make peace with your brother, and then come back and present your gift." Matthew 5

He wants reconciliation, however it works. Let Him guide you as to how to reconcile where you've sinned against another,
hurt or wounded them. Most importantly, get it right with God first!

Copyright 2011, Gretchen Offord,
The Acts 1711 Project. All rights reserved; permission to electronically forward this article - without
changes, revisions, or updates, granted.

Â
--The head may seek God, but it is the heart that finds Him. Jeremiah 29:13 --
"This is the way to have eternal life—to know you, the only true God,

and Jesus Christ, the one you sent to earth." John 17:3
The Acts 1711 Project ~ Searching The Scriptures to Know Truth

Why is it that we hold others to extremes of perfection, and judge them harshly, when it comes to their normal human failings,
yet we continually disregard our own failings, or worse yet revel in our perceived lack of them (pride)? Do we simply point out the rules to
others showing them how they've failed? Or do we listen and understand, and restore them?

How do we respond when another fails - with compassion or condemnation, understanding or contempt? How do we expect

them to respond to us when we fail? Do we want them to understand the circumstances that led us to fail, or do we expect them

to just reject us as flawed even as they see themselves as perfect (proud, sinless)?

Is God's attitude towards us after we've failed - is it like our attitudes towards others when they fail, or is it unconditionally
understanding and full of lovingkindness?

May each of us look beyond the behaviors we see, and look into the heart of others that God sees - and see the precious
value in each of them...and may they do so in return.

~Gretchen Offord

-----

When the power of love overcomes the love of power, the world will know peace. - Jimi Hendrix

There would be no sense in saying you trusted Jesus if you would not take his advice. - CS Lewis

There's so much good in the worst of us and so much bad in the best of us, it doesn't behoove any of us to criticize
the rest of us. Ruth Buzzi

"So we are lying if we say we have fellowship with God but go on living in spiritual darkness; we are not practicing the truth.
But if we are living in the light, as God is in the light, then we have fellowship with each other, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, cleanses
us from all sin.
If we claim we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and not living in the truth. But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just
to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness. If we claim we have not sinned, we are calling God a liar and showing that his

word has no place in our hearts" 1 John 1 NLT

[HopePeaceQuotes]


"The head may seek God, but it is the heart that finds Him." Jeremiah 29:13
Susannah's Grace Counseling (Faith-based &/or Recovery) ~ Healing For The Wounded Heart

"Eternal life [is] to know you, the only true God,& Jesus Christ, the one you sent to earth." John 17:3
The Acts 1711 Project ~ Searching The Scriptures to Know Truth

If It's Popular, It Must Be Biblical

A popular trend over the past 15 or so years, in many churches, has been to have prayer teams which not only pray together (which is Biblical) but to greet people during worship services to pray with/over them (not Biblical).

Why isn't this Biblical? Look at what James says (James 5), in his letter:

"Are any of you sick? You should call for the elders of the church to come and pray over you, anointing you with oil in the name of the Lord. Such a prayer offered in faith will heal the sick, and the Lord will make you well." It is the prayer of the Biblical elder offered in faith by which the Lord makes well. Only elders are to pray with people, and specifically those elders who meet God's requirements.

What is a Biblical elder? See Paul's list of requirements in his first letter, 1 Timothy 3:

"Now a bishop ([elder] superintendent, overseer) must give no grounds for accusation but must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, circumspect and temperate and self-controlled; [he must be] sensible and well behaved and dignified and lead an orderly (disciplined) life; [he must be] hospitable [showing love for and being a friend to the believers, especially strangers or foreigners, and be] a capable and qualified teacher,...Not given to wine, not combative but gentle and considerate, not quarrelsome but forbearing and peaceable, and not a lover of money [insatiable for wealth and ready to obtain it by questionable means]...He must not be a new convert, or he may [develop a beclouded and stupid state of mind] as the result of pride [be blinded by conceit, and] fall into the condemnation that the devil [once] did."

What happens when leadership is in disobedience to God, and His Word? What does God say about rebellion (willful sin)? It is oppressive, brings heaviness, and false teachings, even idolatry. Leaders are responsible before God for what happens because of their leadership, God says.

Sadly, I have seen the consequences of unBiblical prayer teams (one in particular uses secular music with which to 'worship&# 39; then goes and prays over innocent people), and of rebellion against God and His Word in several churches, and it is ugly. Many innocent people are seriously damaged because of it, I have seen.

Consider whether or not there is obedience to this vitally important facet of church life with your church, and pray that God and His Word are faithfully obeyed. There are spiritual consequences that affect many.

©2013, Gretchen Offord, Acts 1711 Ministries, Susannah' s Grace Life Coaching. All rights reserved.


"The head may seek God, but it is the heart that finds Him." Jeremiah 29:13
Susannah' s Grace Life Coaching (Leadership; Mentoring; Counseling ) ~ Healing For The Wounded Heart

Knowing yourself (talents, abilities) gives you hope -- using your
talents, abilities by 'giving back' shares hope with others. ©HPQ #quotes

"The
knowledge that God has loved me beyond all limits will compel me to go
into the world to love others in the same way. I may get irritated
because I have to live with an unusually difficult person. But just
think how disagreeable I have been with God!" - Oswald Chambers, from My Utmost for His Highest

The Habit of Enjoying Adversity

. . . that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body —2 Corinthians 4:10

We
have to develop godly habits to express what God’s grace has done in
us. It is not just a question of being saved from hell, but of being
saved so that “the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body.”
And it is adversity that makes us exhibit His life in our mortal flesh.
Is my life exhibiting the essence of the sweetness of the Son of God, or
just the basic irritation of “myself” that I would have apart from Him?
The only thing that will enable me to enjoy adversity is the acute
sense of eagerness of allowing the life of the Son of God to evidence
itself in me. No matter how difficult something may be, I must say,
“Lord, I am delighted to obey You in this.” Instantly, the Son of God
will move to the forefront of my life, and will manifest in my body that
which glorifies Him. - Oswald Chambers

"The head may seek God, but it is the heart that finds Him." Jeremiah 29:13
Susannah' s Grace Life Coaching (Leadership; Mentoring; Counseling ) ~ Healing For The Wounded Heart

GRETCHIN
Peace comes
in being the same person in public & in private...Hypocrisy is a
pretense of being what one is not, & has no peace. ~Gretchen Offord ©HPQ

Associations -- those
relationships of any kind that define you -- can break you...Determine
to be with others who encourage. ~Gretchen Offord ©HPQ

Staying true to yourself, not settling for less or other than what is 'you' ,
being honest in all situations.. .that is peace. ~Gretchen Offord ©HPQ

-------

Character, it is said, is being the same person in private as one presents
themselves in public, and does include integrity, honesty, and
sincerity.

Hypocrisy is the pretense of being a Christian in
public, yet having things in one's private life that one would not want
others to know about, or having trespassed (sinned) against others and
as yet not making amends for those things by apology and actions.

Character
is being transparent, honest, imperfect. Integrity means we aim for
excellence (which includes missteps), not perfection (which allows no
error), and are sincere (not scheming or manipulative) .

Hypocrisy is wearing a mask, looking good while hiding something. It is deceptive, and duplicitous (double minded, James 1).

God
knows us to the depths of our souls, so we cannot hide anything from
Him...yet we try anyway, just as we try to hide things from others.

Yet
God says healing comes with honesty, in confessing (admitting) our sins
to each other (audience chosen thoughtfully) . James 5.

Character and integrity, honesty, sincerity -- these are the signs of a maturing Christian.

©2013 Gretchen Offord, Susannah' s Grace Life Coaching. All rights reserved.
"The head may seek God, but it is the heart that finds Him." Jeremiah 29:13
Susannah' s Grace Life Coaching (Leadership; Mentoring; Counseling ) ~ Healing For The Wounded Heart

{The Healing Heart} Leaders, Envy & Pride
Fri Sep 6, 2013 . Posted by: "Gretchen Offord [SGLC]" gretchjc Worth reading - great definitions of two powerful attitudes/emotions. ...
Thursday, August 29, 2013 
Leadership as Selflessness 
Guest post by Al Gini and Ronald M. Green:
With the great Nelson Mandela struggling with health issues, we’ve been thinking a lot about
the general phenomenon of leadership. Mandela is clearly one of the great
leaders of our time. His example convinces us that ethical leaders display deep
selflessness and an absence of the two deadliest of Pope Gregory the Great’s
“seven deadly sins” – pride and envy. 
The Jewish
philosopher and mystic, Spinoza, claims that pride is a “species of madness”
because it leads us to think that we can accomplish all things. The fundamental
psychology of pride is that it produces a distorted view of self and the world.
Pride is about self-absorption, excessive self-esteem, inordinate self-love,
and egregious self-evaluation. The Oxford English Dictionary defines pride as
“an unreasonable conceit of superiority … and overweening opinion of one’s
qualities, talents, and abilities.” 
In effect,
what pride does is to strip the ability of a person to be objective, to make
sound judgments, to be critical. Pride is an excuse for excess, a roadblock to
moderation, and a stairway to arrogance. Pride says poet and Trappist monk
Thomas Menton, robs us of our humility and our basic concern for objectivity,
because we are constantly focused on self. For Thomas Aquinas, pride is more
than narcissism; it is the “distorted desire to be exalted.” This desire,
suggests Aquinas, leads to an exaggeration of our ability and rights and
contempt for the ability and rights of others. For Aquinas, pride is the
beginning of every sin, and, by his reckoning, the “queen of them all.” Pride
leads to complete “selfishness,” and to the total abandonment of the concept of
“selflessness.”
If pride is
the queen of the seven deadly sins, clearly envy is her lady -in -waiting. Envy
may be the most pervasive of all the sins. Envy is both a positive and a
negative part of the human condition. It figures in all of our interactions
with others. It is a part of our competitive nature as well as of our contemptuous
feelings toward those who seem to be or to do better than us. 
Envy is not
just about wanting, desiring what others have. Envy is about resenting the good
things others have. Envy is not just desire. It is the inordinate desire for
that which belongs to another – whatever that might be. To be envious is to
covet, to be deeply angry, and to harbor hostility, malice, and hatred. In
effect, when the envious person sees someone of greater good fortune, his or
her response is: “Why not me? Why this person, instead?” To deeply envy another
means: “I want your life!” – and – “I hate you for having it.” Immanuel Kant
argues that envy is an “abominable vice, a passion not only distressing and
tormenting to the subject, but intent on the destruction of the happiness of
others.” Building on Kant, philosopher John Rawls argues that envy is an
antirational sentiment that is socially dangerous because it diminishes the
possibility of achieving fairness and justice between individuals. Envy, says
Rawls, “is a form of rancor that tends to harm both its object and its
subject.”
We believe that “genuine” leaders display deep selflessness and an absence of overweening
pride and envy. Genuine leaders put their cause, their purpose, their calling,
before themselves. They live, as Ignatius of Loyola suggested, “a life for
others.” However, this does not mean that they are saints. Their lives, like
those of all of us, display flaws, momentary lapses, and episodes of
self-indulgence. Despite this, however, their focus remains fixed on concepts,
issues or communities beyond themselves. As we celebrate Nelson Mandela’s life,
we might also use it as an example of how a leader can rise above self at every
moment to serve and build his or her community.

Al Gini is a Professor of Business Ethics and Chair of the Department of Management in the
Quinlan School of Business at Loyola University Chicago. He is also the
co-founder and long-time Associate Editor of Business Ethics Quarterly. For
over twenty-six years he has been the Resident Philosopher on National Public
Radio's Chicago affiliate, WBEZ-FM.  His
most recent book is 10
Virtues of Outstanding Leaders: Leadership and Character, co-authored with
Al Gini of Loyola University, Chicago.
Ronald M. Green is a leading scholar of theoretical and applied ethics who has taught since 1969
at Dartmouth College, where he has also served as Director of Dartmouth' s
Ethics Institute. A summa cum laude graduate of Brown, with a PHD in religious
ethics from Harvard, Professor Green was named a Guggenheim Fellow in 2005.
"The head may seek God, but it is the heart that finds Him." Jeremiah 29:13
Susannah&# 39;s Grace Life Coaching (Leadership; Mentoring; Counseling ) ~ Healing For The Wounded Heart

{The Healing Heart} Been Thinking About...

What Christ said in Matthew 19 (also Mark 10, Luke 18): 'Then Peter said to him, “We’ve given up everything to follow you. What will we get?â€...Christ replied, "And everyone who has given up houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or property, for my sake, will receive a hundred times as much in return and will inherit eternal life."

There is Peter, wanting to know what he gets out of the situation. He's given up everything, his heart is right in a way, but he still wants to know 'what is in it for me?' Self, pity, even greed or gluttony speaking.

Christ is talking about being born again and materialism. He said that giving up materialism was expected for having such, as His disciple, included persecution. But He is also talking about relationships.

He also said that 'giving up' some relationships because of Him was to be expected.

Have you ever considered what that means, to 'give up' things for Christ's sake, and the sake of The Gospel and The Kingdom of God? What does it mean to keep things in our lives then?

How many of us have compromised our faith, or kept some of our relationships with others when they have chosen to compromise their faith, relationship with God? Compromise is to allow unhealthy or un-Godly things to remain in one's hearts and life after realizing that we should let go of them, limit their influence upon us. This includes such things as unforgiveness, greed, gluttony, lust, pride, sloth, addictions [where one does not give up a thing and it consumes too much of one's life, to the neglect of more important things], negative attitudes and emotions [such as fear, control, pride, envy, jealousy], drinking or drugs [use from moderate to excess], entertainment [negative or excessive], making money or career, the list goes on.

What about relationships with those who have 'issues&# 39; in their life that they refuse to resolve, that is they know about them but prefer to keep such as it is 'comfortable&# 39; for them? Christ calls these issues 'thorns&# 39;.

Christ dealt with this in His parable about the sower, in Luke 8 (also Matthew 13, Mark 4): "The seeds that fell among the thorns represent those who hear the message, but all too quickly the message is crowded out by the cares and riches and pleasures of this life. And so they never grow into maturity." These things block one's spiritual growth.

Christ is not saying to rudely kick people out of your life, but to gently & wisely limit their influence upon you BECAUSE whatever they've kept in their life that's unhealthy will influence you in the same way, causing thorns in your life if you are not careful.

It can be hard when it's family that's the influence but even with friends, and with Christ's help, as believers, we can find strength to not be seduced (tempted, lured, deceived) into accepting unhealthy ways but instead to know ourselves and be the healthy example, in love, grace, mercy, and kindness. We are known by the company we keep (spend much time with), wise people spend time with the wise, fools (unwise) spend time with the unwise. Our associations define us.

What are your associations? How are they influencing you? What can you do, gently and wisely, to limit their influence upon you?

©2013 Gretchen Offord, Susannah' s Grace Life Coaching. All rights reserved.
"The head may seek God, but it is the heart that finds Him." Jeremiah 29:13
Susannah' s Grace Life Coaching (Leadership; Mentoring; Counseling ) ~ Healing For The Wounded Heart

Funny isn't it? We have to put our own spin on things instead of merely listening to Christ, and heeding His words and commands.

New movie coming out - we need a dramatic explanation of something that is intended by God to be viewed through us, personally, as obedient 
loving children of God living in right relationship with God through 
Christ? - that is best explained by Christ's words:

“But the Comforter (Counselor, Helper, Intercessor, Advocate, Strengthener, Standby), the Holy Spirit, Whom the Father will send in My name [in My place, to represent Me and act on My behalf], He will teach you all things. And He will 
cause you to recall (will remind you of, bring to your remembrance) 
everything I have told you...
"But when the Comforter (Counselor, 
Helper, Advocate, Intercessor, Strengthener, Standby) comes, Whom I will
send to you from the Father, the Spirit of Truth Who comes (proceeds) 
from the Father, He [Himself] will testify regarding Me...
"Because 
if I do not go away, the Comforter (Counselor, Helper, Advocate, 
Intercessor, Strengthener, Standby) will not come to you [into close 
fellowship with you]; but if I go away, I will send Him to you [to be in
close fellowship with you]. And when He comes, He will convict and 
convince the world and bring demonstration to it about sin and about 
righteousness (uprightness of heart and right standing with God) and 
about judgment:
About sin, because they do not believe in Me [trust
in, rely on, and adhere to Me]; About righteousness (uprightness of 
heart and right standing with God), because I go to My Father, and you 
will see Me no longer..." John 14-17

The Holy Spirit points to Christ in all things, convicts of sin, righteousness. 

The best commentary (commandments) of Christ on right living in relationship with God through Christ is found in John 14-17...
http://legacy.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=john%2014-17&version=AMP


"The head may seek God, but it is the heart that finds Him." Jeremiah 29:13
Susannah' s Grace Life Coaching (Leadership; Mentoring; Counseling ) ~ Healing For The Wounded Heart
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