Well I don't know about anybody else but I thank the Lord for allotaaaaa Mercy and grace.
And a whole LOTTA HOLY GHOSTTTTTTTT..........:0)
So the answer is............Its easier to live for the Lord than it is for the devil.........and the benefits of living for the Lord is absolutely wonderful........wooohooo
The number named guy sure got one major problem trying to serve God that he would never have had serving the devil. He would never have to leave a UC church! JKJK.
Is it easy to be (and stay) saved? Or is it difficult? It seems to be harder for some than for others. Why do you suppose that is?
You love all the attention that your questions draw don't you Timmy???? Okay, I'll bite.
I tried and tried to satisfy the religiosity that I heard preached, I tried to take the responsibility for the salvation of the world, but somehow I never was quite up to the task.
Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.
For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.
Then I realized that I was trying to do what He has already done, so I now reject condemnation and fear, I walk in His rest. His "yoke" truly is easy, the narrow way is not hard it is easy. Jesus said so, and I believe Him, and now I can tell you from experience.
This life is not always easy, but my salvation and His rest is the easiest thing in this world. Religion is hard, ever notice who Jesus rebuked? Take a look, it was religious leaders, because they burden down the folks with junk.
__________________ For it is written, "As I live, says the Lord every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall give praise to God. (Romans 14:11- NASB)
ha! That's a first! It's usually the other way around!
I guess this is where it gets a bit tricky. I do believe that there is evil in the world, but I'm a little more cloudy on the whole concept of satan / the devil. I think we give him way too much credit and ascribe to him entirely too much power. What is the purpose of serving an all powerful deity, if He is so easily side-tracked by a lowly rebel angel?
(And Yes, I have heard the adage that the greatest lie satan has ever told, is to convince the world that he does not exist!)
If I have the spirit of God in me, (which I believe to be true), I don't think I have anything to fear from satan.
As I sit here writing this, I thought to myself, maybe I should test this
And so I prayed "God, if he's right, and I'm completely deceived and the Spirit inside me isn't you, but something else, I ask that you refill me and clear the blinders from my eyes and show me the true path."
And then I paused for a minute and said "Ummmm..God...wait...nevermind"
And then I laughed. Not irreverently...more at the irony. Because it's true, at least to a certain point. I don't want to be wrong. And I certainly don't want all of you to be right! I never want to go back to that place, to that prison. To me it all equals misery, heartache and pain. Maybe I keep God at arm's length because on some level I still fear that. If I ever were to find out that that's what God is truly like / truly expects, I would have no recourse but to reject him entirely.
Mitch,
You can rest assured, that HE most certain is not like that. Your post is more God like than so much of the religiosity around us, HE is where you are, and HE is allowing you to find your way. Carry on!!
__________________ For it is written, "As I live, says the Lord every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall give praise to God. (Romans 14:11- NASB)
Mitch,
You can rest assured, that HE most certain is not like that. Your post is more God like than so much of the religiosity around us, HE is where you are, and HE is allowing you to find your way. Carry on!!
Hey...thanks! This is the last type of response that I ever expected to see to something I had written, LOL
You love all the attention that your questions draw don't you Timmy???? Okay, I'll bite.
I tried and tried to satisfy the religiosity that I heard preached, I tried to take the responsibility for the salvation of the world, but somehow I never was quite up to the task.
Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.
For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.
Then I realized that I was trying to do what He has already done, so I now reject condemnation and fear, I walk in His rest. His "yoke" truly is easy, the narrow way is not hard it is easy. Jesus said so, and I believe Him, and now I can tell you from experience.
This life is not always easy, but my salvation and His rest is the easiest thing in this world. Religion is hard, ever notice who Jesus rebuked? Take a look, it was religious leaders, because they burden down the folks with junk.
Bump for Timmmmmy!!!!
__________________ For it is written, "As I live, says the Lord every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall give praise to God. (Romans 14:11- NASB)
I suppose that once you are saved, it should be easy to stay saved. But I was asking more about the process of getting saved in the first place. I don't think anyone would argue that it is easy for some and hard for others. For many, the biggest hurdle is probably belief.
__________________
Hebrews 13:23 Know ye that our brother Timothy is set at liberty