"Faith of Jesus"

[Gibs]

Here is a gem on Faith and this is a quote from Sister White,

We do not reach high enough. We do not come to God with the faith that will not be denied. He says: "If any of you lack wisdom, let Him ask of God, who giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not. But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea, driven of the wind, and tossed. For let not that man think that he shall receive anything of the Lord." We must lay hold of the promises, saying, "I will not let Thee go, except Thou bless me." And when you receive the blessing, you will carry it to others. The atmosphere of heaven will surround your soul, because Christ will be with you. He says, "Let him take hold of My strength, that he may make peace with Me, and he shall make peace with Me." {GCB, April 2, 1903 par. 3}

1Jo 4:4 ¶ Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.

[joeb]

Quote:

Where, oh where, do you get the idea that I'm saying obedience is a prerequisite to overcoming sin, to conversion, to anything? I've never said anything even remotely close to that

I don't think you said that Joe; I agree with your assertions; I was just trying to package what you said in different words. Guess I didn't do a very good job.

Quote:

We don't work on "overcoming skills" to be sanctified!! Never!!

Here I do disagree somewhat. We don't work on our overcoming skills in order to be saved; we work on them because we are saved. In my own experience, I have been avery jaded individual, with some really bad habits that I put a lot of time into developing. Since I have committed my life to Christ, I am finding that it takes a lot of time to undo (overcome) all my bad habits. It takes effort, too. What will power I don't provide, God provides when I ask Him. My problem is, I don't always ask Him to help me. That is where the faith of Jesus comes in. He always asked for and relied on His Father to help Him. When I say we "work" on our overcoming skills, it's just part of the process of getting closer to Christ.

Quote:

We become friends with God, pure and simple. That is our "work" of a lifetime in our sanctification.

Isn't it the same with our human relationships? Being lifetime friends is the work of a lifetime.

[JoeMo]

Joeb,

You bring up some excellent points that make me think. Iwas absolutely swamped this weekend dealing with snow and my daughter's engagement; so I didn't read the chapter in DoA. Ia m so busy at work and tired when I get home, I probably won't be on here very much in the near future.I am praying alot about our discussions, because you're words kinda getting to me; making me think. Look forward to talking again. Please don't take offense if my responses to you are not timely.

I am preparing a study on the events preceding the Babylonian Captivity and the Captivity itself; and how it could be a "story" about what we can expect concerning the last days. I'm using Prophets and Kings as a primary reference; and it's making me re-evaluate some of my current assumptions. EGW pretty much agrees with a lot of stuff you are saying - not suprising since you pretty much agree with her, too.

Blessings,

Joe

[joeb]

Joeb,

You bring up some excellent points that make me think. Iwas absolutely swamped this weekend dealing with snow and my daughter's engagement; so I didn't read the chapter in DoA. Ia m so busy at work and tired when I get home, I probably won't be on here very much in the near future.I am praying alot about our discussions, because you're words kinda getting to me; making me think. Look forward to talking again. Please don't take offense if my responses to you are not timely.

I am preparing a study on the events preceding the Babylonian Captivity and the Captivity itself; and how it could be a "story" about what we can expect concerning the last days. I'm using Prophets and Kings as a primary reference; and it's making me re-evaluate some of my current assumptions. EGW pretty much agrees with a lot of stuff you are saying - not suprising since you pretty much agree with her, too.

Blessings,

Joe

No problem on the time issues. Been there and done that more than a few times myself. I'll just wait to hear from you.

I'm enjoying this discussion as much as you are. As to "my ideas", well, there's not an original joeb idea in the bunch. They're all a product of years of prayer, study, of experience both good and bad in dealing with my own sin problem, and all of them originate from the Bible and SOP.

As to Ellen White, well, she made the Bible come to life for me when I first found that Christ actually loved someone as unlovable as me through the Conflict of the Ages series. It was from her books I learned to read the Bible as manna from heaven for my soul.... That made God's word very real to me and helped me apply it to my every day life.

[joeb]

Here is a gem on Faith and this is a quote from Sister White,

We do not reach high enough. We do not come to God with the faith that will not be denied. He says: "If any of you lack wisdom, let Him ask of God, who giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not. But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea, driven of the wind, and tossed. For let not that man think that he shall receive anything of the Lord." We must lay hold of the promises, saying, "I will not let Thee go, except Thou bless me." And when you receive the blessing, you will carry it to others. The atmosphere of heaven will surround your soul, because Christ will be with you. He says, "Let him take hold of My strength, that he may make peace with Me, and he shall make peace with Me." {GCB, April 2, 1903 par. 3}

1Jo 4:4 ¶ Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.