Bible not coming "alive" to me anymore
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Friend Of,
You are in what i known as a "dry spell"...
From Tozer:
Understanding Those Dry Spells
Excerpt from A. W. Tozer
Probably nothing else bothers the earnest Christian quite so much as the problem of those dry spells that come to him occasionally, no matter how faithfully he tries to obey God and walk in the light. He can never predict them and he cannot always explain them. And there lies the difficulty.
It might comfort one who finds himself in the middle of an emotional desert to know that his experience is not unique. The sweetest and holiest saints whose feet have graced this earth have at some time found themselves there. The books of devotion which have come to us from the past almost all have at least one chapter dealing with what some of them call "aridity" in the Christian life. The very word itself tempts us to smile in sympathy, for it so perfectly describes the experience so many of us know only too well. Our heart feels "arid" and nothing we can do will bring the rain. It is good to know during such an internal drought that is has been a common experience with the saints.
One reason for our distress at such times is the knowledge that sin is one cause of aridity in the life; we naturally reason that if sin brings drought and we are suffering from a dry spell, then we must have been guilty of sin whether we know it or not. The way to deal with the problem is to remember that sin is not the only cause of dryness. It after an honest examination of our lives we are sure that we are not living in a state of disobedience and that no past sin is unforgiven, we may dismiss sin as the cause of our dry condition. We do God no honor and ourselves no good by assuming that we have sinned if we have not...
"Religion", say the theologians, "lies in the will." What our will is set to do is what really matters at last. Aridity has nothing to do with the will. "If any man will," said Jesus; He did not say "If any man feel." Feeling is the play of emotion over the will, a kind of musical accompaniment to the business of living, and while it is indeed most enjoyable to have the band play as we march to Zion it is by no means indispensable. We can work and walk without music, and if we have true faith we can walk with God without feeling.
Normally we may expect some degree of spiritual joy to be present most of the time. Fellowship with God is so delightful that it cannot but provide a large measure of joy; but we are talking now about those times when our joy fades out and the presence of the Lord is felt only feebly or not at all. Such times demand that we exercise faith. Moments of great spiritual delight do not require much faith; if we never came down form the mount of blessing we might easily come to trust in our own delights rather than in the unshakeable character of God. It is necessary therefore that our watchful Heavenly Father withdraw His inward comforts from us sometimes to teach us that Christ alone is the Rock upon which me must repose our everlasting trust.
Acts 17:11 Excerpt: Tozer on Understanding Christian Dry Spells (acts17-11.com)
Ty, That was insightful @David H.
I can't even remember when this dry spell started though. It feels like it's been a very long time unfortunately.
I can't even remember when this dry spell started though. It feels like it's been a very long time unfortunately.
It means you have to look deeper. Learn more Greek and Hebrew. God is waiting for you as you follow Him where He is. You will need to seek harder....as the scriptures are opened up more to you. Each time you look deeper, the words open up again and take you farther into understanding the heart of God. If you limit yourself to the same practices, you will remain as you are. Learning a biblical language will set you right for say...thirty more years or so of adventure! ;)
Of course I mean to do this as you wait on the Lord for more of Him and His guidance.
I'm not smart enough to learn Hebrew or Greek. X___x
The Holy Spirit does not leave those who've made the great confession and submitted to His will. Under the Old Covenant of law, He came upon men and could be withdrawn. Only the prophet, priest, and King were anointed to their office. The layout of the Tabernacle and later the temple expressed the fact that God is Holy and was separated from men by our sin, specifically by Adam's sin. Moses met face to face with the Lord in the tent of meeting with only Joshua present.
After the covenant was made at Mt. Sinai, only the High priest, Aaron, could enter into the most Holy place of the Tabernacle where the glory of God appeared between the Cherubim and over the mercy seat of the ark of the covenant. Even then, the high priest could only enter one day per year, on the day of atonement, to sprinkle the blood of the atonement upon the mercy seat. He made atonement each year for Himself, the priests, and the congregation of Israel, and entry without the blood was at risk of life.
The temple was set up the same way with a sanctuary for the priests to serve and a veil that separated the most Holy place where the ark rested. When Jesus died there was a powerful earthquake and that veil of separation was torn from top to bottom, signifying that God ended that separation from men through the propitiation of sin in Christ's blood, and initiating the New Covenant of peace with God.
God now dwells in men when they receive His Spirit through faith in His Son’s sacrifice and thereby enter into the new covenant of His blood.
The new covenant is Sealed with His Spirit and kept by Him, so His promise is sure.
19 Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.
Matthew 28:19-20
Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” Hebrews 13:5
Have you confessed Him before men and been baptized before the assembly? These are the first works and sometimes it's good to renew your vows (recieving Christ is like getting married, vowing your faithfulness to Him.)
If you've offended the Lord, believe in the power of His blood to cleanse all sin and ask for His forgiveness.
All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out. John 6:37
He died for His love, He died for you.
Do you understand ?
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There is a gift called discernment of spirits that God gives as a gift of the Holy Spirit. It's peculiar in its working.
Generally our familiarity with scripture will allow us to recognize when someone is saying things that disagree with scripture. The Spirit of Truth, just another name for His Spirit, can confirm or deny a teaching to our soul according to His witness of the person of Christ and a teaching that denies His person (both His humanity and His deity).
The gift of discernment of spirits goes beyond this.
Have you ever met someone or seen their picture and gotten the impression that there was something "not right" about them? I don't mean prejudiced thinking or carnal bias, or even the reading of body language, but something within you just identifies that someone has an issue?
I examine people for the nature of an issue through questions. They inevitably reveal themselves if you know what to ask. The most fundamental question, the most defining regarding the faith is "Who is Jesus? Who do you believe He is?"
No born again believer has a problem with calling Him Lord or "my God." If it was good enough for Thomas, who was inclined to doubt, then it's appropriate for the faithful, and the cults are clearly separated.
Does every believer have the same understanding?
No, our understanding grows as we spend time with the Lord in His word.
Does every believer share the same faith?
Yes, we believe Jesus Christ is Lord, our God and Savior.
Not everyone understands the relationship between Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, but we believe in One God, One atonement for sin in the blood of His Son, and One Holy Spirit given freely to all that submit to the Lord Jesus Christ by faith and given to set us apart as Holy to the Lord, our guide, helper, Comforter, teacher, and constant companion.
The Spirit of Christ within us is able to recognize Himself in others and to recognize when another spirit is present. Everyone may not have this gift, but every believer is capable of receiving it and should pray for it. It's a valuable gift for ministry, especially for pastors and ministry leaders.
I know that some will disagree with this post, but the word agrees. If the Spirit confirms it to your soul, then you know what to do.
This happens with time. God testifies of the truth of the bible with his Holy Spirit. But how much does he need to testify?
My suggestion to you is that if you wish to feel the Holy Spirit is to serve your fellow man by feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, visiting them in prison, etc as instructed in Matthew 25:31-46. You can also be part of his Holy Spirit thru converting sinners to the Gospel of repentance. Your church should allow you to visit members and read scripture with them, especially the less active to encourage them to be more active in church. Your church should also have volunteer work to feed the hungry and provide clothes to the less fortunate, etc.
Sometimes we may be running along different tracks for reasons known to God but toward the same ultimate goal. Early in a person's walk he may see a person on a different track as being in error, but that may not be the case. God knows and will bring us all together if we are allowing Him to work in us. Quenching the Spirit hinders the work of God.
The Holy Spirit doesn't always strive with man because he is human. I think what you're talking about as quenching the spirit is that when the Lord blesses us with the spirit we should not turn to immediate evil being tempted.
Genesis 6:3 And the LORD said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years.
It is my belief that the final outpouring of the Spirit will be this gift, much like the outpouring of tongues was the first gift given on a large scale. From what he has shown me this outpouring will be a "visual" gift. You will literally be able to see who has the light in them and who does not.
God bless.
Serving is, it seems to me, one of the primary ways we really come to know God, and to know each other, serving together, to be invested in each other, to become bonded together though the troubles we endure together.
The fellowship of serving, of giving, of suffering, these bring to the surface our fellowship in Christ. Living a life serving is self-denial, and the more we serve others the more we deny ourselves. And the more we see the Spirit's fruitfulness in our lives, and the more we will have the faith that God is victorious in us. And the more we will live according to that faith, and we walk always in triumph regardless of what is happening, because our faith is strong in Jesus, As we've come to know the fellowship of the mystery,
Ephesians 3
8 Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints, is this grace given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ;
9 And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ:
10 To the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God,
11 According to the eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord:
12 In whom we have boldness and access with confidence by the faith of him.
That by trusting in Jesus, and His ability to live in us, to make our lives what is pleasing to Him, we are all united in one - communion in Christ, with each other. Jesus came to serve, we to are to serve.
Much love!
This is part of the reason the gift of discernment is invaluable. You can tell if someone possesses the same Spirit and avoid grievous arguments over differing opinions (though arguments still happen as with Paul and Barnabus over Timothy).
Furthermore, pastors and elders have greater responsibility over God's "flock."
The word "pastor" means shepherd. The shepherd does more than lead the flock to pasture and water, but is responsible for their lives. The shepherd chases off the wolf, uses his rod to beat away the bear, sometimes even the lion.
In spiritual terms, the pastor and elder are supposed to recognize disruptive and contentious people , and if those people are warned and remain defiant, then it's the duty of the pastor to have those people removed from among the congregation, though now that's usually through some burly deacons, or a call to law enforcement.
Seeing a spiritual fault allows that fault to be drawn out and put on display if necessary, to bring repentance or separation. Divisions and bitterness in the church are always the result of someone's unrepentant sin, but unclean spirits need to be confronted because they contaminate or defile others with their presence. I've seen them, warned pastors about them, and witnessed the damage done by them.
You're not wrong, but serving as a good work is not unique to Christianity. The cults frequently make serving a major issue, but abuse the concept to carnal ends.
There's definitely a visual aspect or you couldn't discern something captured in a photo. Some people call the eyes "the window of the soul" because they commonly reveal emotion and intent. For example, wild eyes on a person is always a cause of concern when there's no obvious reason for panic. I include that in body language, but I think that there's more to spiritual discernment than that.
I've met psychics that can "read " people accurately, so there must be a way to discern spiritual things, but my experience with psychics is that they're deceived and deceiving.
Remember dear one it is not the quantity nor the quality of our words that communicate with our Father but an humble spirit and contrite heart.
He is always at the ready even if it's with groanings that we cannot utter but yield to the Spirit for He can talk on our behalf.
Be encouraged!
He is always at the ready even if it's with groanings that we cannot utter but yield to the Spirit for He can talk on our behalf.
Be encouraged!
Thank you very much. May God bless you.
I'm not talking about serving as a good work. I'm talking about serving as a lifestyle, a mentality, a focus for every situation.
I'm talking about living life as a servant of the Living God, of which there is no equal, only counterfeits, lacking power.
I counsel a life of serving because that is God's intent for us, and in so doing we become what pleases Him. When we choose to serve out of love for others, we are choosing to walk in the Spirit, to live in God's power. Cults don't have that.
Much love!
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