10 Differences Between Religion and “The Personal Relationship with Jesus and the Holy Spirit” 10c

       10 Differences Between Religion and
       “The Personal Relationship" with
        God,   Jesus,   and the Holy Spirit” 

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1       Religion Stresses developing beliefs through
         formulas, “how-to”, and regulations,
”The Personal Relationship” 
         stresses commitments of the heart.

2       Religion teaches guidance FOR our lives,
“The Personal Relationship” 
         places in us the Guidance we need IN our lives.

3       Religion stresses our imposing order on our lives,
“The Personal Relationship" 
         gives the desire for the Covenant of order in our lives.

4       Religion stresses 
              the elements of the Bible on how to live our lives,
“The Personal Relationship” 
        provides those elements to build up our lives.

5       Religion leads us to Questions about rules
“The Personal Relationship” 
         leads us to answers about life.

6       Religion gives us information that tell us what to do,
“The Personal Relationship” 
         gives us God’s knowledge of what to do.

7       Religion many times stifles and robs us of our 
              more complete understanding of Gods Blessings,
"The Personal Relationship" 
         allows us to reach out and accept 
                 more than a meager amount of His Blessings.

8       Religion brings God’s people together in 
             community fellowship,  This is good but
“The Personal Relationship” 
        brings people to God in His Fellowship, 
              Community fellowship will come.

9       The Personal Relationship is by far 
            more important than religion, but in
"The Personal Relationship"
      it better sustains us in a 
           church or religious institution. 
      It can be difficult to maintain 
         "The Personal Relationship" 
                by, in, and through only ourselves.
"The Personal Relationship" with God
      is maintained by:
      Bible Study, Prayer, and
              Fellowship and Worship with those 
                       who have a Personal Relationship.

10    Without
  "The Intimate Personal Relationship" with 
          God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit in our lives,
              what we mostly have is just religion.

Thanks be to God

© lonnie coggins

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ldcoggins@gmail.com

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lonnie 

The Six T's in Living Life - Part 2

Trusting:  Our Firewall to Temptation

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The Six T's in Living Life     Part 2
     Trials, Tests, and Temptations
     Trust, Triumph, Testimony
Is it a Test or a Temptation?  

What's the Difference?  

Note:  It will help to read Part 1,
             before reading Part 2.
Click here for:  The Six T's in Living Life   Part 1

James 1:2-3

NIV:    

Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds,

because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance.

New KJV:

My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials,

knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience.

New RSV:

My brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of any kind, consider it nothing but joy,

because you know that the testing of your faith produces endurance;

John 14:1  (NIV) Jesus says: "Trust God, Trust me...."
   Note:  
    It is not a suggestion, but an imperative command of Jesus.
    If Jesus said it, it has Divine meaning.

We do not say, "He passed the temptation" but
 "he fell into temptation".

We do not say,"He fell into testing" but
  "he passed the test".


A DEFINITION For a vast majority of people, issues in our lives and our reaction to those issues control our behaviors. 

For the sake of these writings on the "Six T's" all situations we face in life including tragedies, troubles, adversities, opportunities both good and bad will be called trials.

How we deal with our trials in success or our defeat develops our character for future trials.  Either we grow in strength of character OR we become weaker and fall into sinful behaviors.

In our everyday life, our attitude in our trials determine if these trials are just a test or become a temptation.   The little trials we face daily prepare us for the big trials that greatly influence our destiny.

IS IT A TEST OR TEMPTATION
The focus in this series of writings on the Six T's of Living Life will be the Biblical implications of when a trial is a test and when is it a temptation, and how this applies to us today in creating our character.  

Understanding the difference in testing and temptation is most important because of two ideas.
(1) as we read the Bible, this issue of testing and temptation can be most confusing; and 
(2) the difference between the two controls our character as Christians.  

In awareness of the difference we can better determine if we are building and strengthening our character in our trials or in our trials are we battling temptations that weaken us.  In our battling temptations we become susceptible to falling into temptations where we slip into sinful behavior.  

In this Part 2 of the Six T's the focus is on the difference between being tested and tempted, the primary focus will be the words used in the Bible in various translations. 
 This will 
(1) bring good insight and understanding to what we read in the Bible and 
(2) simplify our understanding of testing and temptations we experience in our daily lives.  

Now,
What is a Temptation?  

A good Biblical definition of this was provided in a previous writing, "The Six T's in Living Life Part 1" and is repeated here:
From a minister, Erik Raymond, 

"A temptation, then, in general is anything that, 

for any reason, exerts a force or influence

 to seduce and draw the mind and heart 

of man from the obedience which God requires 

of him to any kind of sin."

  There are several things to consider and note about temptations:
1-  The source of the temptation can be from within a person or external to a person.  It can be an outward event or just a thought.
2-  A temptation is an attempt to draw a person away from God.
3-  A temptation entices a person to sin.

Next, What is a Test?

Looking at James 1: 2-3, we can easily see that in a trial, the trial is only a "Test" if we
 (1) are Joyous (yes, be joyous) in a trial, 
 (2) are grateful for the opportunity to show our faith, and 
 (3) we are strengthened in perseverance,  patience, and endurance.   This tells us of two very important keys to dealing with trials.

First, a trial is an opportunity to show our faith that God has put in us.  This is the beginning of the proper attitude to adopt during the journey of a trial.  Next, in showing our faith in God we are, above anything else, showing our Trust in God for our trial's journey.  Finally, when we complete the trial's journey, in Trusting God we will have the grace and blessings of God teaching us perseverance, patience, and endurance. 

     In fully Trusting God, 

the trial is a test and not a temptation!    

But, if we turn away from God 

to trusting earth bound people,

governments, ideas, or other earthly 'stuff' then 

this

is when we move from testing to falling down the

slippery slope of sinful temptation!

None of this "testing" stuff is easy in our trials!  But, YOU FEEL REALLY GOOD when you have trusted God and gained new perseverance, patience, and endurance as greater character comes from and through God's grace during the test!!  Best of all, you come to fully realize that "Testing" results in joy for having completed the test!  It would take an idiot not to enjoy the grade of 100 on an important test in school on which you diligently worked and studied.  The same is true in life's trials and tests!   

RESULTS OF TESTING

There can and likely will be great lows, discomforts, and depression during our trials; but in Triumphantly completing a trial, there is joy in and from the trial, a peace in having made the trip, and great encouragement for the next journey.  Succeeding in our daily little trials prepare us for bigger opportunities!  There is certainly joy in understanding that!   I did not want to go to Vietnam, but I am now most thankful for the two trips because of (1) the greater strength I have in Trusting God through the Vietnam journey and (2) I know I can do greater things for Jesus in future trials!

But, bear with me, for this Part 2 discussion is just the tip of the iceberg.  There is even more to understand in these verses based on the original wording in the Greek!  This greater understanding will be found in Part 3.  This understanding to enhance and encourage you to trust God in trials because of your expected gain in personal strength, growth, and character that God will provide to you- as long as you Trust Him!  And, this better understanding will be covered in Part 3 of "The 6 T's of Living Life".

Remember:

The six T's in Successful Living are:  

Trials,    Testing,         Temptation, 
Trust,     Triumph,      Testimony

The difference between Testing and Temptation is the source of our Trust in our daily behaviors.  In our trials, Trust God and Testing will not slide into Temptations.

Trusting God is our FIREWALL between
our Testing 
and 
our falling into Temptations!

Thanks be to God.

© lonnie coggins

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ldcoggins@gmail.com

If you desire to use any of these messages in a For-Profit manner you must contact me (email) for permission.  Typically, I will most likely give permission.

lonnie 

Publication 0069


LEARNING TO TRUST is a very important behavior and we must learn to TRUST GOD in the good times so we know how to behave and trust in the tough times. Click the link below for more on Trust and how it is a firewall between Trials and Temptation.
Please share the message on your Fb page as you like, and if you like, click the FB 'Follow' button to have notifications of these publications. For other messages like this, visit my FB page, or on FB visit-"A Daily Thought Group".
http://lonnieadailythought.blogspot.com/2012/11/the-six-ts-in-living-life-part-2.html

Trusting, Our Firewall to Temptation

The Six T's in Living Life    Part 1
Navigating Life from 
     Trials to Triumph and Testimony

           Learning to Trust

                                      

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James 1:1-3                                               

1 James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, To the twelve tribes in the Dispersion: Greetings. 2 My brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of any kind, consider it nothing but joy, 3 because you know that the testing of your faith produces endurance;

James 1:14-15   14 But one is tempted by one's own desire, being lured and enticed by it; 15 then, when that desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin, and that sin, when it is fully grown, gives birth to death.

For ten years, I dreaded, hated, and despised the thought of being forced to experience the Vietnam War.  This hatred began a fear that was too often in my thoughts from the 8th grade until the dark night I arrived in Saigon, June 3rd, 1972.  Little did I know that this trial called "the Vietnam War" would bring me the greatest of blessings.


But, regardless of where we are in life, we have trials leading to tests and/or temptations.  In our trials and adversities we have a decision to make: do we allow the trial to be a test or do we allow the trial to move past testing and become a temptation.

Consider this good definition of temptation from a minister, Erik Raymond, 
"A temptation, then, in general is anything that, for any reason, exerts a force or influence to seduce and draw the mind and heart of man from the obedience which God requires of him to any kind of sin."

 Keep this in mind as you read.
In our life's trials, the behavior and attitude we take to a trial, often depends on the experiences and resolutions of our past trials.  It is in the ordinary times of our lives we must seek behaviors and attitudes to guide us and help us control the experience and outcome of our future trials, troubles, and tribulations.  By doing this, we are better prepared for the high times and low times of life when we are most vulnerable for temptation.

The 6 T's of living life in our trials provides a Focus and Guidance on how we approach our trials and where we place out trust while in the valley of those trials.  The six T's  are:  

Trials,    Testing,         Temptation, 
Trust,     Triumph,      Testimony

In the Trials we encounter in our living life,

we can experience it as a Test that makes us stronger or
 we allow the Test to become a Temptation 

that can lead us to more weakness and sin.  

It is where we place our Trust that determines

if the outcome is a Triumph or defeat.  

In Trusting God in our Trials,

the Trial becomes a Test making us stronger

for our future opportunities (Trials).  

However, if we are not God-focused, a Trial 

easily becomes a Temptation often 

leading to sin 

resulting in

greater weakness or even death (James 1:14-15).  

Trusting God leads to Triumph 

resulting in a Testimony to God.  

Without the Trials and Tests of life

we have no Testimonies.  

In Trusting God in our trials, adversities, and tribulations we have, among others, several important results and personal benefits:
1-  We gain strength from the testing.  This strength builds us for the next test.  We must remember that trials, problems, and suffering in life are often disguised as opportunities before us.  As an athlete gains strength from continued testing of his strength, so to we gain Spiritual strength from our Spiritual Testing.

2-  We gain endurance, maturity, and joy.  James 1:1-3

3-  We gain perseverance and patience for greater trials and tribulations.  In Romans 5:3 (NKJV) we read, "And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance;".  This also is translated in some Bibles as patience.

4-  We gain peace of mind.  From Philippians 4:7, "And the Peace of God that passes all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus."  

5-  We become thankful for the opportunities to glorify God with our lives regardless of our circumstances.  (1st Thessalonians 5:18 - give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.)

My 10 years of the Vietnam dread came to an end in the first night in Saigon at fifteen minutes after midnight.  In the lowest moment of my earthly being, the greatest experience of my life came in turning to God in Trust and giving up to God in prayer.   


All my past challenges and testing in school, Officer Training,  Navigator and survival training were something I handled and I am sorry to say, on my own rarely, if ever, praying about the challenges.   But Vietnam was different.   I could not handle it, I could not deal with the weight of 10 worrisome years, and I was overwhelmed with feeling, thinking and knowing my death was eminent.    In my desperation, I turned to prayer that first night there (*1).  In my most humble earnest prayer  that dark night truly changed me and gave me a Peace of Mind (*2) beyond my understanding and a new wisdom in facing any adversity.

But, from that night's experience I also began to find new strength in trusting God.  Unfortunately, even in the maturing process of this in Vietnam, I did not have the wisdom to maintain those daily prayers.  But, in the years to come, I remembered and in the real challenging times of those ensuing years, I always turned to God.  What I did not realize is that God was growing me in wisdom.

Life through prayer, faith, Trust, and peace come easier now, not easy but easier.  One line in one sermon on the first Sunday of 2009 brought new realizations of Wisdom I had come to know.  The pastor said in that sermon, "To have the Holy Spirit in your heart, you must pray and pray and pray everyday."  In the next few days following that sermon,  I began thinking about my big Trials of my then 60 years.   I realized that the Triumphs of the Big Trials in my life came through prayer and in those prayers I had truly Trusted God (*3).  

Do not wait for the big times in your life to let God into your heart and trials.  In all the little challenges of your ordinary times, every day, let God build your faith, strength, and perseverance through your daily prayers.  In your Trials, adversities, and opportunities turn to God immediately so that your Trials do not become Temptations.  Your Temptations to survive without Him weaken you and can be deadly.  You can Trust God!    In that Trust, God will give you a clearer mind to think, heartfelt peace to hear His Guidance,  plus greater courage and strength to navigate your troublesome tasks.  

I am so thankful for my life's Trials  and especially for two tours in Vietnam.  The Trials have brought me to a more Righteous Relationship with God, knowing Jesus as my personal Savior, and the Holy Spirit as my Guide to navigate my life's Testimonies.

God will do the same for you.  It all begins with prayer.

Trust God, and let your Trials be a journey into Faith.

Thanks Be to God,
and
My thanks to Rev. Brenda Newman
for a most powerful sermon in 2009.  "To have the Holy Spirit in your heart, you must pray, and pray, and pray, everyday."

© Lonnie Coggins

================

There will be more to come on the Six T's in Living Life.  In Part 2, the difference between Testing and Temptation will be discussed.

*1  For more on that first night in Vietnam
Click Here:  Self-Confidence


*2  Click here for the message of
     Finding Peace in a Chaotic World

*3  Click her for a message on Trust

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Title
 

© lonnie coggins

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You can print the message including this sharing message only for your friends and for non-profit.  You MUST copy and paste the message to a word processing document.   After you copy and paste add the following at the end of the message:

© Lonnie Coggins        source- Facebook "A Daily Thought Group"
ldcoggins@gmail.com              www.adailythought.NET

If you desire to use any of these messages in a For-Profit manner you must contact me (email) for permission.  Typically, I will most likely give permission.

Please email me if you find any broken links in this message.

lonnie

Publication  0069


intro

LEARNING TO TRUST is a very important behavior and we must learn to TRUST GOD in the good times so we know how to behave and trust in the tough times.  Click the link below for more on Trust and how it is a firewall between Trials and Temptation.
 Please share the message on your Fb page as you like, and if you like, click the FB 'Follow' button to have notifications of these publications.  For other messages like this, visit my FB page, or on FB visit-"A Daily Thought Group".

http://lonnieadailythought.blogspot.com/2012/11/the-six-ts-in-living-life-part-1.html

Book Report, "The Will of God" by Leslie D Weatherhead

   "The Will of God"

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By Dr. Leslie D. Weatherhead
A Book Report

In times of life's trouble we must be prepared to handle the trouble.  In this message is a link to a poem about "Storms in our Lives".  The point of the poem is we must study God's word and come to a True Personal Relationship with Christ and the Holy Spirit, to be prepared to give our storms up to God.  Storms are most difficult when we are not prepared.  The "Will of God" by By Dr. Leslie D. Weatherhead goes deep in his model, for the Will of God for our lives.

 

It is ok to feel a bit shaken but rest assured we have a God of love and He will never leave your side.  I am testimony to this.  Just know the Truth, the Holy Spirit is with you and within you everyday.  Life is better if you live everyday with that knowledge internalized, drawn to the depth of your soul so Personal Relationship with Gos is (or grows to) what your are.

It is sometimes difficult to understand life and God's Will in our lives, and feel the Holy Spirit in our lives when we are not totally prepared for the tragedies in life we must face.  It is hard to be totally prepared.  But, we must pray daily to understand and be in God’s Will.  Understanding is the difficult part.  "The Will of God" will help you in that understanding.

This model of God’s Will comes from a minister in England in five sermons he gave in the midst of WWII in 1943, a time of  horrific tragedy in England.   Dr. Leslie D Weatherhead presented his model of God’s will in our lives and I believe it has stood the test of time.  His book, “The Will of God” has sold millions since then and has been in continuous print since its first printing during WWII.

Dr. Weatherhead’s model or explanation of Gods Will falls in three parts.

1-     God’s Ultimate Will

2-     God’s Intentional Will

3-     God’s Circumstantial Will.

The first two are more directly and easier to understand.

God’s Ultimate Will is the Will of God that will always prevail.  God is in control and what He has set forth in all things will ultimately rule everything.

God’s Intentional Will starts getting into the arena where we as humans can affect our lives.  God’s Intentional Will is what God wants for us in our lives.  But, we can ignore it, we can adopt it on Sunday, or we can try to live continuously in His Intentional Will as Christ did live.   Part of God’s Will is for us to live a life with the Holy Spirit as our Guiding Force.  In Star War’s, the first episode filmed, when Luke Skywalker was going to destroy  the ‘Death Star’ he lost his man-made guidance system, and through the spirit of Obe Won Kenobe he felt “May the force be with you.”  Even when I was not daily praying in the Holy Spirit,  the Holy Spirit in our lives is what came to mind.  In God’s Intentional Will, it is God’s desire that we let the Force, the Holy Spirit, be with us and fill our lives everyday.  How? Through prayer and Bible Study.

God’s Intentional Will will not always prevail.  We in our lives can choose to be apart from God, either totally or temporarily.  Many of us choose to allow God to be a part of lives on Sunday, and live our lives away from Him the rest of the week.  It is God’s Intentional will for us to be in his Spirit every moment of every day.  The choice is ours.  We just have to remember, regardless of our will, His Ultimate Will will prevail.

Finally, there is God’s Circumstantial Will.  This is the hard one and most difficult to accept and where we get in the most trouble.  It involves the choices in our lives that we make.  In this short review, I think it is best only to give some examples of God's Circumstantial Will. In his book, Dr. Weatherhead has an extensive explanation.

God has set up rules for our lives.  We must live within the confines of these rules and when we don’t we often suffer many different consequences.  Just as I as a teacher have certain Procedures and Protocols (rules) for my classroom, we must learn as my students do.  When we do not live by the rules, bad stuff happens.  The consequences are rarely to our liking and experience is the wisdom we know and learn from living through consequences of our life's decisions.  It is sad that we often do not respect what we learn and make the same mistakes over and over expecting different results.

When my son at 12 years old fell off the timber scaffolding of a Boy Scout made Ferris wheel as the frame was suddenly coming apart, he nearly died on the spot.  My years of panic control I learned in the Air Force kicked in and I immediately went to work.  Later, I prayed thanking God for giving me the experience and understanding to deal with the tragedy in a successful manner.  I knew it was NOT God’s Intentional Will that the Ferris wheel to collapse, but the Circumstantial Will and it consequences came into effect when one of the other scouts accidentally removed the main axle pin that maintained the stability of the wheel.  My son missed being killed by about one inch.  The main cross beam just barely nicked him as that beam and the main vertical support fell on his legs and broke both bones in his lower left leg and broke the foot in the other leg. 

After my sons legs healed, we had another tragedy when my son fell off the lawnmower at my mother’s house and his foot went up into the discharge shoot while the motor was still running.  After over 15 operations his foot healed almost as good as new.  All this in a similar manner was the Circumstantial Will of God.  God did not intend for Anthony to get hurt on the lawnmower or the Ferris wheel.  But, when a person pulled the pin on the Ferris wheel axle at the wrong time or the city of Kannapolis left a soft place in the dirt for the steering wheel to throw Antony off the lawnmower, well, mess happened.  We have to be careful in our daily lives or we suffer the consequences of the Circumstantial Will of God.   

We as humans continue to fail to totally understand this Circumstantial Will.  We do not always understand why a particular event had to happen.  But, bad things do happen to us.  It is something we have to accept and be prepared to deal with.  I have been helped many times by this book, I hope is will help prepare you for life's circumstances as it has me.  But, remember, to know the Holy Spirit, pray often.... everyday, and Study God's Word.

Can be purchased at:  http://www.amazon.com/Will-God-Leslie-Weatherhead/dp/0687074827

price:  $8 plus shipping.

It has been in continuous publication since 1943, close to one million sold.

Praise God and
Thanks be to God.
     even in times of our greatest trouble
        2nd Thessalonians 5:15-25


© Lonnie

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You can print the message including this sharing message only for your friends and for non-profit.  You will have to copy and paste the message to a word processing document.   After you copy and paste add the following at the end of the message:

© Lonnie Coggins

ldcoggins@gmail.com

If you desire to use any of these messages in a For-Profit manner you must contact me (email) for permission.  Typically, I will most likely give permission.

lonnie