The Lord, by His
Holy Spirit, has shown you the importance of "letting go" to "let the Lord do
it"...
He has taught you
well! Once we all let go and allow the Lord, by His Spirit, to teach us...we
gain truth and knowledge through His Word. He has spoken, you have listened, and
you have been given that knowledge.
Please read 2 Peter 1 thru 8...and
learn what the knowledge of
God and of Jesus our Lord (vs 1)
truly does
for us, everything we need is "given unto us all things that pertain unto life
and godliness,
through the
knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue." (vs. 3) And,
what is given
to us by His
divine power? "...exceeding great and precious promises" And why? "...that by
these
ye might be
partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world
through
lust." (vs.
4). "And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue: and to
virtue knowledge."
(vs. 5)...And
to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience
godliness;" (vs. 6)
And to
godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity (love)...For if these things
be in
you, and
abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the
knowledge of our
Lord
Jesus Christ." (vs. 8)
What you say in your writing
"Leaving the religious system and following the One True Way" is something
that all
"religious" people need to learn. Yes, many in religion are knowledgble, but have not the truth.
Deception is
a price they pay for being accountable to a man, or his
religion. Most people in a religious
system do not
know what the Bible says...and that's because they
allow a man/church/religion to dictate to
them as to how they can get
to heaven...and some even believing they can get there on their own
"good works".
People that are dedicated to their
religion do not understand the consequences of their own sin, they
are not
taught to understand what will happen to
them if they continue to be dependent on their
"religion"
and "its teachings" (as I was there myself, being raised in the catholic
religion). I had no
knowledge or
understanding of being saved from spiritual death...I went to mass every day and
made
the nine 1st Fridays (so that the blessed mother would take me
out of purgatory into heaven on the 1st
Friday after my death when I
die), in hope of going to
heaven...(again, attempting to get
there on my own
by my
good works), not realizing that we are all born sinful and unable
to get to heaven by our own whimsical reasoning and "works".
Oh, learning the truth - - that God
sent His only Son Jesus Christ as my (and all people) representative and
ransom from
captivity. John 3:16-17 tells us: "For
God so loved the world, that he gave his only
begotten Son, that
whosoever believeth in him should not perish,
but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the
world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.
"
The truth of these 2 scriptures is
that we either believe it or we don't...and I choose to believe that God is who
He says He is. I have the knowledge from His own Word that He
has provided the payment for our sin by His own Son's taking our place as a
substitute. All our sins, past, present and future were forgiven
by Jesus Christ at the cross. He died to pay for the sins of man, every man on
earth...He rose again, conquering death and making it possible for
each one of us to be saved. It is God's gift to us! One can't get much better
then that!!!
It's NOT
religion...religion has nothing to do with God's gift, His gift is given us
through His Holy Spirit...calling each of us to repentance and to follow God,
through the preaching of His Word and accepting the truth of the Gospel. Faith
comes by hearing the Word...and it is by His wonderful Grace that
we are saved (NOT man's religion)...the grace (a gift covering all our
sins) given us to believe...and the faith, maybe that of a only mustard seed, to
walk in His Word and live it daily in our lives..
Here you tell us: If
you want to get to know a person you spend time with them. You ask them
questions and you wait for answers. When you develop a relationship with the
person you desire to know you then start to spend more and more time with them.
You trust them more. You love them more. They are on your heart and mind always.
You then develop a more intimate relationship with them. They become closest to
your heart. This is the relationship we should be striving to have with Yahshua.
We should be seeking HIM and HIM alone for answers.
What you are
explaining to us about this intimate relationship is also about our
committment. Do we not make a committment to our spouse when we get married?
To our children, to our parents, to our grandchildren, loving them always? Yes,
they are always on our heart and mind... Now, it is time to have that same
relationship and committment with the Lord Jesus Christ...since our eternal life
lies in our relationship with Him
. How
do we get to know Him personally? Open the Word of God and we will all find
that the Bible reveals His mind, character, power, will, promises, plan,
attributes, love and relationship with us...it's all written in His Word which
gives us access to and fellowship with Him. That fellowship gives us a growing
relationship with our Saviour, getting to know Him helps us to be motivated to
reciprocate His love...by which produces growth and the fruit of God's Spirit in
us.
..in Christ's love...Norma