TRUE BELIEVERS - Religious beliefs, verses, poems and prayers...

[justanolecowboy]

Charles Swindoll - one of my favorite authors - has a series of these books ...I am currently re-reading David - a 'man after God's own heart' - I read them all when I was (ahem- younger) - now that I have grown in (years) ... and (maturity) and I have a different perspective .... so am reading again .... GOOD reads....

[Blade]

Originally Posted by always2late

I have a few questions to start a discussion for anyone who wishes to answer. How did you come by your faith? Is it a part of your upbringing? Or was it some other circumstance, or moment in your life that brought you to it? Do you still follow the faith you were raised with? Or have you chosen another path?

I was thinking of posting this question a few days ago, glad you did A2L. Several years ago a guy I work with ask me what happened that brought me to the Lord. I said nothing, He's just always been there. He said, no I mean what happened to you that made you call on God.....I realized that he thought you had to have some event to happen in your life for you to be saved, be a Christian, recieve Christ whatever. I told him I call on God daily, praying for many things, rarely praying for myself, which I have since learned to do.

I was raised in church from birth. My family is rich in faith and has had many pastors, deacons, Sunday school teachers, youth directors, board members and various other positions in religion based rolls, both men and women. I was raised Lutheran. I have strayed from that and currently attend a non-denominational chuch that has a Penecostal bass. I have attended a variety of denominational churches over the years. Mostly just visiting them or going with a friend or going to a singing or some kind of benefit.

I go to church where I feel God is present and where I feel the pastor is a good teacher not a preacher and where I feel the people in the congregation are good teachers as well, because I feel that we all have an occasion at some point to cultivate others spiritually.

[thedivahrrrself]

"God is a presence that I can never define but I could never deny."
Bishop John Shelby Spong

"We may be surprised at the people we find in heaven. God has a soft spot for sinners. His standards are quite low."


"God is not upset that Gandhi was not a Christian, because God is not a Christian! All of God's children and their different faiths help us to realize the immensity of God."

My humanity is bound up in yours, for we can only be human together.


Bishop Desmond Tutu

[Talon]

Do Not judge and criticize and condemn others,
so that you may not be judged and criticized and condemned yourselves.


For just as you judge and criticize and condemn others,
you will be judged and criticized and condemned,
and in accordance with the measure you use to deal towards others,
it will be delt out again to you.

Why do you stare at the speck in your brother's eye but do not
become aware of the beam of timber within your own eye?

Or how can you say to your brother, Let me get the speck out of your eye, when there is a beam of timber in your own eye?

You hypocrite, first get the beam of timber out of your own eye,
and then you will see clearly to take out the speck from your brother's eye.

[Blade]

Look Out For Others Interest
do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others.
Philippians 2:4

WORDS OF CHRIST
'For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in; naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me.' "Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, 'Lord, when did we see You hungry, and feed You, or thirsty, and give You drink? 'And when did we see You a stranger, and invite You in, or naked, and clothe You? 'And when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?' "And the King will answer and say to them,

'Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.
Matthew 25:35-40

Reward for Giving
"Give, and it will be given to you; good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, they will pour into your lap. For by your standard of measure it will be measured to you in return."Luke 6:34

[Jesse]

Romans: 8:26 Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what to pray as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh request for us with sighs, which cannot be expressed.

[Kent]

March 3


I LOVE YOU FOR WHO YOU ARE, not for what you do. Many voices vie for control of your mind, especially when you sit in silence. You must learn to discern what is My voice and what is not. Ask My Spirit to give you this discernment. Many of My children run around in circles, trying to obey the various voices directing their lives. This results in fragmented, frustrating patterns of living. Do not fall into this trap. Walk closely with Me each moment, listening for My directives and enjoying My Companionship. Refuse to let other voices tie you up in knots. My sheep know My voice and follow Me wherever I lead.

EPHESIANS 4:1-6; JOHN 10:4

[Talon]

John 15: 1-8 tells us that if we stay connected to God, we will bear much fruit.In order to stay spiritually strong, you and I need to protect the habits that keep us connected to God.
We may even be led to form a few new ones.

God is always with us helping us along.
And when we take the necessary steps to let Him into our life, we can expect to hear His still, small voice. More often than not, He'll lead us to do one thing: stretch.

When we're fearful, He'll stretch us to be bold. When we fall on our face, He'll stretch us to persist. When we're confused and struggling for control, He will stretch us to trust Him more completely.

In the end it's a great comfort to know that however God may stretch us,
we'll always end up finding our rest in Him.

Might be an idea to say in the thread title that all are welcome to post seeing as this thread is in the Trans zone.

[meridiantoo]

I love Joyce Meyer! I'm glad to see someone else her enjoys her also.

[meridiantoo]

Originally Posted by Daktari

Might be an idea to say in the thread title that all are welcome to post seeing as this thread is in the Trans zone.

Is everyone welcome, even though this is a Trans thread?

Originally Posted by meridiantoo

Is everyone welcome, even though this is a Trans thread?

Not sure. It appears to be good form to refrain from posting on threads in areas specific to a gender/id unless the OP states that all are welcome.

[Blade]

Originally Posted by Kent

First of all, I'd like to let everyone know that this is a safe place for us guys to post our thoughts and feelings about our religious beliefs, verses, poems and prayers. We want this to be a positive space. Everyone is welcome to join in the discussion or to post. However, there is no room for any negative remarks toward any of the thoughts or posts. Let's keep this positive and uplifting!

Everyone is welcome to participate in the thread according to the OP. Perhaps Kent or Justanolecowboy will come in and confirm this.

Originally Posted by Blade

Everyone is welcome to participate in the thread according to the OP. Perhaps Kent or Justanolecowboy will come in and confirm this.

Thanks for pointing this out to my old eyes Blade. I didn't remember seeing it in the OP.

Perhaps a less gender/id specific place would be better for such a thread?




ETA

Originally Posted by Kent

First of all, I'd like to let everyone know that this is a safe place for us guys to post our thoughts and feelings about our religious beliefs, verses, poems and prayers. We want this to be a positive space. Everyone is welcome to join in the discussion or to post. However, there is no room for any negative remarks toward any of the thoughts or posts. Let's keep this positive and uplifting!

I guess I assumed that 'us guys' meant those of us either trans or who id on the male side of the spectrum. I guess I know better now.

[Kent]

Originally Posted by meridiantoo

Is everyone welcome, even though this is a Trans thread?

Yes, everyone is welcome to post in this thread. We just want to make sure that it stays positive and uplifting.

[Kent]

March 4


REFUSE TO WORRY! In this world there will always be something enticing you to worry. That is the nature of a fallen, fractured planet: Things are not as they should be. So the temptation to be anxious is constantly with you, trying to worm its way into your mind. The best defense is continual communication with Me, richly seasoned with thanksgiving. Awareness of My Presence fills your mind with Light and Peace, leaving no room for fear. This awareness lifts you up above your circumstances, enabling you to see problems from My perspective. Live close to Me! Together we can keep the wolves of worry at bay.

LUKE 12:25-26; 1 THESSALONIANS 5:16-18

[AmazonWoman1]

I consider myself sort of a buddhist who believes in reincarnation.I find its the most spiritual of all religions as it wants each of us to become as self aware & happy as possible by releasing all desires .

[justanolecowboy]

Originally Posted by Blade

Everyone is welcome to participate in the thread according to the OP. Perhaps Kent or Justanolecowboy will come in and confirm this.

Yes - we want everyone to feel welcome to post - we put this in the "trans" thread - because we wanted this to be a positive place of faith and sharing for yes, "us guys" - but that certainly does not "exclude" others that want to read or post - as Kent states - as long as it stays positive and uplifting. We are happy to share with everyone who cares to join us in a sharing of our faith and beliefs.

[Kent]

March 5


MAKE FRIENDS WITH THE PROBLEMS IN YOUR LIFE. Though many things feel random and wrong, remember that I am sovereign over everything. I can fit everything into a pattern for good, but only to the extent that you trust Me. Every problem can teach you something, transforming you little by little into the masterpiece I created you to be. The very same problem can become a stumbling block over which you fall, if you react with distrust and defiance. The choice is up to you, and you will have to choose many times each day whether to trust Me or defy Me.
The best way to befriend your problems is to thank Me for them. This simple act opens your mind to the possibility of benefits flowing from your difficulties. You can even give persistent problems nicknames, helping you to approach them with familiarity rather than with dread. The next step is to introduce them to Me, enabling Me to embrace them in My loving Presence. I will not necessarily remove your problems, but My wisdom is sufficient to bring good out of every one of them.

ROMANS 8:28; 1 CORINTHIANS 1:23-24

[DMW]