we left the SpaceWay studio in Dallas last night around 10pm and headed to Bennigans for one last dining experience with our friends...
on the way there, Shawn and I started discussing the rawest part of what is going on in our minds during a fight. it felt awful to tell the man i so deeply and desperately love that fear often drives me to believe far less than the best of him... i had to honestly admit that suspicions rule and constrict my mind in those moments. not fun. then i started wondering out loud- i do this often- about where those darn thought are coming from...
if you had the pleasure of knowing shawn like i do, you would know he honest almost to a fault (if that were possible) and that he is trustworthy. without question. so in my reasonable, calm moments i know i don't really think he would go behind my back or lie to me or manipulate me. it has made me wonder, then if i really don't believe those thoughts that pop up in heated moments and swarm like an attack of bees- well, WHERE are they coming from?
this led us into a really long, good conversation about the flesh and the renewed person and our adversary, the Evil One. shawn said he didn't think it was fair to let ourselves off the hook by giving Satan too much credit- i saw it from the opposite side (figures: Paula knew what she was talking about "we come together cause opposites attract" *grin*) i worry that maybe the Evil one has lulled us into believing he has nothing to do with it.... so we are an a search to get to the bottom of this, if it is at all possible....
so many verses and stories popped up in the conversation, implicating one view point or another...
i am curious what you all think on this topic?
Tuesday, August 02, 2005
the renewing of the mind
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6 comments:
The testing of patience is the strengthening of character.What we welcome least in our lives may be testing our patience the most. That helps develop strengh of character in us.
We are not perfect. Everyday we are faced with temptation and uglyness. Have you ever been on a real high from a service and think to yourself "nothing will bring me down!" Only to run head on into anger and then shame. We have all been there I am sure.
God is a forgiving God. Everyday I have to work at not letting my temper, or what ever my problem may be, get in the way of my living for God. It is a choice I have to make and then follow through with.
Does this make any sense to anyone???? Or I am totally off my rocker?
I think the truth is in the middle.
We have to acknowledge the impact of Satan in this world, his world. We have to know that he is always active and working things. I've seen it just twice in the past couple days, ways that he is trying to tempt me.
But at the same time, everytime we do something bad, we can't use Satan as a scapegoat.
Truth is, we are still responsible for our own actions, decisions and feelings.
Satan doesn't make us do anything. He can influence, tempt and point us in the right(or wrong, depending on POV) direction.
But we are still the guilty parties.
Adam and Eve at the apple. The devil just tempted them.
I'm probably a bit closer in belief to your hubby. But just a bit.
actually, it is scripturaly established that this world was given to Satan.
When Satan offered the world to Jesus in the desert, it was supposed to be tempting. If the world already belonged to God, how would it be tempting?
That's just off the top of my head
Kate, here is a sermon by John Piper that I found to be helpful. It does a great job of examining the scriptures and outlining Satan's role and his scope of influence--how much power he has and what he has power over.
http://www.desiringgod.org/library/sermons/90/011490.html
It is so important that we both acknowledge Satan's influence and acknowledge that GREATER IS HE (Christ) THAT IS IN ME THAN HE WHO IS IN THE WORLD (Satan). We must simultaneously acknowledge that we were born with an evil sin nature, and even though it sounds extreme, we must wage war against our own flesh/sin daily. Yet we cannot do any sort of waging war on our sin apart from God. Hope this is helpful :) Good discussion here.
wow...some serious responsiveness...we must have hit a big topic here...thanks for responding everyone..
i see it boiling down to a couple of points:
1.) is this world the Evil One's or is it God's?
2.) i think we all agree that personal reponsibility in sin is undeniable, but what influence does Satan have? can he put thoughts/suggestions in the mind of a believer? what is the scope of his influence?
Britt, thanks for the sermon, I am going to check it out later today...
would love to hear thoughts on those 2 questions...and scriptural back ups...i can see some for each opinion and am wondering where you guys are coming from!
Donna, hello..good to hear from you...i know i married a special man! trust me!!!
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