Author Topic: Self Control  (Read 6156 times)

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Offline AlanS

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Re: Self Control
« Reply #40 on: December 18, 2013, 12:13:53 PM »

What if millions of people - instead of allowing their emotions and their tongues to have their way, would instead meditate on this Psalm and pray, petitioning God's intervention?

I'm just asking the question. I don't think anyone will find it offensive for me to say that often times, when we engage in the behavior that ChristianHusbandFather asked us to contemplate, we are allowing our emotions and our (typing) tongues to have their way with us. We embrace the righteousness of our hatred, and open the door for darkness to move through us, bringing whatever spiritual consequences may come with it.

What would God prefer? Again, I am just asking the question. Would he prefer me to lash out with a loose tongue? Or would he prefer me to turn to His word, and channel my anger into prayer, meditating upon how my righteous anger and the Psalmist's righteous anger are alike/different?

What will give me more moral clarity in the upcoming battles to which Weisshaupt refers? My own uncontrolled thoughts and tongue? Or God's word, telling me how to petition for His aid against evil enemies?

I'm chewing this feast.

Excellent questions, IDP.

For the larger picture-- I don't believe we will be victorious by our own hand. I believe we need millions to drop to their knees and beg for forgiveness and help from God.

Individually-- we must be prepared to defend our families.

Walk softly and carry a BIG stick.

As I have said before, I will not be aggressive in my actions. But I will defend my family until death. As far as my words, I may have been out of line more than once. All I can do is pray for forgiveness and strength to continue the fight (figuratively) against tyranny.
"Malo periculosam, libertatem quam quietam servitutem."

Thomas Jefferson

Offline Weisshaupt

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Re: Self Control
« Reply #41 on: December 18, 2013, 01:22:20 PM »
What will give me more moral clarity in the upcoming battles to which Weisshaupt refers? My own uncontrolled thoughts and tongue? Or God's word, telling me how to petition for His aid against evil enemies?

Which will give you more "moral clarity?" God's words, no question.

As I have already stated, fields in which you are hip deep in blood and carcasses and fighting for your life are not places for "moral clarity." If you take  time to think about the moral implications of your actions, you will be dead.   And with all due respect Alan, you don't win a war by not being aggressive in your actions. By only waiting for the enemy to come to you.  By that reasoning,  we should not have bombed Civilian populations in Germany in World War II and America should not have gotten involved until the Nazis landed forces here. And we should have stopped at Germany's borders satisfied the enemy had been contained. You cant fight evil to achieve a stalemate. You fight evil to destroy evil, and in many cases must DO evil in the pursuit of that goal.
 

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Re: Self Control
« Reply #42 on: December 18, 2013, 02:09:29 PM »
What will give me more moral clarity in the upcoming battles to which Weisshaupt refers? My own uncontrolled thoughts and tongue? Or God's word, telling me how to petition for His aid against evil enemies?

Which will give you more "moral clarity?" God's words, no question.

As I have already stated, fields in which you are hip deep in blood and carcasses and fighting for your life are not places for "moral clarity." If you take  time to think about the moral implications of your actions, you will be dead...

Which is exactly why it seems to me that wisdom suggests having the moral implications worked out in advance - to have the knowledge within ones self of moral clarity, clarity of purpose, and as close to purity of heart as one can achieve - so that when the time comes, one can act with a clear conscience.

What we are doing here isn't fighting Weisshaupt. We are working it all out; seeding the ground; testing our ideas amongst the like-minded. Fighting, if it is God's will, comes later. What we do between now and then matters, particularly to ourselves and our loved ones.

I'm not talking about sitting down on the battlefield to read Psalms. I'm talking about spiritual preparation for whatever may come.

Which is better? Our own emotionally driven, justifiable rants? Or checking to see what God's word has to say about this EXACT situation?

At this moment in time, to me, God's word seems like the better choice; the more logical choice.
"A strict observance of the written laws is doubtless one of the high duties of a good citizen, but it is not the highest. The laws of necessity, of self-preservation, of saving our country when in danger, are of higher obligation. To lose our country by a scrupulous adherence to written law, would be to lose the law itself, with life, liberty, property and all those who are enjoying them with us; thus absurdly sacrificing the end to the means."

- Thomas Jefferson

Online Pablo de Fleurs

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Re: Self Control
« Reply #43 on: December 18, 2013, 02:24:13 PM »
1 Samuel 17 | New King James Version (NKJV) | David and Goliath

17 Now the Philistines gathered their armies together to battle, and were gathered at Sochoh, which belongs to Judah; they encamped between Sochoh and Azekah, in Ephes Dammim. 2 And Saul and the men of Israel were gathered together, and they encamped in the Valley of Elah, and drew up in battle array against the Philistines. 3 The Philistines stood on a mountain on one side, and Israel stood on a mountain on the other side, with a valley between them.

4 And a champion went out from the camp of the Philistines, named Goliath, from Gath, whose height was six cubits and a span. 5 He had a bronze helmet on his head, and he was armed with a coat of mail, and the weight of the coat was five thousand shekels of bronze. 6 And he had bronze armor on his legs and a bronze javelin between his shoulders. 7 Now the staff of his spear was like a weaver’s beam, and his iron spearhead weighed six hundred shekels; and a shield-bearer went before him. 8 Then he stood and cried out to the armies of Israel, and said to them, “Why have you come out to line up for battle? Am I not a Philistine, and you the servants of Saul? Choose a man for yourselves, and let him come down to me. 9 If he is able to fight with me and kill me, then we will be your servants. But if I prevail against him and kill him, then you shall be our servants and serve us.” 10 And the Philistine said, “I defy the armies of Israel this day; give me a man, that we may fight together.” 11 When Saul and all Israel heard these words of the Philistine, they were dismayed and greatly afraid.

12 Now David was the son of that Ephrathite of Bethlehem Judah, whose name was Jesse, and who had eight sons. And the man was old, advanced in years, in the days of Saul. 13 The three oldest sons of Jesse had gone to follow Saul to the battle. The names of his three sons who went to the battle were Eliab the firstborn, next to him Abinadab, and the third Shammah. 14 David was the youngest. And the three oldest followed Saul. 15 But David occasionally went and returned from Saul to feed his father’s sheep at Bethlehem.

16 And the Philistine drew near and presented himself forty days, morning and evening.

17 Then Jesse said to his son David, “Take now for your brothers an ephah of this dried grain and these ten loaves, and run to your brothers at the camp. 18 And carry these ten cheeses to the captain of their thousand, and see how your brothers fare, and bring back news of them.” 19 Now Saul and they and all the men of Israel were in the Valley of Elah, fighting with the Philistines.

20 So David rose early in the morning, left the sheep with a keeper, and took the things and went as Jesse had commanded him. And he came to the camp as the army was going out to the fight and shouting for the battle. 21 For Israel and the Philistines had drawn up in battle array, army against army. 22 And David left his supplies in the hand of the supply keeper, ran to the army, and came and greeted his brothers. 23 Then as he talked with them, there was the champion, the Philistine of Gath, Goliath by name, coming up from the armies of the Philistines; and he spoke according to the same words. So David heard them. 24 And all the men of Israel, when they saw the man, fled from him and were dreadfully afraid. 25 So the men of Israel said, “Have you seen this man who has come up? Surely he has come up to defy Israel; and it shall be that the man who kills him the king will enrich with great riches, will give him his daughter, and give his father’s house exemption from taxes in Israel.”

26 Then David spoke to the men who stood by him, saying, “What shall be done for the man who kills this Philistine and takes away the reproach from Israel? For who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God?”

27 And the people answered him in this manner, saying, “So shall it be done for the man who kills him.”

28 Now Eliab his oldest brother heard when he spoke to the men; and Eliab’s anger was aroused against David, and he said, “Why did you come down here? And with whom have you left those few sheep in the wilderness? I know your pride and the insolence of your heart, for you have come down to see the battle.”

29 And David said, “What have I done now? Is there not a cause?” 30 Then he turned from him toward another and said the same thing; and these people answered him as the first ones did.

31 Now when the words which David spoke were heard, they reported them to Saul; and he sent for him. 32 Then David said to Saul, “Let no man’s heart fail because of him; your servant will go and fight with this Philistine.”

33 And Saul said to David, “You are not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him; for you are a youth, and he a man of war from his youth.”

34 But David said to Saul,
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“Your servant used to keep his father’s sheep, and when a lion or a bear came and took a lamb out of the flock, 35 I went out after it and struck it, and delivered the lamb from its mouth; and when it arose against me, I caught it by its beard, and struck and killed it. 36 Your servant has killed both lion and bear; and this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, seeing he has defied the armies of the living God.” 37 Moreover David said, “The Lord, who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear, He will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.”

And Saul said to David, “Go, and the Lord be with you!”

38 So Saul clothed David with his armor, and he put a bronze helmet on his head; he also clothed him with a coat of mail. 39 David fastened his sword to his armor and tried to walk, for he had not tested them. And David said to Saul, “I cannot walk with these, for I have not tested them.” So David took them off.

40 Then he took his staff in his hand; and he chose for himself five smooth stones from the brook, and put them in a shepherd’s bag, in a pouch which he had, and his sling was in his hand. And he drew near to the Philistine. 41 So the Philistine came, and began drawing near to David, and the man who bore the shield went before him. 42 And when the Philistine looked about and saw David, he disdained him; for he was only a youth, ruddy and good-looking. 43 So the Philistine said to David, “Am I a dog, that you come to me with sticks?” And the Philistine cursed David by his gods. 44 And the Philistine said to David, “Come to me, and I will give your flesh to the birds of the air and the beasts of the field!”

45 Then David said to the Philistine,
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“You come to me with a sword, with a spear, and with a javelin. But I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. 46 This day the Lord will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you and take your head from you. And this day I will give the carcasses of the camp of the Philistines to the birds of the air and the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel. 47 Then all this assembly shall know that the Lord does not save with sword and spear; for the battle is the Lord’s, and He will give you into our hands.”

48 So it was, when the Philistine arose and came and drew near to meet David, that David hurried and ran toward the army to meet the Philistine. 49 Then David put his hand in his bag and took out a stone; and he slung it and struck the Philistine in his forehead, so that the stone sank into his forehead, and he fell on his face to the earth. 50 So David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and a stone, and struck the Philistine and killed him. But there was no sword in the hand of David. 51 Therefore David ran and stood over the Philistine, took his sword and drew it out of its sheath and killed him, and cut off his head with it.

And when the Philistines saw that their champion was dead, they fled. 52 Now the men of Israel and Judah arose and shouted, and pursued the Philistines as far as the entrance of the valley[a] and to the gates of Ekron. And the wounded of the Philistines fell along the road to Shaaraim, even as far as Gath and Ekron. 53 Then the children of Israel returned from chasing the Philistines, and they plundered their tents. 54 And David took the head of the Philistine and brought it to Jerusalem, but he put his armor in his tent.

55 When Saul saw David going out against the Philistine, he said to Abner, the commander of the army, “Abner, whose son is this youth?”

And Abner said, “As your soul lives, O king, I do not know.”

56 So the king said, “Inquire whose son this young man is.”

57 Then, as David returned from the slaughter of the Philistine, Abner took him and brought him before Saul with the head of the Philistine in his hand. 58 And Saul said to him, “Whose son are you, young man?”

So David answered, “I am the son of your servant Jesse the Bethlehemite.”
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Footnotes:

    1 Samuel 17:52 Following Masoretic Text, Syriac, Targum, and Vulgate; Septuagint reads Gath.


http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1%20Sam%2017&version=NKJV
2 Timothy 1:7
For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but of power & of love and of calm, a well-balanced mind, discipline and self-control.

Offline Predator Don

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Re: Self Control
« Reply #44 on: December 18, 2013, 02:27:18 PM »
I don't think people like Obama can have their heart changed. Imo, they are reprobates, their conscience seared. ( I will leave it to each individual to figure out who). When you believe, as I do, that this nation was brought about by the power of God, it is more than difficult to watch it torn asunder, break away from biblical principle, literally, God torn from her very fabric. Watch our history being perverted.....

I guess what most are stating is make sure you understand the moral implications of anything you do. I have no issue defending my family. I would die for them. The disciples were more than willing to smote those who wanted to kill Jesus, just happens there was a higher calling, if you will, in His death. I hate what is happening to this nation, one I love and cherish and frankly, sworn to defend. God could shoot down a bolt of lightening and destroy all evil, he could also use people to do this bidding or He could  ask you to lay down your life for a greater cause.

It is why I try (fail as I may) to do all things in prayer. I want to have a humble heart but I also don't hold any words typed on these pages against anyone, because frustration can build and I see little harm in this as a release. I've gotten to know most here and understand intentions and trust the judgements made.

I'm not always engulfed in scandals, but when I am, I make sure I blame others.

Offline Weisshaupt

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Re: Self Control
« Reply #45 on: December 18, 2013, 02:58:55 PM »
Which is exactly why it seems to me that wisdom suggests having the moral implications worked out in advance - to have the knowledge within ones self of moral clarity, clarity of purpose, and as close to purity of heart as one can achieve - so that when the time comes, one can act with a clear conscience.

The moral implication is that you will be asked and forced to do immoral things to survive, protect yourself and God willing, win. Pure of heart or no. Morally Clear, or no.  Anger and expression thereof may be the difference between rallying and unifying us, or  dying solitarily  in our homes .  Our Anger expressed in the correct ways may make an enemy think twice,  whereas a peaceful demeanor begs them to try us.  I am not suggesting that our anger rule us, only that we should not discard it as useless nor silence ourselves. If the American Revolution was God's will and handiwork ( and I believe it was)  then the Sons of Liberty were a large part of getting it started and moving, and those men used all of the tools available to them, including the righteous anger they felt, to convince others to support them, and to punish those who opposed them. The Founding Fathers would be done by now, yet we are not. They were Christian men as well,  yet they would already be executing these traitors from lampposts, and we are not.  I can only wonder what we are missing if it isn't righteous anger and too much emphasis on keeping our hearts and souls clean and too little willingness to soil them even if we firmly believe in our hearts that doing so will advance  God's work.  I for one am willing to burn for many Sins in Hell if I can restore Liberty to my Children  and Humanity's best hope for prosperity.

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Re: Self Control
« Reply #46 on: December 18, 2013, 03:02:33 PM »
I for one am willing to burn for many Sins in Hell if I can restore Liberty to my Children  and Humanity's best hope for prosperity.

Understood. But it's not necessarily an "either/or" choice - you could both restore liberty AND, upon dying, achieve eternity in Heaven.

Not pushin', just sayin'!  ;)
2 Timothy 1:7
For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but of power & of love and of calm, a well-balanced mind, discipline and self-control.

Online IronDioPriest

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Re: Self Control
« Reply #47 on: December 18, 2013, 03:15:24 PM »
Which is exactly why it seems to me that wisdom suggests having the moral implications worked out in advance - to have the knowledge within ones self of moral clarity, clarity of purpose, and as close to purity of heart as one can achieve - so that when the time comes, one can act with a clear conscience.

The moral implication is that you will be asked and forced to do immoral things to survive, protect yourself and God willing, win. Pure of heart or no. Morally Clear, or no.  Anger and expression thereof may be the difference between rallying and unifying us, or  dying solitarily  in our homes .  Our Anger expressed in the correct ways may make an enemy think twice,  whereas a peaceful demeanor begs them to try us.  I am not suggesting that our anger rule us, only that we should not discard it as useless nor silence ourselves. If the American Revolution was God's will and handiwork ( and I believe it was)  then the Sons of Liberty were a large part of getting it started and moving, and those men used all of the tools available to them, including the righteous anger they felt, to convince others to support them, and to punish those who opposed them. The Founding Fathers would be done by now, yet we are not. They were Christian men as well,  yet they would already be executing these traitors from lampposts, and we are not.  I can only wonder what we are missing if it isn't righteous anger and too much emphasis on keeping our hearts and souls clean and too little willingness to soil them even if we firmly believe in our hearts that doing so will advance  God's work.  I for one am willing to burn for many Sins in Hell if I can restore Liberty to my Children  and Humanity's best hope for prosperity.

I don't think there is anything immoral about killing evil. I don't think being mindful of my tongue, or focusing my anger on what God has to say about it instead of indulging my own whims, precludes demonstrating anger.

The Psalmist is quite clearly angry, no?

I would not suggest discarding anger, and like you, I would suggest that we not allow it to rule us.
So I think I speak accurately when I posit that what CHF was observing was that in his opinion, we are, at times, allowing anger to rule us.

We aren't being asked to spend eternity in hell as the cost of saving our nation. Such a nation would not be worth saving. If our goal is to restore the nation our founders intended to establish, we are on the side of the angels.
"A strict observance of the written laws is doubtless one of the high duties of a good citizen, but it is not the highest. The laws of necessity, of self-preservation, of saving our country when in danger, are of higher obligation. To lose our country by a scrupulous adherence to written law, would be to lose the law itself, with life, liberty, property and all those who are enjoying them with us; thus absurdly sacrificing the end to the means."

- Thomas Jefferson

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Re: Self Control
« Reply #48 on: December 18, 2013, 03:48:21 PM »
Quote
We are working it all out; seeding the ground; testing our ideas amongst the like-minded. Fighting, if it is God's will, comes later. What we do between now and then matters, particularly to ourselves and our loved ones.

I'm not talking about sitting down on the battlefield to read Psalms. I'm talking about spiritual preparation for whatever may come.

Yes.

Quote
Which is better? Our own emotionally driven, justifiable rants?

I believe even these serve a purpose, clarifying our anger from an amorphous cloud of unfocused outrage to defined facts of being trespassed against.

Quote
Or checking to see what God's word has to say about this EXACT situation?

At this moment in time, to me, God's word seems like the better choice; the more logical choice.

As always.

Good discussion.
"Under certain circumstances, profanity provides a relief denied even to prayer." - Mark Twain

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Re: Self Control
« Reply #49 on: December 18, 2013, 03:54:39 PM »
"A strict observance of the written laws is doubtless one of the high duties of a good citizen, but it is not the highest. The laws of necessity, of self-preservation, of saving our country when in danger, are of higher obligation. To lose our country by a scrupulous adherence to written law, would be to lose the law itself, with life, liberty, property and all those who are enjoying them with us; thus absurdly sacrificing the end to the means."

- Thomas Jefferson

Offline Weisshaupt

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Re: Self Control
« Reply #50 on: December 18, 2013, 04:56:42 PM »
I for one am willing to burn for many Sins in Hell if I can restore Liberty to my Children  and Humanity's best hope for prosperity.

Understood. But it's not necessarily an "either/or" choice - you could both restore liberty AND, upon dying, achieve eternity in Heaven.

Not pushin', just sayin'!  ;)

I am hoping I make the right decisions so God forgives me what I have done. But I have no illusions that what I will likely  be called to do will be immoral and repugnant to me.  How did Washington know that slaughtering men in their beds would be the "right thing?" How do we know it was? Perhaps for that act alone he was condemned to Hell by God for breaking his commandment against killing.  I won't be driven by anger in my decision making , but I suspect Anger is going to steel me to do the tasks that must be done.
 

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Re: Self Control
« Reply #51 on: December 18, 2013, 05:26:01 PM »
I for one am willing to burn for many Sins in Hell if I can restore Liberty to my Children  and Humanity's best hope for prosperity.

Understood. But it's not necessarily an "either/or" choice - you could both restore liberty AND, upon dying, achieve eternity in Heaven.

Not pushin', just sayin'!  ;)

I am hoping I make the right decisions so God forgives me what I have done. But I have no illusions that what I will likely  be called to do will be immoral and repugnant to me.  How did Washington know that slaughtering men in their beds would be the "right thing?" How do we know it was? Perhaps for that act alone he was condemned to Hell by God for breaking his commandment against killing.  I won't be driven by anger in my decision making , but I suspect Anger is going to steel me to do the tasks that must be done.

But one doesn't get condemned to  hell for breaking a commandment. One is sent to hell for breaking relationship with God by embodying sin without being cleansed via the atoning blood of Jesus Christ. From what I've read, I believe Washington was a Christian (as opposed to merely a deist). As such, though his remaining sins would be accounted for/reviewed (as is the topic of this thread)at Judgment - but ultimately atoned for by Christ's intervention for him/us on the Cross. The key is accepting Christ's work on your behalf prior to breathing your last breath.

It really is a pretty good deal, Weisshaupt. Not that you would want to go on wantonly sinning after establishing a relationship with Christ - but we're all human (as I, myself, have displayed on this very board) and make errors in judgment of commission/omission - & it's reassuring to know that my sincere acceptance of payment rendered unto me covers my worldly tab.

As George Foreman once said;
Quote
"I’m working for the Lord, and even though the Lord’s pay isn’t very high, his retirement program is."

Checkitout.
« Last Edit: December 18, 2013, 05:29:54 PM by Pablo de Fleurs »
2 Timothy 1:7
For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but of power & of love and of calm, a well-balanced mind, discipline and self-control.

Offline Magnum

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Re: Self Control
« Reply #52 on: December 18, 2013, 07:29:39 PM »
I really like everyone here and I hold you in my prayers.You are my friends and I care for each and every one of you.

For me I am trying to really recommit myself to the Lord. I am sick and tired of living as a luke warm believer as I have for so many years.

Like many here I hate evil. What people can do to others makes me sick beyond words and wells up incredible anger in me and yet knowing God is in complete control gives me tremendous comfort. As Daniel 2:21 says.....God controls the course of world events;he removes kings (kingdoms,governments, presidents, etc) and sets up other(s) kings.

I have hope.  How one person can utterly change the world for good and for bad. For example if Hitler was not born or if one person could have stopped him or THE CHURCH WHICH REMAINED SILENT! I do not believe there would ever have been a Holocaust and probably not a war. His hatred for the Jews was so immense and how he could have persuaded a highly intelligent and cultured people as the Germans to do such unspeakable evil can only be through the work of Satan. But it was literally through one man. So too can good come through one man. I think all one needs is to go back in American History to understand what an enormous effect evangelist Jonathan Edwards had on the founding of America specifically the resulting................. Great Awakening. In the hands of an angry God caused a great number of the colonists to repent and put their trust in Jesus the True and only Messiah.  http://www.jesus-is-lord.com/sinners.htm

The Great Awakening resulted in doctrinal changes and influenced social and political thought. The Awakening in the end "had lasting social effects as a more tolerant and democratic popular spirit began to emerge in the colonies. It was carried over into social and political thought." The Great Awakening had brought about a change of values that effected politics and daily life. It had created within the common man a new feeling of self-worth. These attitudes were the beginnings of a sense of independence and equality that would set the stage for the American Revolution. And, as the spirit of independence was proclaimed in the colonies by the Declaration of Independence, it was often the local clergy, such as Stephen Williams who rose to read to their congregations the words of that document which would spark independence in America and elsewhere.

So maybe I am being naive but I believe we are one good man away from us making a turn around in our county and it is up to us Born Again Believers to engage and become active even through our witness............. Yes, I am not to be passive and I pray the Lord will show and guide me to what He wants me to do. In the meantime I will put my faith and trust in the Lord Jesus and live by what is written in Philippians 4:4-7 Always be full of joy in the Lord. I say it again—rejoice! 5 Let everyone see that you are considerate in all you do. Remember, the Lord is coming soon.6 Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. 7 Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.
 


God Blessings to One and All. Merry Christmas.
"Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your GOD will be with you wherever you go." Joshua 1:9

Online Pablo de Fleurs

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Re: Self Control
« Reply #53 on: December 18, 2013, 07:33:53 PM »
Thread mascot... ;)

2 Timothy 1:7
For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but of power & of love and of calm, a well-balanced mind, discipline and self-control.

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Re: Self Control
« Reply #54 on: December 18, 2013, 07:48:54 PM »
LOL!  That's perfect, Pablo!
"Under certain circumstances, profanity provides a relief denied even to prayer." - Mark Twain

"Let us assume for the moment everything you say about me is true. That just makes your problem bigger, doesn't it?"

Offline John Florida

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Re: Self Control
« Reply #55 on: December 18, 2013, 08:41:40 PM »
  Crap! None of us got here at this time and place because it was all peaches and cream around us or did we? We got pushed and shoved till the "Tone" got to where it is.  None here were anything like we are today 5 years ago we've been pushed to it.

   I'm not holding my tongue till things change in this country. I'm going to say what I say till things change in this country. I'm not going to turn a cheek to any of the bastards that got me here because I didn't start out this way they made me this way and kindness and prayer isn't going to make it stop.

 I have the rest of my life for regrets but for now this is who I am and nothing changes because the very things you're talking about is what they use on all of us while they don't believe any of it other than to use it as a weapon to try to shut us up or at least shame us.

   This is politics and survival of our families present and future not bible study! I'm being as kind as I can be towards them but I have to look at myself in the mirror and I still have to at least respect myself when I see me.
All men are created equal"
 Filippo Mazzie

Offline oldcoastie6468

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Re: Self Control
« Reply #56 on: December 18, 2013, 10:35:12 PM »
 ::thumbsup:: ::clapping::

My thoughts exactly!  ::beertoast::
U.S. Coast Guard veteran, 1964-1968

Will Rogers never met Barack Obama. He would not like Obama.

I hate liberals. Liberalism is a disease that causes severe brain damage after it tries to suck knowledge and history out of yours.

Online ToddF

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Re: Self Control
« Reply #57 on: December 19, 2013, 09:01:49 AM »


Staff?

 ::thumbsup::

Offline KittenClaws

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Re: Self Control
« Reply #58 on: December 19, 2013, 11:56:40 AM »
Which is exactly why it seems to me that wisdom suggests having the moral implications worked out in advance - to have the knowledge within ones self of moral clarity, clarity of purpose, and as close to purity of heart as one can achieve - so that when the time comes, one can act with a clear conscience.

The moral implication is that you will be asked and forced to do immoral things to survive, protect yourself and God willing, win. Pure of heart or no. Morally Clear, or no.  Anger and expression thereof may be the difference between rallying and unifying us, or  dying solitarily  in our homes .  Our Anger expressed in the correct ways may make an enemy think twice,  whereas a peaceful demeanor begs them to try us.  I am not suggesting that our anger rule us, only that we should not discard it as useless nor silence ourselves. If the American Revolution was God's will and handiwork ( and I believe it was)  then the Sons of Liberty were a large part of getting it started and moving, and those men used all of the tools available to them, including the righteous anger they felt, to convince others to support them, and to punish those who opposed them. The Founding Fathers would be done by now, yet we are not. They were Christian men as well,  yet they would already be executing these traitors from lampposts, and we are not.  I can only wonder what we are missing if it isn't righteous anger and too much emphasis on keeping our hearts and souls clean and too little willingness to soil them even if we firmly believe in our hearts that doing so will advance  God's work.  I for one am willing to burn for many Sins in Hell if I can restore Liberty to my Children  and Humanity's best hope for prosperity.

I don't think there is anything immoral about killing evil. I don't think being mindful of my tongue, or focusing my anger on what God has to say about it instead of indulging my own whims, precludes demonstrating anger.

The Psalmist is quite clearly angry, no?

I would not suggest discarding anger, and like you, I would suggest that we not allow it to rule us.
So I think I speak accurately when I posit that what CHF was observing was that in his opinion, we are, at times, allowing anger to rule us.

We aren't being asked to spend eternity in hell as the cost of saving our nation. Such a nation would not be worth saving. If our goal is to restore the nation our founders intended to establish, we are on the side of the angels.
The sixth commandment as I read it, forbids us to commit murder.   I suggest that killing enemies who are rabidly godless and destroyers of this great country He blessed is NOT murder -  especially if killing the enemy is in self-defense or in the defense of others.

Furthermore, there is nothing wrong with a bit of righteous anger. If memory serves, Jesus Himself showed quite a bit of anger towards moneychangers at the temple.  I think you are correct to say we should not allow it to rule us, but this site certainly does not bear witness to a group of people who have allowed anger to rule their lives.  I see it more as temporary bursts of anger.

We are only humans who are thrust in to rapidly increasing spiritual warfare.  As Christians, we should seek the armor of God and it should certainly be worn, but we need to give ourselves a break.  We are still in the flesh; sometimes we need to vent and receive advisement and comfort from one another.  What we say is oftentimes not nice, but it is simply purging the body of anger.  If my brother is always smiling and outwardly pleasant, yet inwardly he is thinking and feeling the word “bitch” – how in the world do I help him overcome the thought?

As for ugly comments; with the exception of using God’s name in vain, I can’t say it would be sinful.  Cussing in certain circumstances is certainly uncouth, but is it sinful unless it causes the cussee <(I know it’s not a real word) to stumble?  I’ll have to think on that one since any cussing here is usually directed at the godless.


"I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just; that his justice cannot sleep forever." - Thomas Jefferson

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“... sad moral of all human tales; ’Tis but the same rehearsal of the past; First freedom, and then glory—when that fails, Wealth, vice, corruption, barbarism at last.” – Roman Historian, Tacitus

Offline oldcoastie6468

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Re: Self Control
« Reply #59 on: December 19, 2013, 03:38:25 PM »
Good post, Kay!
U.S. Coast Guard veteran, 1964-1968

Will Rogers never met Barack Obama. He would not like Obama.

I hate liberals. Liberalism is a disease that causes severe brain damage after it tries to suck knowledge and history out of yours.