# Know the Heart of God!



## Nice & Wavy (Oct 7, 2012)

This is by Pastor Francis Frangipane, the pastor who wrote the book: *The Three Battlegrounds*

I appreciate his candor...he is a blessing to me!  It's a little long, but you will get blessed as I did.



*TWO THINGS, TWO THINGS ONLY 

 There are so many things to occupy our minds: so many books, so many  examples, so many good teachings that deserve our attention, that say,  "Here is a truth." But as I have been serving the Lord these past years,  He has led me to seek for two things and two things only: to know the  heart of God in Christ and to know my own heart in Christ's light. 

Knowing the Heart of God
  I have been seeking God, searching to know Him and the depth of His  love toward His people. I want to know Christ's heart and the  compassions that motivate Him. The Scriptures are plain: Jesus loved  people. Mark's gospel tells us that after Jesus taught and healed the  multitudes, they became hungry. In His compassion, Christ saw them as  "sheep without a shepherd" (Mark 6:34). It was not enough for Him to  heal and teach them; He personally cared for each of them. Their  physical well-being, even concerning food, was important to Him.

 A lad with five loaves and two fish provided enough for Jesus to work  another miracle, but this miracle had to come through Christ's willing  but bone-weary body. Consider: Christ brought His disciples out to rest,  "for there were many people coming and going, and they did not even  have time to eat" (Mark 6:31). 

 Consider: Jesus personally had  come to pray and be strengthened, for John the Baptist, Jesus'  forerunner, had been beheaded earlier that very week at the hands of  Herod. It was in the state of being emotionally and physically depleted  that Jesus fed the multitudes---not just once or twice but over and over  again: "He kept giving [the bread and the fish] to the disciples to set  before them" (v. 41).  

 Thousands of men, women and children  all "ate and were satisfied" (v. 42). Oh, the heart of Jesus! The  miracle was for them, but we read of no miracle sustaining Him except  the marvelous wonder of a holy love that continually lifted His tired  hands with more bread and more fish. Out of increasing weakness He  repeatedly gave that others might be renewed.  

 So, if my quest  is to know Him, I must recognize this about Him: Jesus loves  people---all people, especially those society ignores. Therefore I must  know exactly how far He would travel for men, for that is the same  distance He would journey again through me. Indeed, I must know His  thoughts concerning illness, poverty and human suffering. As His  servant, I am useless to Him unless I know these things. If I would  actually do His will, I must truly know His heart. Therefore, in all my  study and times of prayer I am seeking more than just knowledge; I am  searching for the heart of God. 

Knowing Our Hearts
At the  same time, as I draw closer to the heart of God, the very fire of His  presence begins a deep purging work within me. In the vastness of His  riches, my poverty appears. The psalmist wrote, "Who may ascend into the  hill of the Lord? And who may stand in His holy place? He who has clean  hands and a pure heart, who has not lifted up his soul to falsehood and  has not sworn deceitfully" (Ps. 24:3-4). 

 We cannot even find  the hill of the Lord, much less ascend it, if there is deceit in our  heart. How does one serve in God's holy place if his soul is unclean? It  is only the pure in heart who perceive God. To ascend toward God is to  walk into a furnace of truth where falsehood is extracted from our  souls. To abide in the holy place we must dwell in honesty, even when a  lie might seem to save us. Each ascending step upon the hill of God is a  thrusting of our souls into greater transparency, a more perfect view  into the motives of our hearts. 

 It is this upward call of God  that we pursue. Yet the soul within us is hidden, crouching in fear and  darkness, living in a world of untruths and illusions. This is our inner  man, the soul God seeks to save. Have you discovered your true self,  the inner person whom truth alone can free? Yes, we seek holiness, but  true holiness arises from here; it comes as the Spirit of Truth unveils  the hidden places in our hearts. Indeed, it is truthfulness which leads  to holiness.  

 God, grant us a zeal for truth that we may stand in Your holy place! 

Men everywhere presume they know the "truth," but they have neither  holiness nor power in their lives. Truth must become more than  historical doctrine; it must be more than a museum of religious  artifacts---mementos from when God once moved. Truth is knowing God's  heart as it was revealed in Christ, and it is knowing our own hearts in  the light of God's grace. 

 As members of the human race, we are  shrouded in ignorance. Barely do we know our world around us; even less  do we know the nature of our own souls. Without realizing it, as we  search for God's heart, we are also searching for our own. For it is  only in finding Him that we discover ourselves, for we are "in Him." 

 Yet throughout that searching process, as I position my heart before  the Lord, it is with a sense of trembling that I pray the prayer of King  David: "Search me, O God, and know my heart; try me and know my anxious  thoughts; and see if there be any hurtful way in me, and lead me in the  everlasting way"(Ps. 139:23-24). 

 Let us wash the cosmetics  from our souls and look at the unadorned condition of our hearts. I know  God has created us eternally complete and perfect in Christ. I believe  that. But in the first three chapters of John's Revelation, Jesus did  not tell the churches they were "perfect in His eyes." No! He revealed  to them their true conditions; He told them their sins. Without  compromise, He placed on them the demand to be overcomers, each in their  own unique and difficult circumstance.  

 Like them, we must  know our need. And like them, the souls we want saved dwell here, in a  world system structured by lies, illusions and rampant corruption. Our  old natures are like well-worn shoes into which we relax; we can be in  the flesh instantly without even realizing it. The enemies that defeat  us are hidden and latent within us! Thus the Holy Spirit must expose our  foes before we can conquer them!  

 Concerning man's nature, the  prophet Jeremiah wrote, "The heart is more deceitful than all else and  is desperately sick; who can understand it?" (Jer. 17:9). Quoting  another of David's prayers, a similar cry is heard: "Who can discern his  errors? Acquit me of hidden faults. Also keep back Your servant from  presumptuous sins; let them not rule over me; then I will be blameless,  and I shall be acquitted of great transgression" (Ps. 19:12-13).  

There may be errors inside of us that are actually ruling us without  our awareness. Do we realize, for instance, how many of our actions are  manipulated purely by vanity and the desire to be seen or accepted by  others? Are we aware of the fears and apprehensions that unconsciously  influence so many of our decisions? We may have serious flaws inside yet  still be either too proud or too insecure to admit we need help.  

 Concerning ourselves, we think so highly of what we know so little!  

 Even outwardly, though we know our camera pose, do we know how we  appear when we are laughing or crying, eating or sleeping, talking or  angry? The fact is, most of us are ignorant of how we appear outwardly  to others; much less do we know ourselves inwardly before God! Our  fallen thinking processes automatically justify our actions and  rationalize our thoughts. Without the Holy Spirit, we are nearly  defenseless against our own innate tendencies toward self-deception. 

 Therefore, if we would be holy, we must first renounce falsehood. In  the light of God' grace, having been justified by faith and washed in  the sacrificial blood of Jesus, we need not pretend to be righteous. We  need only to become truthful. 

 No condemnation awaits our  honesty of heart---no punishment. We have only to repent and confess our  sins to have them forgiven and cleansed; if we will love the truth, we  will be delivered from sin and self-deception. Indeed, we need to know  two things and two things only: the heart of God in Christ and our own  hearts in Christ's light.

 ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~  

  The preceding message is adapted from a chapter in Francis' book,  Holiness, Truth and the Presence of God Published by Charisma House.   http://arrowbookstore.com/
*


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## Shimmie (Oct 7, 2012)

I have to bold your entire post...

This is here is what grabbed my heart:

_Let us wash the cosmetics from our souls and look at the unadorned condition of our hearts... _

"Me" Facing me...


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## Belle Du Jour (Oct 7, 2012)

Nice & Wavy said:


> Men everywhere presume they know the "truth," but they have neither  holiness nor power in their lives. Truth must become more than  historical doctrine; it must be more than a museum of religious  artifacts---mementos from when God once moved. Truth is knowing God's  heart as it was revealed in Christ, and it is knowing our own hearts in  the light of God's grace.
> 
> There may be errors inside of us that are actually ruling us without  our awareness. Do we realize, for instance, how many of our actions are  manipulated purely by vanity and the desire to be seen or accepted by  others? Are we aware of the fears and apprehensions that unconsciously  influence so many of our decisions? We may have serious flaws inside yet  still be either too proud or too insecure to admit we need help.
> 
> ...




Many of us are deceived because we are _so sure_ that our worship is right and other people's worship is wrong.  Rather Pharisee-like IMO and the exact opposite of what the word teaches.  People need to stop looking for things that divide the body of Christ further and focus on what unites us.  Too much attention to what's going on in our neighbor's yard causes us to neglect our own garden.  The fruits one produces (or lack thereof) will do all the talking. 

I urge you brothers in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ that all of you agree in what you say and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and in the same purpose. 1 Cor 1:10

Eager to *maintain the unity of the Spirit* in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call— one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. Ephesians 4:3-6

Having purified your souls by your *obedience to the truth* for a sincere brotherly love, love one another earnestly from a pure heart, since you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God; for “All flesh is like grass and all its glory like the flower of grass. The grass withers, and the flower falls, but the word of the Lord remains forever.” And this word is the good news that was preached to you. 1Peter 1:22-25

But *avoid foolish controversies, genealogies, dissensions, and quarrels about the law, for they are unprofitable and worthless.* As for a person who stirs up division, after warning him once and then twice, have nothing more to do with him, knowing that such a person is warped and sinful; he is *self-condemned*. Titus 3:9-11

I appeal to you, brothers, to *watch out for those who cause divisions and create obstacles contrary to the doctrine that you have been taught*; avoid them. For such persons do not serve our Lord Christ, but their own appetites, and by smooth talk and flattery they deceive the hearts of the naive. Romans 16:17-18

Therefore brothers *stand firm and hold fast to the traditions* that you were taught, either by oral statement or by a letter of ours. 2 Thess 2:15

Proclaim the word; *be persistent whether it is convenient or inconvenient*; convince, reprimand, encourage through all patience and teaching.  For the time will come when people will not tolerate sound doctrine but, following their own desires and insatiable curiosity, will accumulate teachers and will stop listening to the truth and will be *diverted *to myths. 2 Timothy 2:2-4

I praise you because you remember me in everything and hold fast to the traditions just as I handed them on to you.. I Cor 11:2

See to it that no one captivate you with an empty seductive philosophy according to human tradition according to the elemental powers of the world and not according to Christ. Colossians 2:8

Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter! Isaiah 5:20

But now, you are *boasting in your arrogance*.  Al such boasting is evil.  So for one who knows the right thing to do and does not do it, it is a sin. James 4:16-17

What good is it my brother if someone says he has faith but does not have works?  Can that faith save him?. . .So also faith of itself, if it does not have works is dead. James 2: 14; 17

Sometimes a way seems right but the end of it leads to death.  Prov 14:12


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## Nice & Wavy (Oct 7, 2012)

Shimmie said:


> I have to bold your entire post...
> 
> This is here is what grabbed my heart:
> 
> ...


Yes...have you noticed that this is where the Lord has been leading me to post.....about "Me, myself and I"


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## Nice & Wavy (Oct 7, 2012)

I'm not truly understanding your post...are you saying that what I posted is Pharisee-like or am I reading it wrong?  



Belle Du Jour said:


> Many of us are deceived because we are _so sure_ that our worship is right and other people's worship is wrong.  Rather Pharisee-like IMO and the exact opposite of what the word teaches.  People need to stop looking for things that divide the body of Christ further and focus on what unites us.  Too much attention to what's going on in our neighbor's yard causes us to neglect our own garden.  The fruits one produces (or lack thereof) will do all the talking.
> 
> I urge you brothers in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ that all of you agree in what you say and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and in the same purpose. 1 Cor 1:10
> 
> ...


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## MrsHaseeb (Oct 7, 2012)

Nice&Way this was beautiful and so on time. Thank you!


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## Belle Du Jour (Oct 7, 2012)

Nice & Wavy said:


> I'm not truly understanding your post...are you saying that what I posted is Pharisee-like or am I reading it wrong?



My post addresses the quotes from the author that you chose to highlight in red and purple in your original post.  Just curious why you highlighted those ones?  

See the scriptures I posted to show why those statements are problematic.


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## Belle Du Jour (Oct 7, 2012)

MrsHaseeb said:


> Nice&Way this was beautiful and so on time. Thank you!



Hmm, just wondering why you deleted your original post thanking me for my post.


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## Nice & Wavy (Oct 7, 2012)

MrsHaseeb said:


> Nice&Way this was beautiful and so on time. Thank you!


Thank you, sis!


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## MrsHaseeb (Oct 7, 2012)

Belle Du Jour said:


> Hmm, just wondering why you deleted your original post thanking me for my post.



Hi. I sent you a PM.

Sent from my 4G HTC Thunderbolt using LHCF


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## Nice & Wavy (Oct 7, 2012)

Belle Du Jour said:


> My post addresses the quotes from the author that you chose to highlight in red and purple in your original post.  Those statements are problematic, Pharisee-like and presumptuous.  They don't hold water and I posted several scriptures to support why they don't.


My highlights in red and purple is what stood out to Me for My life and had hoped that it would bless others.  I don't know if you thought I was highlighting it for someone/people in the CF to be against them in some way, you are wrong. 

This is where we will disagree...I don't see it as problematic at all and I think that what he shared in his book, reveals truth and blessed me tremendously.  

I read the scriptures and I appreciate that you posted them, but I don't see how they apply to what I posted.  But, I digress.

Have a good night!

ETA: I noticed you edited and added to your post.  If there is something that I have said or done to hurt you in some way, would you please pm me and let me know?  There seems to be somewhat of an angry tone in your OP to me and I'm not sure where that is coming from.

Thanks.


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## Belle Du Jour (Oct 7, 2012)

Nice & Wavy said:


> My highlights in red and purple is what stood out to Me for My life and had hoped that it would bless others.  I don't know if you thought I was highlighting it for someone/people in the CF to be against them in some way, you are wrong.
> 
> This is where we will disagree...I don't see it as problematic at all and I think that what he shared in his book, reveals truth and blessed me tremendously.
> 
> ...



I just edited my post to ask why you highlighted those ones.  I guess we're both typing at the same time.  Thanks for explaining.  Those quotes just stuck out to me for some reason because it's a common argument I hear when people bash certain denominations and the traditions they keep.  His statements sounded a little judgmental to me but I guess that's my own interpretation.   

Even if the scriptures I quoted don't make sense to you in the context of what you originally posted, hopefully they will provide some insight for anyone who might read this thread.


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## Nice & Wavy (Oct 7, 2012)

Belle Du Jour said:


> I just edited my post to ask why you highlighted those ones.  I guess we're both typing at the same time.  Thanks for explaining.  Those quotes just stuck out to me for some reason because it's a common argument I hear when people bash certain denominations and the traditions they keep.  His statements sounded a little judgmental to me but I guess that's my own interpretation.
> 
> Even if the scriptures I quoted don't make sense to you in the context of what you originally posted, hopefully they will provide some insight for anyone who might read this thread.


If you have known me on this forum, you would know that "bashing" someone is not my personality.  I would always ask before I assume that someone is doing something like that before thinking such.

I appreciate that you can say that it may be your own interpretation.  We all will chew the meat, spit out the bones at one point or another in our lives.  I didn't say that the scriptures you posted didn't make sense, I said I didn't see how it applied to what I had posted, as I did not put this thread here to cause divisions in the church or cause any type of strife...that certainly was not my intentions....it never is.

I pray that those that do read this thread will be blessed with what he wrote as I was, as well as others.  And for those who know me and how I post, they know my heart and know that I'm here to help others, not put them down.


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## Belle Du Jour (Oct 7, 2012)

Nice & Wavy said:


> *I didn't say that the scriptures you posted didn't make sense, I said I didn't see how it applied to what I had posted*, as I did not put this thread here to cause divisions in the church or cause any type of strife...that certainly was not my intentions....it never is.



Yeah, that's what I said before (that it was the _context_, not that you didn't understand the verses at all).  

Also, I'm glad to hear that because despite there being 40,000 denominations, we are more alike than not and we have to focus on what unifies us (Christ) rather than the doctrinal differences that separate us.  In the end, we will all be one body in Christ.  It is my deepest hope that we can start to live that (even in part) while on this earth, respecting one another despite differences.


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## Nice & Wavy (Oct 7, 2012)

> *Therefore I must  know exactly how far He would travel  for men, for that is the same  distance He would journey again through  me. **
> 
> If I would  actually do His will, I must truly know His  heart. Therefore, in all my  study and times of prayer I am seeking more  than just knowledge; I am  searching for the heart of God.*


The bolded here stood out to me after reading it again.  

Understanding who Jesus is in my life and what He wants to do with me, reveals to me his total Sovereignty as Lord and Savior of my life...*"I have been  crucified with Christ, and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me;  and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God,  who loved me and delivered Himself up for me."* (Galatians 2:19-20)

Hallelujah...thank you Jesus!


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## Nice & Wavy (Oct 7, 2012)

Belle Du Jour said:


> Yeah, that's what I said before (that it was the _context_, not that you didn't understand the verses at all).
> 
> Also, I'm glad to hear that because despite there being 40,000 denominations, we are more alike than not and *we have to focus on what unifies us (Christ)* rather than the doctrinal differences that separate us.  In the end, we will all be one body in Christ.  It is my deepest hope that we can start to live that (even in part) while on this earth, respecting one another despite differences.


I agree with the bolded.

Thanks for posting!


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## Laela (Oct 8, 2012)

Amein~

I also encourage you to keep sharing from your heart....  



Nice & Wavy said:


> I pray that those that do read this thread will be blessed with what he wrote as I was, as well as others.


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## auparavant (Oct 8, 2012)

Belle Du Jour said:


> See to it that no one captivate you with an empty seductive philosophy  according to* human tradition *according to the elemental powers of the  world and not according to Christ. Colossians 2:8





That is of great interest to me because we have the prefigurement of Christ since the beginning of time, but certainly in the Hebrew religion (I'm not talking about Maimonides) passed down by Moses and Aaron and all they appointed thereafter.  That is our apostolic tradition.  If we consider that G-d gave Moses both the written law as well as the oral law and that it is important for the faith (oral written down during Babylonian diaspora), then I cannot comprehend this aversion many people have to the idea of sacred tradition.  It is not man's tradition, it is given by G-d for man to do, much, if not the same way that G-d handed down tradition (oral law) to Moses, in my understanding.


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## Iwanthealthyhair67 (Oct 8, 2012)

@Nice & Wavy, this was yesterday's message at my church, but taken from Ephesians 5:26-27 - and she quoted Jer 17:9 and Psa 24:3 ...

Thank you!


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## Iwanthealthyhair67 (Oct 8, 2012)

Yet throughout that searching process, as I position my heart before the Lord, it is with a sense of trembling that I pray the prayer of King David: "Search me, O God, and know my heart; try me and know my anxious thoughts; and see if there be any hurtful way in me, and lead me in the everlasting way"(Ps. 139:23-24). 


I like the KJV better, see if there be any* wicked *way in me...cause underneath the masks the everyday make up is not everything lines up with the word of God (for all we think we know, we don't know much) and so we need purging we need to washed with hyssop ...


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## Nice & Wavy (Oct 8, 2012)

Laela said:


> Amein~
> 
> I also encourage you to keep sharing from your heart....


Thank you so much, sis....will do! 



Iwanthealthyhair67 said:


> @Nice & Wavy, this was yesterday's message at my church, but taken from Ephesians 5:26-27 - and she quoted Jer 17:9 and Psa 24:3 ...
> 
> Thank you!


Wow!  That's awesome that this was the same message at your church.  I was talking to a pastor friend of mine this morning and I was sharing this message with her and she told me that this was on the same lines as the message from yesterday as well.

God wants to get a message across and He surely did with me!


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## Nice & Wavy (Oct 8, 2012)

Iwanthealthyhair67 said:


> Yet throughout that searching process, as I position my heart before the Lord, it is with a sense of trembling that I pray the prayer of King David: "Search me, O God, and know my heart; try me and know my anxious thoughts; and see if there be any hurtful way in me, and lead me in the everlasting way"(Ps. 139:23-24).
> 
> 
> I like the KJV better, see if there be any* wicked *way in me...cause underneath the masks the everyday make up is not everything lines up with the word of God (for all we think we know, we don't know much) and so we need purging we need to washed with hyssop ...


Oh girl...this, this... is where the Lord has me right now...to see ME and what I need to do to be more like Him in EVERY way, not just in the way I may THINK but in how HE wants me to be!

Girl, you have me  over here!


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## Iwanthealthyhair67 (Oct 8, 2012)

Nice & Wavy,

What I like about God is that he brings confirmation, the word comes so that we can first check ourselves, but we always think that there is nothing wrong with us so we reject the word...yesterday I took that word and ran with it, I was the first person at the altar, even what didn't apply to me I took, cause I don't know everything thats in there (my kardia), but God knows.


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## Nice & Wavy (Oct 8, 2012)

Iwanthealthyhair67 said:


> @Nice & Wavy,
> 
> What I like about God is that he brings confirmation, the word comes so that we can first check ourselves, but we always think that there is nothing wrong with us so we reject the word...yesterday I took that word and ran with it, I was the first person at the altar, even what didn't apply to me I took, cause I don't know everything thats in there (my kardia), but God knows.


Yes, yes.  I want it to be where when He speaks to me any message, I can look within myself first to see if there be anything in me that is unlike Him and ask Him to remove it.  

This is from my pastor's message (series:Spiritual Fruit) yesterday:

1. How does God change the way I think?
 2. What percentage of information coming into my mind is from the  Word of God - and how does my life reflect the information that I am  taking in?
 3. What is the difference between "producing" and "bearing" fruit?
 4. What steps can I take to prepare myself to be used by God for His purposes?


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## Shimmie (Oct 8, 2012)

Nice & Wavy said:


> Yes, yes.  I want it to be where when He speaks to me any message, I can look within myself first to see if there be anything in me that is unlike Him and ask Him to remove it.
> 
> This is from my pastor's message (series:Spiritual Fruit) yesterday:
> 
> ...



For me the bolded is:   How do I *ALLOW* God to change the way *'Shimmie' *thinks.   

I'm just being real.


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## Iwanthealthyhair67 (Oct 8, 2012)

Shimmie yes and amen, cause if I just hear and acknowledge and don't allow God to change my thought pattern, then his word has no effect...


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## Shimmie (Oct 8, 2012)

Iwanthealthyhair67 said:


> Yet throughout that searching process, as I position my heart before the Lord, it is with a sense of trembling that I pray the prayer of King David: "Search me, O God, and know my heart; try me and know my anxious thoughts; and see if there be any hurtful way in me, and lead me in the everlasting way"(Ps. 139:23-24).
> 
> 
> I like the KJV better, see if there be any* wicked *way in me...cause underneath the masks the everyday make up is not everything lines up with the word of God (for all we think we know, we don't know much) and so we need purging we need to washed with hyssop ...





Nice & Wavy said:


> Oh girl...this, this... is where the Lord has me right now...to see ME and what I need to do to be more like Him in EVERY way, not just in the way I may THINK but in how HE wants me to be!
> 
> Girl, you have me  over here!



May I share a scripture that has always 'grabbed' my heart and soul?

"That which I do not see, teach thou me.  Where I have sinned (erred, trangressed) I will do no more."

Job 34:32

This applies all over my life.  This is what a call a 'wash me' scripture, for it washes that which I do not see...to do it no more.   

Over and over, I get 'bent' with this scripture... 'humbled and bent'. 

Praise God.


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## Iwanthealthyhair67 (Oct 8, 2012)

I'm made in His likeness and image but all my thoughts do not yet mirror His thoughts my ways are not yet all his ways ...


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## Iwanthealthyhair67 (Oct 8, 2012)

you two are making me cry...

Lord we are a 'needy' people, we always need you and we need you for everything ...and don't ever let us forget lest we fall


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## Nice & Wavy (Oct 8, 2012)

Shimmie said:


> For me the bolded is:   How do I *ALLOW* God to change the way *'Shimmie' *thinks.
> 
> I'm just being real.





Iwanthealthyhair67 said:


> @Shimmie yes and amen, cause if I just hear and acknowledge and don't allow God to change my thought pattern, then his word has no effect...





Shimmie said:


> May I share a scripture that has always 'grabbed' my heart and soul?
> 
> "That which I do not see, teach thou me.  Where I have sinned (erred, trangressed) I will do no more."
> 
> ...





Iwanthealthyhair67 said:


> I'm made in His likeness and image but all my thoughts do not yet mirror His thoughts my ways are not yet all his ways ...


 

Ladies....all of what you have shared in this thread has me 

I'm going to log off for awhile...I need to spend some more time with the Father.

Will talk to you later.

So much love for all in the CF!


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## Nice & Wavy (Oct 8, 2012)

Iwanthealthyhair67 said:


> you two are making me cry...
> 
> Lord we are a 'needy' people, we always need you and we need you for everything ...and
> 
> ...


I don't ever want to be without the Father....ever.


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## Nice & Wavy (Oct 9, 2012)

I want to say thank you ladies for posting in my thread.  As we travel along on this journey, we must *Know the Heart of God* and *Know Our Own Hearts as well*.  As we do, we heal, are delivered and truly set free!

Blessings, always....

N&W


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## LucieLoo12 (Oct 9, 2012)

This thread was so edifying! God has been dealing with me on the same lines. Focusing on that inner man. What kind of person am I when I am all alone? Do I love ministry or God more? I know that it is not preached anymore alot, but I am truly seeking to be in the image of Christ. I don't want LucieLoo to be here, but I want Christ to be formed in me. I am not going after a "feeling" of being saved but I am going after true conversion of the heart. Sometimes our emotions can make us feel like we are in a place we are not. They are deceitful.

I went to  our Annual Women's retreat this weekend and the theme was being converted. It was soooooo good. Alot of times we can get complacent because we don't drink, smoke, fornicate, cuss, lie etc, but do you have a heart to do His will?(I am talking to me) We talked about Esther and how she was fearful to do the will of God but how after she made her mind up, she said "If I perish, I perish." I began to cry out to God and say God I want that mindset that no matter what ,I want to do the will of God, even if it kills me. I have found myself getting to a place that I was feeling "alright" with myself because I seen myself overcoming things, so I began to get complacent, but God stirred me up and reminded me of the scripture, "He who seeketh will find", it doesn't say "He who sought have found". God began to minister to me and letting me know that it is a continual thing. We never get to a point where we have "arrived" or made it. I should never get to the point where I am "coasting", but always know that it's always a deeper place to go to in God. So I am striving for holiness like never before..

I remembered when I first came to God, I served Him because I did not want to go to hell, I was scared to death... But know I serve Him because I love Him, and because He is my friend. It is no longer fear that rules my obedience, but it's my love for Him...


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## Nice & Wavy (Oct 9, 2012)

LucieLoo12 said:


> This thread was so edifying! God has been dealing with me on the same lines. Focusing on that inner man. What kind of person am I when I am all alone? Do I love ministry or God more? I know that it is not preached anymore alot, but I am truly seeking to be in the image of Christ. I don't want LucieLoo to be here, but I want Christ to be formed in me. I am not going after a "feeling" of being saved but I am going after true conversion of the heart. Sometimes our emotions can make us feel like we are in a place we are not. They are deceitful.
> 
> I went to  our Annual Women's retreat this weekend and the theme was being converted. It was soooooo good. Alot of times we can get complacent because we don't drink, smoke, fornicate, cuss, lie etc, but do you have a heart to do His will?(I am talking to me) We talked about Esther and how she was fearful to do the will of God but how after she made her mind up, she said "If I perish, I perish." I began to cry out to God and say God I want that mindset that no matter what ,I want to do the will of God, even if it kills me. I have found myself getting to a place that I was feeling "alright" with myself because I seen myself overcoming things, so I began to get complacent, but God stirred me up and reminded me of the scripture, "He who seeketh will find", it doesn't say "He who sought have found". God began to minister to me and letting me know that it is a continual thing. We never get to a point where we have "arrived" or made it. I should never get to the point where I am "coasting", but always know that it's always a deeper place to go to in God. So I am striving for holiness like never before..
> 
> I remembered when I first came to God, I served Him because I did not want to go to hell, I was scared to death... But know I serve Him because I love Him, and because He is my friend. It is no longer fear that rules my obedience, but it's my love for Him...


Thank you, LucieLoo!  I so appreciate your post and it certainly is on time, as I see the Lord working on many of us here in the CF in this area.

He wants more of us and more from us.  I'm at that place in my life where I need more of Him, not more from Him.  It's exciting to know that He is at work in us to will and to do His good pleasure!


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