@Realness No i did not take offence i agreed with your conclusion. Paul is my favourite Apostle when it comes to sharing the gospel of salvation. He opened my eyes. A lot of my life i was similar to you in that it was about me and about doing. Yet such thinking stemmed back out of my childhood.
@Appleblossom @AuntGlow @tyme @Bunniekins
i even wrote a poem about my demise a selfish believer, for i certainly have been as well.
My rewrite on Daniel 7. i don't think i shared this one yet.
This poem speaks of the “goats” not only as people or kingdoms of the world, but as forces within the human heart — born from lies that separate us from love, and sustained by a false sense of self.
Goats Ruling Lies Within (Daniel 7:1-14)
Oh you he-goats — so strong and cruel,
To dominate and devour your rule
What kingdoms rise beneath your hand,
While others fall at your demand. (Daniel 7:1-3)
Let us name you, bring you to light,
So all may see what hides in the night
“For truth revealed breaks hidden chains,
And frees the soul from inward pains. (Matthew 6:23)
You — lying tongue, so bold, so sly,
Denying truth when it draws nigh
polluting conscience wrong to obey.
And lead the heart from light to grey. (Daniel 7:4)
You — loveless voice, so cold, so near,
Whispering emptiness and fear
Cutting us off from what is true,
Till love no longer carries through. (Daniel 7:5)
For lies have cut us from our birth in love,
And left a hunger deep within
So we grasp and take what’s never enough,
And call it life, though bound in sin. (1 John 4:1)
This hunger drives the greedy eye,
To claim and hold, to never cease
Yet all it gains still leaves us dry,
And robs the soul of lasting peace. (Daniel 7:6)
And so we strive, ever taking more control,
To shape our reality so we can meet our need
Yet in this grasping control of our soul,
We plant again the very selfsame seed. (Matthew 16:25)
You — greedy eye, never getting your fill,
Consuming all to be had yet empty still
What once was good in me now fades away,
For all my joy is lost to endless sway. (Proverbs 1:19)
And so comes the Dragon — the voice of blame,
The Accuser bringing us our guilt and shame
Binding life and mind with chains unseen,
Where self-judgement burns who we have been. (Daniel 7:7)
A guilty conscience rules power to the lie,
for our buried truth will always place us nigh.
Sadly rather than returning to live by grace,
sin has us hide behind false identity's face. (2 Thessalonians 2:1-12)
(Lament)
Oh lawless pride's hot air inflating “I”,
claiming the throne and reaching so high
Proclaiming that big ‘I’ as god and king,
While death is all such rule will bring. (Daniel 7:8)
For in this self we lose the right way,
The truth of self we with lies betrayed
Where imprisoned a life so very untrue,
we cut off the very love we once knew. (Jeremiah 50:6)
(Conclusion)
Yet untrue rule will not always remain,
For Kingdom Come will break the chain
When truth appears and light is known,
These shadows lose their borrowed throne. (Daniel 7:9-11)
For when Christ comes — His light made clear,
No lie can stand, no darkness remain near
And all these voices will soon fade away,
Before the rising of His glorious day. (Daniel 7:13-14)
The goats who ruled through fear and pride,
Will fall in us as our truth is purified
For with love restored, and falsehood gone,
God shows who we have been in Christ all along. (John 8:32)
@Realness "I have never been in a situation of food coming from idol worship either. But I think it may still be relevant to some countries in the world - not just biblical times."
See this is why i have learned to read the text only spiritually when God speaks to me through His Word. Not because the events written there in are not literally true, they sure are, but because The Word tells us to in 1 Corinthians 2 as well as how this works in a personal way in Revelation 2-3. (The whole book of Revelation is a personal address from Jesus in our inner world of being.)
@heartathome @heartathome @REDLINEZ750 @Appleblossom @AuntGlow
Therefore an idol in my books is anything i place before The truth. E.g when i love something, or expect someone or some thing to give me what only God does - Goodness, love or truth.
For example i believe that my wife became an idol in my life. For when i was needy i placed her before Jesus and this did not only keep further healing at bay, it also build what i gained from God on shifting sands and, not on the rock that is Jesus. Not that i cannot receive help from her, but if i place her help before Jesus, who alone can help me within. Physical or spiritual addictions are another example of idol worship, or placing our trust in human endeavour to stay safe.
The same with idolatry in my life. When God speaks to me about adultery i know He is firstly talking about anything i love before Him. Therefore the Word calls any act, or thought, which is unfaithful to love/agape idolatry in my heart. And how true i have learned to understand that is really is.
Paul in Romans 7:14 told me that the law is spiritual and i know he means what he says when he says that. It was religion that had me looking literally at God's Word and had me sin focused within myself as well as outside of myself. Sadly such thinking did not deliver me a sinner but had me work on my salvation in my own ability. Even comparing myself with others around me, rather than find new life in the freedom of The Spirit where sin ceases and righteousness - acts of true love - grow thereafter more an more His sanctification and purification.
i absolutely love The Word of God after The Spirit taught me to read in Him and not with my carnal mind. For God's word is about the Revelation of Jesus in my heart, and no longer convicts me of sin and then makes me feel guilty to stop it, but rather redeems me from my wrongs and sets me free in His loving truth to leave any wrongdoing behind in favour of life in and with Him.
Fighting sin with Jesus becomes a thankful process instead of a forced do it yourself program of personal corrections.
My two bobs worth on this important subject.🤔
Lies Hide Jesus From Your Sight!
Did you know that satan hides, behind God’s truth, a great lie? (2 Thessalonians 2:8–12)
Masquerading as an angel of light, while really wanting you to die. (2 Corinthians 11:14)
With him, you ever await Jesus while lies keep you from your goal, (1 Corinthians 15:33)
not living in the power of God’s Word, which frees the wretched soul. (Luke 10:19)
Knowing your life does not yet celebrate heaven’s everlasting good, (Ephesians 4:17)
for day in, day out, satan has you feeding on his blackened food. (Colossians 2:8)
If God’s Word has not given you new birth in Christ as Mother, (1 Peter 1:22–25)
the devil has surely told you lies about God, yourself, and others. (2 Timothy 3:13)
For the truth of God’s love kills lies hidden deep within your heart, (Zechariah 5)
for us dining on His loving grace will have our wilful sin depart. (Romans 8:2)
Free from life in wrong, dining with the saints at Christ’s great feast, (Song of Songs 2:4)
praising eternal God in the place where wrong has finally ceased. (Revelation 15:2–4)
So do consider letting God’s Word be true in your life today. (Galatians 4:19)
Ask Jesus to take away blindness to satan’s lies inner sway. (Matthew 20:33)
For when the son of lawlessness is revealed by the sin you do, (Daniel 7:8–14)
the mysteries of Scripture are unsealed by the Lamb within you. (Revelation 4–7)
For life in the Spirit of the Son does the will of Him who is true, (Ezekiel 36:24–30)
and will have you rejoicing: Jesus is coming soon for you too. (Revelation 1–3)
