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I am asking in my prayers that I be given knowledge and faith
While the second is wonderful, the first is tricky, dear Zoe (again, peace to you!). "Knowledge"... of WHAT? I've met SO many want to know (about) "things" - when, primarily, but a lot of what's. FEW, though, want to KNOW... a WHO. And yet, Christ said, as to the Father:
"THIS means everlasting life: their knowing YOU... AND (knowing) the One whom YOU sent forth."Unfortunately, many misrender this to mean "knowing ABOUT" [God] and "knowing ABOUT" [Christ], but that is GROSSLY incorrect. Because, as I've shared elsewhere, that "knowing" is a transliteration from the Hebrew word "yada," which means to know...
as a man knows a woman intimately. Here, though, rather than a PHYSICAL joining/union, it is a SPIRIT(ual) joining/union. We "come into union" or communion... WITH Christ... by means of SPIRIT. Which is why those who DO... are called his "BRIDE." And so, just as a man and woman who are joined by flesh become "one"... one who is joined to Christ by SPIRIT... become "one" with HIM.
So, when you ask for "knowledge"... consider what it is you are asking FOR. For me, it started when I told the Father that I wanted to know HIS truth. Well, that's exactly what occurred: He sent His Son... Christ... the TRUTH (
John 14:6)... that One brought me into UNION with him, so that now he and I are "one." As he and the Father are "one." By means of SPIRIT, not flesh. And through that union... I now "know" him.
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and now I will be asking for ways to get to know our Lord Christ better.
Or... even knowing him FULLY. But, yes, one must start somewhere - LOLOL! And this request is a great place to begin!
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I am spiritually inept, I have never spent any time getting to know him, when I did anything spiritual years ago as a JW everything was focused on Jahveh who I knew as Jehovah.
Yep, focused on "breaking into" the most holy to try and get before the [face of] the MOST Holy One... WITHOUT going THROUGH... the HOLY (One). Without going through the Door that Christ is. Can't be done. HE is the one who allows entry before the Father - one CANNOT even approach the Father, even in prayer... without going THROUGH the Son:
"NO ONE comes to the Father... except THROUGH me." John 14:6Quote:
I will start reading the bible, does anyone here have any suggestions as to things I can do to help me get to know him better?
Among THE most important verses I can share with you is
John 5:39, 40. Start there, and try to understand what is being said there. Then:
John 6:48-58
John 7:37-39
John 10:1-27Pay CLOSE attention to what is being said THERE.
And then,
the Psalms. Start from the beginning and read all the way to the end. You don't need to read straight through without stopping. Just don't skip around until you have read them all. THEN skip around, as our dear Lord leads you to.
Start with these verses and scriptures. But, rather than read these alone, try to let Christ himself read them TO you. Pay CLOSE attention to the words... and LISTEN while you "read." You WILL hear him,
if you listen FOR his voice.
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I feel stupid here as you all are years ahead of me knowing him and some of you are naturally inclined to love him.
Don't feel stupid, luv - we are ALL of us stupid. Fools. Foolish. But that is what it takes, actually: being able to ADMIT one is stupid/foolish... knowing NOTHING... and then letting HIM teach us, guide us, "build" on us, subdue us... and then raise us UP. HIM, not we ourselves. So many want to be "smart," and "knowing," etc. The WTBTS certainly teaches that kind of "pride," while warning folks against pride - LOLOLOL!
One MUST be a babe first, though. Even under men in charge for a bit. But then the Father takes over and has HIS Teacher... Christ, the Holy Spirit... continue our "education." And we advance in HIM... to the extent we love... and listen to... him.
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So I hope I am not being annoying or asking if I should just ask our Lord.
You are not being annoying - you are asking the right questions; however, I CANNOT tell you that you SHOULDN'T just ask our dear Lord. That really IS what you should do, first, and if you have the faith, always. But he knows who we all are, what we are all made of, where we've all come from, and what we've all been through. He would not hold your trying to find you way... find HIM (the Way)... against you, not at all.
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I have to say I feel a bit sick to my stomach today reflecting on all this and realizing how selfish and ignorant I am about all this.
Ohhhhhh... let me share a sublime truth with you, dear, dear sister: THAT tells me you are on the RIGHT path. Because, as I have shared with many others, before you can "take the straw out" of your brother's eye... you MUST "remove the rafter" from your own. Problem is, them rafters can be SO big, sometimes, that we can't SEE even to take them out - LOLOL! And so, one thing is certain: IF Christ is dealing with you, it is YOU he will "reveal" first and foremost. If he has NOT revealed you to you... or he has tried but one has not LISTENED... then there is NO way he is dwelling IN you. How can we know? Because... God, the MOST Holy One of Israel, does not dwell in handmade temples... but in US... in His BODY, which Body is the Body and Bride of His SON. And NEITHER of these can dwell... in an UNCLEAN cup/vessel/TEMPLE.
And so, one of the first things Christ will help us with... is "cleansing" the INSIDE of our (own) "cup." That is, after all, the purpose of drinking the wine (blood) - the "cleanse" us our of errors/sins... wash them away, blot them out. But we need to know what those errors/sins ARE... do we not... so that we know WHAT to ask him to wash AWAY, cleanse us OF. Yes? And so, he will turn his "Light" on you FIRST... so that you can "see" what needs to BE cleansed in YOU... FIRST. What YOU need to ask forgiveness FOR. And, as you (are) "cleansed", the indwelling becomes greater and greater, until you are FULLY abided in.
And yes, it's tough to "look" at our own "dirt." It's among the hardest thing we will ever do, if not THE hardest. Especially if we believe we don't HAVE any "dirt," or don't believe we have "a lot" of it (say, in comparison to certain others). Or if we don't have the courage, strength... faith... or love... to LOOK at it. Most turn their heads because they are taught that (1) Christ forgives all (which is true, to some extent); (2) some "dirt" is not as bad as other "dirt,"; and most likely (3) you're "clean" by means of the church/religion you associate with. Some will "see" their own "dirt," but then either (1) they think they only have a "straw" to look around, or (2) are like the man who looks at himself in the mirror, "sees" what he is, then turns and immediately forgets what "kind" of man he is.
If we look at CHRIST, however, versus at other humans, we will ALL see just how "filthy", how UNclean, we are. If we keep looking at... and comparing ourselves to others, though, we will only fool ourselves ("Well, yes, I have... I do... I've done... but I'M NOWHERE near as bad as SO-AND-SO!"). Sin, though... is sin. There is no ranking with the Father. And so, while one may not have committed adultery, one MAY, say, have coveted his "brother's" wife, cow, home... money... maybe even taken such. Our society puts so much emphasis on fidelity, however, and disregards all of the other ways one can "sin" against his/her brother. All of us here, well, most of us, have even broken the FIRST "commandment" of the Old Law, that we ALL had and served ANOTHER god before JAH: "Jehovah." Yet, the Law said: "You shall have NO OTHER gods before ME." We all did, though, didn't we?
We've all even taken up His name in vain... using "Jehovah"... as well as uttering words like "Hallel u JAH!" without any regard for His NAME within that term. And more...
So, you are no less than any of us, dear sister... and we are no more than you. Indeed, Christ said that he who would be greatest among us had to be the least among us. And that is because JAH is a God of SERVICE... just as Christ is a KING of service... and so, we must learn to SERVE one another, not raise ourselves up over one another. True, one might have a certain gift or gifts so that such one can DO more than others in that regard, but if we are all members of the SAME Body... then the hand cannot say to the foot, "I have no use for you," nor can the foot say, "I have no use because I'm a foot." We are SET... IN the Body... as JAH pleases, not we ourselves. None of us choose our position - we are obligated, however, if we ACCEPT it (and we do because we love the One who instilled such UPON us)... to act within that position, listen, obey, and do "just so" as that position requires. Whatever we VOW to JAH... we must pay.
So, I hope that helps, truly. We here will do all we can to assist as and where we can... but ultimately, you do need to listen to, go to, follow, and take your direction from... Christ, the HOLY One of Israel and Holy Spirit, JAHESHUA, the Chosen One of JAH (MischaJAH).
As always, peace... strength... and faith... to you!
YSSFS of Christ,
Shel