Alan Waters Posted December 30, 2018 Report Share Posted December 30, 2018 For to me to live is Christ. (Philippians 1:21) That is the good news of the all-captivating Christ. When Christ really captivates, everything happens and anything can happen. That is how it was with Paul and with these people. Christ had just captivated them. They had no other thought in life than Christ. They may have had their businesses, their trades, their professions, their different walks of life and occupations in the world, but they had one all-dominating thought, concern and interest – Christ. Christ rested, for them, upon everything. There is no other word for it. He just captivated them. And I see, dear friends, that that – simple as it may sound – explains everything. It explains Paul... it explains these believers, it explains their mutual love. It solved all their problems, cleared up all their difficulties. Oh, this is what we need! If only you and I were like this, if we really after all were captivated by Christ! I cannot convey that to you, but as I have looked at that truth – looked at it, read it, thought about it – I have felt something moved in me, something inexplicable. After all, nine-tenths of all our troubles can be traced to the fact that we have other personal interests influencing us, governing us and controlling us – other aspects of life than Christ. If only it could be true that Christ had captured and captivated and mastered us, and become – yes, I will use the word – an obsession, a glorious obsession! When it is like that, we are filled with joy. There are no regrets at having to "give up" things. We are filled with joy, filled with victory. There is no spirit of defeatism at all. It is the joy of a great triumph. It is the triumph of Christ over the life. Yes, it has been, and because it has been, it can be again. But this needs something more than just a kind of mental appraisement. We can so easily miss the point. We may admire the words, the ideas; we may fall to it as a beautiful presentation; but, oh, we need the captivating to wipe out our selves – our reputations, everything that is associated with us and our own glory – that the One who captivates may be the only One in view, the only One with a reputation, and we at His feet. This is the gospel, the good news – that when Christ really captivates, the kind of thing that is in this letter happens, it really happens. Shall we ask the Lord for that life captivation of His beloved Son? By T. Austin-Sparks from: The Gospel According to Paul - Chapter 5 This email is from the Austin-Sparks.Net Daily Open Windows message list. Open Windows messages have been selected from the works of T. Austin-Sparks. In some cases they appear in abridged form. The introductory verse and its associated Bible version have been selected by the website editors and did not always appear within the original message. We encourage you to print, share, and forward (by clicking on the link below) this message with others. In keeping with T. Austin-Sparks' wishes that what was freely received should be freely given and not sold for profit, and that his messages be reproduced word for word, we ask if you choose to share these messages with others, to please respect his wishes and offer them freely - free of any changes, free of any charge (except necessary distribution costs) and with this statement included. AUSTIN-SPARKS.NET Austin-Sparks.Net T. Austin-Sparks left a treasury of messages, our goal is to provide this generation with a complete online collection of these messages. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
98Z5V Posted December 30, 2018 Report Share Posted December 30, 2018 Whoa, Preacher. I still have 8 hours before church starts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boot_Scraper Posted December 30, 2018 Report Share Posted December 30, 2018 The Lord would not approve of half the poop I've posted on here. Good thing he's big on forgiveness. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
suzukiray Posted December 30, 2018 Report Share Posted December 30, 2018 Amen on me too Boot!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
survivalshop Posted December 30, 2018 Report Share Posted December 30, 2018 I have to say , this is a first for 308AR .com. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shepp Posted December 30, 2018 Report Share Posted December 30, 2018 ?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blue109 Posted December 30, 2018 Report Share Posted December 30, 2018 I went to church xmas eve because my little girl was singing. The show was great but I was supremely disappointed to discover the pulp fiction bible verse (Ezekiel 25:17) is not what Jewels says it is in the movie. Only the last line is similar. My entire life is a lie. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan Waters Posted December 30, 2018 Author Report Share Posted December 30, 2018 I read. A lot. The bible, world history, war history, news, very little fiction these last few years. I wish my bible reading [the oldest, and most mysterious piece of literature in existence] could keep up with my other reading, but it does not. In all the reading I do, a very few things grabs my interest enough to make me want to read it again, or to say, "I wish my life was like that". The above post is one of those. There are a very few others. I have been advised by an administrator of this web site to cease and desist with this topic. If you the reader wish to know what the "very few others are" PM me and I'll send you a link. May the Lord Jesus bless and keep you all. I remain, your simple servant in the Lord, Alan Waters Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
suzukiray Posted December 30, 2018 Report Share Posted December 30, 2018 I find it saddening that someone censored you. Too bad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bubbas4570 Posted December 30, 2018 Report Share Posted December 30, 2018 ^^^^^This. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
98Z5V Posted December 30, 2018 Report Share Posted December 30, 2018 It's not censorship. I commented right away - not quite time for me to go to church yet... I go to church for this. I don't come here for church. That's not why I'm here. If I want to read that on a forum, I'll find a religious forum for it. There's a reason the Politics section is separate. Same goes for religion. Saying it's censorship is pure bullshiit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blue109 Posted December 30, 2018 Report Share Posted December 30, 2018 2 minutes ago, 98Z5V said: It's not censorship. I commented right away - not quite time for me to go to church yet... I go to church for this. I don't come here for church. That's not why I'm here. If I want to read that on a forum, I'll find a religious forum for it. There's a reason the Politics section is separate. Same goes for religion. Saying it's censorship is pure bullshiit. Exactly what a heathen would say ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shepp Posted December 30, 2018 Report Share Posted December 30, 2018 (edited) K I’m gonna lock this before it turns into a shit sandwich. I do have to agree with 98, we get off the rails a lot. We pray for each other’s well being and for their friends and family, but bottom line this is a gun forum. the two things that will start a pissing match faster than a match on gasoline are politics and religion. If I and a few others had my way we wouldn’t have a political section either. But it does keep in contained into there. Edited December 30, 2018 by shepp Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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