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Surrender Of Self

Engyo

Engyo

Prince of Dorkness!
Buddhism teaches us to "master one's mind, rather than to allow one's mind to master one". I think that this is the same teaching.
 
Scuba Pete

Scuba Pete

Le plongeur avec attitude...
Ego is the silent killer.

It makes us ASSUME that we are right when we are not!

It makes us believe that we are not responsible for our actions when we are.

It allows us to feel that we are indestructible when we are only a breathe away from eternity.

While the "self" aka ego has been denounced since time immemorial, it is the one part of us that is redeemable: the soul. The issue is to put God above the ego, the self, and to teach the self to serve God first, itself last and others always.
 
Buttercup

Buttercup

Veteran Member
TheTruthWillSetUFree said:
I think it has probably already been revealed to most of us that self is the greatest enemy we face. Once we have settled it with that old man of the flesh who seeks to rule over us, all the other victories will come in their course.What are your thoughts?
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I agree with your statement except that I don't think it's ever "settled". Mashing our ego down for the good of others or God is an ongoing, lifelong process. But, I'm sure you knew this. :)

I would like to point out that denying oneself and controlling one's impulses is not as restrictive as it sounds. It is actually quite liberating and freeing in my mind. Do you know what I mean?

I think the experiences that have taught me the most about denying myself have been through having kids....you have little choice about being selfish at 2am when that helpless bundle is screaming for something to eat. Multiply that by hundreds of times and you have a path on the way to less self. That and much prayer! :)
 
Scuba Pete

Scuba Pete

Le plongeur avec attitude...
Buttercup said:
I would like to point out that denying oneself and controlling one's impulses is not as restrictive as it sounds. It is actually quite liberating and freeing in my mind. Do you know what I mean?
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I do know what you mean!

We have two dogs inside of us battling for superiority. One is called selfishness and the other service. The one you feed is the one who will win. Not only do you need to deny self: you need to become a servant. To do one without the other is to descend into the fallacy of asceticism. The seed must indeed die, but then it has to live in order to be great!

John 12:23 Jesus replied, "The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. 24 I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. 25 The man who loves his life will lose it, while the man who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. 26 Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me. NIV
 
T

TheTruthWillSetUFree

Member
Every time you see an unhappy Christian you are looking at someone who has not surrendered self to the cross of Christ. That inward life of the flesh, that self-nature, has been allowed to survive; and there can be no peace in a divided loyalty. Those who have not submitted to be crucified with Christ still carry their religion like a heavy burden.We have to admit that we fight an enemy who is stronger than we are.Our Spiritual enemy,who does not want us to do God's will.Thats why we must pray every day,asking the Holy Spirit for strength to fullfill God's will not ours.

MOD EDIT: Source found at http://www.nisbett.com/default.htm
 
Scuba Pete

Scuba Pete

Le plongeur avec attitude...
TheTruthWillSetUFree said:
Those who have not submitted to be crucified with Christ still carry their religion like a heavy burden.
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While I would never suggest that being crucified with Christ is NOT important, I would like to point out that there is more to it than this: we must also be born again. But born again to what? To ascetic values? No, to service to others, just as Jesus love and served others. Why is this important?

Matthew 12:43 "When an evil spirit comes out of a man, it goes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it. 44 Then it says, 'I will return to the house I left.' When it arrives, it finds the house unoccupied, swept clean and put in order. 45 Then it goes and takes with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there. And the final condition of that man is worse than the first. That is how it will be with this wicked generation." NIV

It's best to fill up your house with GOOD, so there is no room for the evil take hold.
 
Scarlett Wampus

Scarlett Wampus

psychonaut
As I see it the ego/self isn't an enemy. It's just trying to do its best to look after you and will defend itself against threats against its own autonomy. Whether the threat is ultimately benevolent or malevolent is hard for the ego/self to understand, and it won't yield unless it does understand or has no choice.
 
A

angellous_evangellous

Guest
TheTruthWillSetUFree said:
I think it has probably already been revealed to most of us that self is the greatest enemy we face. Once we have settled it with that old man of the flesh who seeks to rule over us, all the other victories will come in their course.What are your thoughts?
Click to expand...

As with the vast majority of this poster's posts, the OP is stolen from Joe Crews' book "The Surrender of Self" widely available online.

To prove the plaigarism, I quote from http://www.nisbett.com/library/ir-surrender_of_self.html

I think it has probably already been revealed to most of us that self is the greatest enemy we face. Once we have settled it with that old man of the flesh who seeks to rule over us, all the other victories will come in their course.
 
Buttercup

Buttercup

Veteran Member
AE....why don't you settle this in PM's. I see your continual hostile actions against this person as very rude. Tell the mods in private if you think this person needs correcting. You have stated your grievances in public enough already. IF plagiarism bothers you so badly,....whine to the mods.
 
A

angellous_evangellous

Guest
TheTruthWillSetUFree said:
Every time you see an unhappy Christian you are looking at someone who has not surrendered self to the cross of Christ. That inward life of the flesh, that self-nature, has been allowed to survive; and there can be no peace in a divided loyalty. Those who have not submitted to be crucified with Christ still carry their religion like a heavy burden.We have to admit that we fight an enemy who is stronger than we are.Our Spiritual enemy,who does not want us to do God's will.Thats why we must pray every day,asking the Holy Spirit for strength to fullfill God's will not ours.
Click to expand...

The first part of the quote is stolen from the same source as above http://www.nisbett.com/library/ir-surrender_of_self.html:

"Every time you see an unhappy Christian you are looking at someone who has not surrendered self to the cross of Christ. That inward life of the flesh, that self-nature, has been allowed to survive, and there can be no peace in a divided loyalty. Those who have not submitted to be crucified with Christ still carry their religion like a heavy burden."

I suspect that the second half is slightly edited from the same source, with halves of sentences haphasardly meshed together.
 
A

angellous_evangellous

Guest
Buttercup said:
AE....why don't you settle this in PM's. I see your continual hostile actions against this person as very rude. Tell the mods in private if you think this person needs correcting. You have stated your grievances in public enough already. IF plagiarism bothers you so badly,....whine to the mods.
Click to expand...

The post is public. The lies and stealing is public, and people are interacting with this imposter as if he were writing it himself.

BTW, I'm not the only one who has caught this thief.
 
FFH

FFH

Veteran Member
Mosiah 3: 19 (passage from the Book of Mormon)

For the natural man is an enemy to God, and has been from the fall of Adam, and will be, forever and ever, unless he yields to the enticings of the Holy Spirit, and putteth off the natural man and becometh a saint through the atonement of Christ the Lord, and becometh as a child, submissive, meek, humble, patient, full of love, willing to submit to all things which the Lord seeth fit to inflict upon him, even as a child doth submit to his father.
 
Scarlett Wampus

Scarlett Wampus

psychonaut
FFH said:
Mosiah 3: 19 (passage from the Book of Mormon)

For the natural man is an enemy to God, and has been from the fall of Adam, and will be, forever and ever, unless he yields to the enticings of the Holy Spirit, and putteth off the natural man and becometh a saint through the atonement of Christ the Lord, and becometh as a child, submissive, meek, humble, patient, full of love,willing to submit to all things which the Lord seeth fit to inflict upon him, even as a child doth submit to his father.
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Viewed in a certain light I agree with all this, but I have to wonder whether you would agree with my understanding. For one thing I think it takes a considerable amount of experience and maturity to get to the point where "submission to God" is realised as a possibility.
 
Buttercup

Buttercup

Veteran Member
Scarlett Wampus said:
Viewed in a certain light I agree with all this, but I have to wonder whether you would agree with my understanding. For one thing I think it takes a considerable amount of experience and maturity to get to the point where "submission to God" is realised as a possibility.
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I agree with you SW! :D
 
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