The Cellar - View Single Post

SmartAZ · 09-23-2005, 07:44 AM

I'm a christian.

According to my scriptures, some very amazing things are possible. None of them involve any sort of spells, just a command or action. Jesus stopped a storm with a command, Elisha parted a stream by swatting the water with a cloth, a possessed man picked apart his iron chains with his fingers, etc. According to my biblical training these things are done by believing, but I was never trained enough to know how to do any myself.

One example of believing happened when I was walking through a black neighborhood in Atlanta and a black man challenged my right to be there. "You only go through here if we ALLOW you!" he said. I believed I had a right to be there, and I believed he was only expressing frustration, not outrage. So I replied to him, "Thank you. I appreciate your hospitality." The fight was over, and he even complimented my good manners before we parted. Maybe you think that was not a very spiritual example. All I can say is that before my biblical training I would have been terrified, and I would have had no idea how to handle the encounter.

Still, I have seen a few examples that were amazing in spite of their relative insignificance. I once ended a cat's fit by touching it with my hand. I didn't hear any command to do that, I just felt that as a christian I should try to comfort the cat. I have seen a group command rain clouds to go away so they could listen to a concert in comfort. I have seen storms dissipate because someone rebuked them. I have seen blind people healed. Two of them.

Most of the time the law of believing involves things that are obviously possible but only if somebody knows how to perform them. In young people that is called "upbringing" and is fairly easy to demonstrate. A man who is "lucky with the girls" almost always had a close relationship with his mother, and a man who didn't have such a relationship has difficulty finding a girl friend. A man who happens to be a good salesman usually had a father with the same skill. You will know it when you meet such a man because you will have a strong desire to buy his stuff even if you don't need it. (I once met a sandpaper salesman and the only reason I didn't buy anything is that he only sold it in 1,000 lb lots!)

Here is the law of believing:
1. Whatever you want must be available.
2. You must know how to get it. (That usually involves a price, and it has to be paid.)
3. You have to know what to do with it when you get it.
4. You must have needs and wants parallel. (The mayor of NO who let his buses get flooded because he wanted nicer Greyhounds to be sent did not have his wants in line with his needs.)
5. Go get it!

Why do we so seldom see this demonstrated? For one thing, most people never think of the process as a list of principles. Some only think of the first and last items (Decide what you want, then go get it!) Some people lose out on the final step because they are afraid they don't deserve what they want, or they are afraid somebody will block their efforts, or they are afraid it won't be worth the effort it takes. Fear always blocks believing. That goes back to "upbringing" again: some people are raised to live in fear, and that's why they never have anything even though they qualify in all other respects.

There is nothing magic about believing, although the results often seem magical. Believing is a natural ability, taught to you (well or poorly) by your parents and whoever else influenced your development. Now that you are aware that there is such a thing, you can watch for your own examples and develop your own abilities.

09-23-2005, 07:44 AM	#15
SmartAZ Confounded Conjuror Join Date: Sep 2005 Posts: 33	I'm a christian. According to my scriptures, some very amazing things are possible. None of them involve any sort of spells, just a command or action. Jesus stopped a storm with a command, Elisha parted a stream by swatting the water with a cloth, a possessed man picked apart his iron chains with his fingers, etc. According to my biblical training these things are done by believing, but I was never trained enough to know how to do any myself. One example of believing happened when I was walking through a black neighborhood in Atlanta and a black man challenged my right to be there. "You only go through here if we ALLOW you!" he said. I believed I had a right to be there, and I believed he was only expressing frustration, not outrage. So I replied to him, "Thank you. I appreciate your hospitality." The fight was over, and he even complimented my good manners before we parted. Maybe you think that was not a very spiritual example. All I can say is that before my biblical training I would have been terrified, and I would have had no idea how to handle the encounter. Still, I have seen a few examples that were amazing in spite of their relative insignificance. I once ended a cat's fit by touching it with my hand. I didn't hear any command to do that, I just felt that as a christian I should try to comfort the cat. I have seen a group command rain clouds to go away so they could listen to a concert in comfort. I have seen storms dissipate because someone rebuked them. I have seen blind people healed. Two of them. Most of the time the law of believing involves things that are obviously possible but only if somebody knows how to perform them. In young people that is called "upbringing" and is fairly easy to demonstrate. A man who is "lucky with the girls" almost always had a close relationship with his mother, and a man who didn't have such a relationship has difficulty finding a girl friend. A man who happens to be a good salesman usually had a father with the same skill. You will know it when you meet such a man because you will have a strong desire to buy his stuff even if you don't need it. (I once met a sandpaper salesman and the only reason I didn't buy anything is that he only sold it in 1,000 lb lots!) Here is the law of believing: 1. Whatever you want must be available. 2. You must know how to get it. (That usually involves a price, and it has to be paid.) 3. You have to know what to do with it when you get it. 4. You must have needs and wants parallel. (The mayor of NO who let his buses get flooded because he wanted nicer Greyhounds to be sent did not have his wants in line with his needs.) 5. Go get it! Why do we so seldom see this demonstrated? For one thing, most people never think of the process as a list of principles. Some only think of the first and last items (Decide what you want, then go get it!) Some people lose out on the final step because they are afraid they don't deserve what they want, or they are afraid somebody will block their efforts, or they are afraid it won't be worth the effort it takes. Fear always blocks believing. That goes back to "upbringing" again: some people are raised to live in fear, and that's why they never have anything even though they qualify in all other respects. There is nothing magic about believing, although the results often seem magical. Believing is a natural ability, taught to you (well or poorly) by your parents and whoever else influenced your development. Now that you are aware that there is such a thing, you can watch for your own examples and develop your own abilities.