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To: boatbums; Dr. Eckleburg; Mr Rogers; blue-duncan; Forest Keeper; xzins
The missing piece may be that there is something that occurs in between enmity with God and that moment a person opens his heart to truth. God says he is a rewarder of those that diligently seek him.

From a personal point of view I would like you to think about this before you respond and tell me, before you came to Christ, did you seek God, or did God first seek you?

For me, I was dragged kicking and screaming to the Cross of Christ. Hence the words from the song by Third Day ring true for me:

Who is this King of Glory 
That pursues me with his love
And haunts me with each hearing 
Of His softly spoken words
My conscience, a reminder
Of forgiveness that I need
Who is this King of Glory 
Who offers it to me

As I look back on my salvation experience, I can say with assurance that I was not seeking after God, but He was pursuing me and eventually dragged me kicking and screaming to the cross. Left to my own "choices" I would never have chosen Christ. Does that mean I am a Calvinist? No, it does not. Does that mean I understand the Calvinist concept? You bet it does. I am a product of exactly what they preach; a God who pursues men and who soverignly violates their free will at every turn until they come face to face with God's "irresistible grace".

I don't know why God would pursue me with his Love, but He did. Although I accept that ultimately my "free will choice" was to "Choose Christ", it was not until my own free will had been sufficiently destroyed by God's intervention that I was made capable of making that choice. At that point it was irresistible. I was in a corner from which the only exit was through the cross of Christ. God put me in that corner.

835 posted on 03/10/2010 4:50:06 PM PST by P-Marlowe (LPFOKETT GAHCOEEP-w/o*)
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To: P-Marlowe
From a personal point of view I would like you to think about this before you respond and tell me, before you came to Christ, did you seek God, or did God first seek you?

I know that each person's experiences are different. I was most definitely NOT dragged "kicking and screaming" to the Lord. I was baptised as a Catholic, first communion, catechism, confirmation, Catholic school for several years...the whole shebang. But even as a little kid, something inside me "knew" I was not hearing the whole shebang. I knew there was something else to God than what I was being told. I asked God to show me the truth, whatever truth was. Certain things happened in my life soon after and I heard the gospel for the first time. John 10:27-30 to be exact. The light went on and I recognized it was the truth because it came from God's own written word.

So to answer your question, did God seek me? Yes. Did I seek God? Yes. Did he reward my search for the truth with the truth? Absolutely, yes! I think your real question may be, did God place within my heart the desire to know him in the first place regardless of my upbringing? And again, I will say yes. I also believe he does the same for all mankind, but we make a decision when we hear the gospel. Some will reject it due to any number of reasons and some will accept it joyfully or, in your case, because you had no other choice but to accept it, you surrendered to him. Either way, he is glorified! Praise the Lord!!!

836 posted on 03/10/2010 7:01:26 PM PST by boatbums (God is ready to assume full responsibility for the life wholly yielded to him.)
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