As Your Soul Prospers

By Colin P. Norris

As Your Soul Prospers could be divided into four main sections: Chapters 1-4) Description and Explanation of Body, Soul and Spirit (The Human "Trinity"), and how understanding this relates to overcoming personal difficulties; 5-6) Pillars of Truth and how they are constructed and replaced; 7) Eight Steps to Overcoming Personal Difficulties; and 8-14) God’s Truths about issues related to various personal difficulties.
Many Christians become frustrated at trying to overcome difficulties in their lives. This book explains why they keep failing at doing the good they want to do, and repeat doing the things they don't want to do. It then explains how God designed the process of change (sanctification) to work, how false truths in the Church contribute to the difficulties, and provides three essential pillars of truth that support the process: 1) God wants to help you overcome, and has equipped you to do so; 2) God never promised you a trouble-free life; and 3) God gave us a community to help us.
Once the reader has understanding of the interaction between the Body, Soul and Spirit, and the way the Soul reprograms the character of the person to align with the new Christian nature, they are ready to take the 8 Steps to overcoming the things they struggle with. This includes Relationship Problems, Sexual Problems, Psychological Problems, Chemical Addition Problems, Physical Problems and Financial Problems.
The 8 Steps are: 1) Ensure you are born again; 2) Identify ongoing sin, confess it, and turn back to God; 3) Take full responsibility for your actions and choices; 4) Identify the real problem; 5) Go back to when the problem began; 6) Find out what God says about the problem; 7) Get support from trustworthy leaders; 8) Wait actively and expectantly.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Colin P. Norris
• Release date: Mar 14, 2022
• ISBN: 9780975716892

Colin P. Norris

Born in England in 1959. Born again in Tasmania Australia in 1986 because a demon appeared in his flat.But having been raised a nominal Christian, Colin was not quick to accept the Christian narrative he had been given even though it did resolve the problem with the evil spirit. So he went on a journey to question and test everything he was hearing and reading about Christianity. This lead him to Bible College where he continued to question. When he was told by the teachers to not ask questions in class any longer, he spent all his spare time in the College library looking there for the answers the teachers were not able to supply.After 5 years of questioning, Colin one day realised he no longer doubted that the Bible was inspired by God, and that everything He says in it is true. That didn't stop Colin asking questions, but at least he found one source in the world he could trust - against which he would continue to test all claimed "truths" including the myriad of Christian denominational and ideological truths.Now having spent most of his life as a Christian he has found a great many answers, but is still testing. Much of the result of this can be found in the abundance of articles Colin has written based on his Bible studies, written to help clarify and galvanised his understanding, but also to be available to other Christians who are having the questions he had.Four of his studies have resulted in books.* Before You Stop Believing (2005) - A look at 9 areas of church doctrines that cause confusion and damage to most Christians - Faith; Sin & Righteousness; Salvation; Church; Prayer & Fasting; Blessings & Curses; Money, Giving & Tithing; The Devil, Demons & Christians; Holy God & Holy People. (Updated in 2022 and published as an eBook.)* As Your Soul Prospers (2018) - 8 Steps for Christians to Overcome Personal Difficulties, starting with helping them understand the Body, Soul, and Spirit, and the way people become who they are and then change after becoming a Christian.* After Pentecost (2021) - The role, purpose and gifts of the Holy Spirit in the Church, as revealed through the New Testament. (Particularly looks at most of the passages in the New Testament mentioning the Holy Spirit, and delves into the different views about those scriptures to reveal the most likely truths.)* Intentional Marriage Workshop (2022) - A DIY Marriage Workshop to help Christian couples identify and achieve their ideal marriage. (Based on the many lessons Colin and his wife Diane learned by the things the suffered, which brought them to a blessed and God glorifying marriage they didn't know was possible.)* Believe & Deceive (2022) - An extensive Bible study of the scriptures used by Word of Faith, which when read in context and compared to the rest of Scripture, clearly reveals that the Word of Faith is based on False Teaching! Areas covered are the "Little Gods" doctrine, the Faith Power doctrine, the false gospels of WoF, what the Bible actually says about "Abundant Life", and the believe it and claim it doctrine of perfect health by "Jesus' Stripes". A Bonus Section of the book looks at every passage in the Bible on tithing, then takes a close look at the give-to-get tithing message promoted in many churches to show that it is dishonest.Now at the far side of 60, Colin is even more eagerly studying the word, asking questions, and testing truths, because he knows his time is short - three score and ten, eighty if by strength. He hopes to leave a legacy of resources for his children and grandchildren so they have answers at their fingertips when he is no longer around to help with answers and encouragement - which he never had access to growing up.

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As Your Soul Prospers

[eBook]

By Colin P. Norris

Published by Colin P. Norris

[Smashwords Edition]

Copyright 2018 Colin Peter Norris

Smashwords Edition, License Notes

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only, therefore it may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient.

If you are reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to your favorite ebook retailer and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

Cover Design: Frog Print WA (frogprint.com.au)

~~~~~~~

Unless otherwise noted, all scriptures are quoted from the King James 2000 Bible (KJ2K), Editor: Dr Robert A. Couric, ThD (1929-2011)

Copyright 2011 Thelma Couric Keesling.

Dedication

This book is dedicated to all whom God has given me to travel with and encounter on this pilgrimage: those who loved me when I was hardest to love; those who refreshed me when I was struggling the most; those who invited me into their home and family when I was alone in the world; those who have toiled in prayer for me; my children Joseph and Samantha by whom I am privileged to be called Dad; and of course Diane my wife who persevered with me through the hard times, who has never ceased encouraging me to seek the truths of God, and who is to me the embodiment of the grace of God which I am truly blessed to experience every day. You have all been angels to me – messengers of God.

Table of Contents

1. Introduction

Pillars of Truth

Ultimate Truths

2. The Human Trinity

Body

Soul

Mind and Will

Conscience

Personality

Feelings and Emotions

Being Offended

Soul in the Old Testament

Soul in the New Testament

Spirit

The Prevailing Wind

The Influence of the Holy Spirit

Summary – Body, Soul & Spirit

3. Comparing the Two Natures

Love and the Spirit Nature

Self-Control and the Spirit Nature

The Word of God and the Spirit Nature

The Two Natures in Church

False Christians and the Grace of God

4. Helping New Christians through the Transition

Water Baptism

Baptism in the Holy Spirit

Obstacles faced by new Christians

False Truths in the Church

Evolution

Do Not Judge

5. The First Three Essential Pillars of Truth for Overcoming Difficulties

God wants to help you overcome, and has equipped you to do so

God never promised you a trouble-free life

God gave us a community to help us

6. Replacing False Truth Labels

7. Eight Steps to Overcoming Personal Difficulties

Step One – Ensure you are born again

Step Two – Identify any ongoing sin, confess it, and turn back to God

Unforgiveness

Evil Speaking

Hypocrisy

Pride

Step Three – Take full responsibility for your actions and choices

Step Four – Identify the real problem

Step Five – Go back to when the problem began

Diet

Negativity

Step Six – Find out what God says about the problem

Step Seven – Get support from trustworthy leaders

Step Eight – Wait actively and expectantly

8. The Word of God Overcomes Difficulties

9. Relationship Problems

Sex and Marriage

Lying

Anger

10. Sexual Problems

Pornography

Homosexuality

Gender Confusion

11. Psychological Problems

Depression

Anxiety

12. Chemical Addiction Problems

13. Physical Problems

14. Financial Problems

15. Why Should You Believe Me?

Bibliography

Preface

It is not the purpose of this book to entertain you but to help you understand the cause of a great many personal difficulties, and to provide you with tools to help you overcome them to live a victorious life in Christ. You will encounter in this book a number of unfamiliar concepts supported by a great many scriptures. It is therefore highly recommended that you read it slowly and thoughtfully with your Bible alongside for reference and checking, and that you highlight passages that are significant to you, and make your own notes where relevant. It is hoped that this book will become a cherished and dog-eared reference tool.

Nevertheless, as with all Bible studies and Christian doctrines, you should test what I say and decide for yourself whether it is true and whether you should align to it. Be as the Bereans when the heard Paul teaching, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so. (Acts 17:10-11)

The chapters could be divided into four main sections: 1-4) Description and Explanation of Body, Soul and Spirit, and how understanding this relates to overcoming personal difficulties; 5-6) Pillars of Truth and how they are constructed and replaced; 7) Eight Steps to Overcoming Personal Difficulties; and 8-14) God’s Truths about issues related to various personal difficulties.

To help you understand the true intent of the original scriptures, this book regularly makes reference to the Hebrew and Greek words used in the source manuscripts. The meaning of these words, in the context they appear, is based on the work of highly qualified and regarded scholars of classic Hebrew and New Testament Greek accessed through renowned resources including Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance, Vines Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words, NAS Exhaustive Concordance, HELPS Word-studies, Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew and English Lexicon, as well as exegetical commentaries of the original languages including Vincent’s Word Studies, Meyer’s NT Commentary, Bengel’s Gnomon of the New Testament, Pulpit Commentary, and Keil and Delitzsch OT Commentary. (A more extensive bibliography of the reference materials and resources used to research this book can be found at the end.)

The last chapter of this book, Why Should You Believe Me?, is a brief description of some of my thirty plus years as a Christian and how I came to learn and apply the truths in this book. Reading it first might help you better understand some of the content of the book and my motivation in writing it for you.

Introduction

If anyone ever told you, The world does not revolve around you, they were wrong. The truth is, every person is the centre of their own world. The world we each experience exists only to the degree that our senses encounter it. Therefore, whatever we believe to be true IS the truth, and if it is the truth, it must be right for us to take actions based on our own truth, regardless of anyone else’s view of what is true and right.

The way people interpret what their senses encounter of the world is predominantly according to their own individual set of truths – their worldview. Whenever we don’t like what someone is saying or doing, the chances are high that it is something contrary to our worldview – our personal set of truths by which we determine what is right. In this sense, we are each our own god – the god of our own world which revolves around us.

Drivers who speed do so because they deeply believe it is their right – regardless of what the law says is safe. It is also why when they are caught and fined, they claim to be victims of an unjust law. Likewise, people who park illegally in disabled zones hold to a truth which says they are within their right to do so – especially if it is raining, or they don’t expect to be very long.

People who have violent tempers believe it is right for them to be violent against someone who goes against their wishes. People who steal believe their truth which says it’s okay for them to take what they didn’t pay for. People who are cruel to animals believe it is right for them to do so. Vandals and arsonists cause damage to property in response to their personal truths. Liars lie according to their personally held truths, adulterers betray their spouses according to their personally held truths, rapists violate their victims according to their personally held truths, and paedophiles break the law in accordance with their personally held truths.

It’s also because of personally held truths that people are offended, rude, lazy, fearful, cowardly, and so on. Everything done by people is because they hold to a truth which tells them it’s ultimately right for them to do so.

Even if a person is unable to identify and articulate many of their truths, it doesn’t mean they do not hold them. In fact, as we shall see, many of our problems persist or repeat because we don’t identify or openly admit to our underlying beliefs about what is true and right for us.

Even if being in a particular relationship causes a person hardship or pain, they may remain in it because their truth is that the benefits outweigh the costs. Their truth might be that some pain is worth the benefits they believe they get from the relationship, or that the suffering is not as bad as they believe it would be if they left the relationship.

We are each the expression of everything we hold to be true for us. If what we hold as truth leads to our actions, and if our actions cause us hardships and difficulties, such sufferings must, therefore, be the result of the truths we hold. This applies to many relationship problems, physical health problems, mental health problems, and even financial problems.

Often, in seeking relief from their problems, people spend thousands of dollars and years of their time in counselling and courses and on products and pharmaceuticals, yet they experience limited success in overcoming them. The most likely reason these people are not able to overcome their problems is that they are not addressing the foundational truths underpinning them. For people to change their lives, they must first be willing to accept that the root of their problems might lie in themselves. Second, they must be willing to evaluate their personal truths in the light of more compelling truths. And third, they must actively replace their false truths with more beneficial and reliable ones.

Pillars of Truth

Personally held truths act like support pillars upon which we build who we are. The more strongly held a truth is, the more of who we are is connected to it, and the more difficult it is for us to change it.

When a strongly held belief is confronted with reality or a stronger truth, the support pillar and all that is connected to it is shaken. The more strongly held the belief, the more damage is caused by the shaking, and the more desperate are the attempts of the person to shore up the crumbling truth. For example, a woman who had an abortion, when confronted with the truth that she murdered her baby may bring up the false arguments used by pro-abortionists such as it was not a human or that it was not alive yet. Then, when confronted with undeniable proof that the baby in the womb is fully human and fully an individual, may use more pro-abortionist propaganda such as it’s not fair to bring a child into this evil or overpopulated world, or that if born the baby would have suffered because it would have been in poverty or be unloved. As each excuse is refuted with facts and logic, she may use anger to stop the questioning. She may also break off relationships to avoid hearing what shakes her preferred truth. But she knows the real truth, and hates that it contradicts her own truth, so she suppresses the truth – maybe through drugs or activism in pro-abortion groups.

The longer this conflict with reality goes unresolved, the more damage is done by the shaking. The source of many physical and mental illnesses might be traced to such ongoing conflict. Until a person is prepared to accept another truth, they cannot and will not let go of their false truth – even if it is doing them harm.

Before anyone will accept a new truth, they need a sufficient amount of information to test and prove. Until then, they will keep to what they already live by – no matter how shaky it is, or how much difficulty it causes them.

To find reliable truths to replace shaken ones, many people have looked to philosophy, psychiatry, or religion. And, indeed, there are many instances of people finding new truths in these areas that provide relief from suffering – at least for a time – until they too are found to be false. So what is the long-term solution? It is to find a source of ultimate truths that do not fail when shaken.

Ultimate Truths

For people to enjoy unshakable lives, they need to find a source of ultimate truths that do not fail when shaken. It is the contention of this book that the only source of unshakable truths is the God of the Bible, and that He has primarily revealed Himself and His truths through it.

Though God reveals His truths in many ways, the Bible is the most reliable source. In John 14:6, Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life." When Jesus was praying for His followers, He asked the Father to "Sanctify them through your truth: your word is truth." (John 17:17). Also, Jesus said to the Jews who believed on Him, "If you continue in my word, then are you my disciples indeed; and you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." (John 8:31-32).

Unlike any other religious text, the Bible has proven itself to be reliable historically, scientifically, philosophically, logically, and prophetically. If you notice yourself reacting defensively to that claim, it reveals an aspect of your worldview which can be shaken. Always remember that it is God’s truth which will make us free – free from all the false truths that enslave us and cause problems in our lives.

It’s interesting that the very first chapter of the book of Proverbs says, The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge (including truth): but fools despise wisdom and instruction. (Proverbs 1:7). Until people fear (are awestruck by) the almighty God who is the creator and sustainer of heaven and earth and all that is in them (including humanity), they CANNOT know the truths that will set them free from personal difficulties.

If you are going through any crisis, or struggling to overcome a habit which keeps ruining your life, or constantly being attacked by negative thinking, this book was written to help you gain the victory. The three-part goal of this book is to show you how to identify the true cause of your problems (false truth), how to confront the false truth as the lie it is, and how to replace it with unfailing truth upon which you can build a happier, healthier, and more fulfilling life.

As more of our personal truths are replaced with the ultimate truths of God, the more victorious we will be in our lives, and the more peace we will enjoy no matter what is happening around us.

To start the journey, we must first understand how the human person is designed, constructed and functions.

[Back to Contents]

2.

The Human Trinity

And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. – 1 Thessalonians 5:23.

Just as God is a Trinity – three yet one – so, somewhat, is the human person. None of the three aspects of the human is independent of the others, and all three are interconnected expressions of the one person. Your Body is you, your Soul is you, and your Spirit is you. By drawing from scripture, it is possible to explain and describe how these aspects interact to form the individual human person. And in understanding this, we can identify how the person can be helped to overcome struggles and to live successfully in community with other individual human persons.

Traditional Hebrew and Greek understanding is that people are two part beings – body and soul – an outward aspect and an inward aspect. This is one of the main reasons it is difficult to find in scripture a precise description of Body, Soul, and Spirit. Also, in the Bible soul and spirit are often used synonymously, and often the Hebrew and Greek words translated soul and spirit are translated as other words including mind, heart, liver, bowels, or the inner man. What’s more, sometimes soul refers to the person as a whole, and sometimes it refers to the life of the person in general.

Jesus said that He is the Good Shepherd who gives His life for the sheep (John 10:11). The Greek word psuche (psoo-khay) which is translated life in this verse obviously applies to life as it relates to the body, but in other passages, the same Greek word is translated soul (e.g., Matthew 12:18). In Matthew 10:28, soul and body are differentiated when we are warned: And fear not them who kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.

Also, because the meaning of the Hebrew and Greek words can change depending on the context, translators of the scriptures endeavoured to find words to best express the meaning to their targeted readers. We can see this by looking at various translations of even one verse, John 7:38. He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. (KJV); Anyone who believes in me may come and drink! For the Scriptures declare, "Rivers of living water will flow from his heart." (NLT); Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them. (NIV); and He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, "From his innermost being shall flow rivers of living water." (NAS).

The Greek word koilia (koy-lee-ah) translated belly etc. in John 7:38 can refer to belly, abdomen, heart, womb or any other major organ.

Another example is in Matthew 9:36 and 14:14 where it says that Jesus was moved with compassion for the crowd. The Greek word translated moved with compassion is splagchnizomai (splangkh-nid-zom-ahee) which comes from splanxna meaning the inward parts, especially the more noble organs such as the heart, lungs, liver, and kidneys. In context, here the inward parts obviously means that Jesus was moved with strong, deep, emotion.

In Matthew 15:19-20 Jesus said, "For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies. These are the things which defile a man..." The Greek word translated here as heart is kardia (kar-dee-ah) which appears over 800 times in the