Results 561 - 580 of 645
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Results from: Notes Author: JCrichton Ordered by Verse |
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Results | Verse | Author | ID# | |||
561 | Bible Observation How to's | 2 Tim 2:15 | JCrichton | 105831 | ||
EdB, Many times we seek theological answers using a scientist perspective (010101...); if something is not readily crunchable or digestible we resort to the old "prove it!" method. There are many things in the Bible that are confusing. And many things that are not readily written. Some believers have a problem with the Bible's lack of clear and definitive titles, names and quotations. One particular group would say as you say that the idea of a Trinity or Three Persons in God is extensional to the Bible since not once is there a single notation of the word trinity or of God deliberating through the prophets that He is God in three Persons. When we search the Bible for the Truth we cannot just read a single passage such as the one where Jesus says that "...no one knows, not even the Son of Man, only the Father..." and seek to find understanding on this simple passage alone. Were it so, then the logical reasoning would be that Jesus is not God since God is Omniscient. We must ask why did Jesus say this? But to crealy understand we must also ask who is jesus? What is His purpose? Clearly it is not to reveal the completeness of the Truth--John the Baptist called him the Lamb of God! Then the questions begs... What is the Lamb's purpose?, to reveal the complete Truth? Further, we must listen to Jesus other statments: "the Father and I are one," "I AM," "I give my life freely and I have the power to recover it again," "I came so that all may have life, and have it abumdantly," "you believe in the Father, believe also in me," "I am the alpha and the omega..." So Ed, it is true that there is no direct Biblical text that states that Salem is Jerusalem. But we must read all of the Bible and compare the various text: Who is the Great King, the High Priest, the Great City, what was God's promise to David, what city would be forever the city of joy, of God's kingdom? Then there's the fact that Melchizedek does represent God as High Priest, that the lineage of priesthood belonging to Aaron is not that of Melchizedek and Jesus, that this High Priest is also a king, that there are two lines of authority that were never merged in Israel (the King and the High Priest), that consequently only Jesus and Melchizedek share these distinctive titles, that Abraham--moved by the Holy Spirit no dubt, offered to Melchizedek the tenth of all his plunder, and finally that that which took place happened hundreds of years before the priesthood and kingdom was brought to the people of Israel. Again, there are many truths not set in clear and precise text. But the Bible is God's tool and the Holy Spirit, who is God, guides us to understanding. We must not seek the Truth as the Jews, Greeks and the Gentiles--one time Jesus told them that there would be no other sign given to them then that of Jonah! Here's a little query: Malachi 3:1 vs. Matthew 11:10, why is there a change of expression. Why does Jesus not quote the passage word per word? Maran atha! |
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562 | Bible Observation How to's | 2 Tim 2:15 | JCrichton | 105833 | ||
EdB, It is true that we may be corrupted by Biblical notes and extra-Biblical texts. But Paul asked us to search everything and to keep what is good. Jesus promised us that the Holy Spirit (Paraclete) would be our helper, that He would teach and guide us. Jude tells us (20-23) that we must keep building ourselves in the sacred faith, praying in the power of the Holy Spirit, waiting patiently in our Lord's mercy, and that we must both have mercy on those about us and have mercy and fear when dealing with those who would distort the Truth (by word or deed). Don't trust in man, trust that the Holy Spirit will guide you every single time. I believe that pride and egocentrism is our deadliest foe which Satan uses quite efficiently against our desire to be saved. Maran atha! |
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563 | Bible Observation How to's | 2 Tim 2:15 | JCrichton | 106342 | ||
EdB, Hi! Though it is true that many Biblical prophecies are composed of several parts (some being fulfilled in the immidiate time line while others in the distant future), I also saw a play on the words by Jesus: a) He directs the attention to John the Baptist, and b) switches the pronoun in Malachi from "me" to "you" ("I shall send my messenger to clear the way for me."). It is just as His constant self-labeling of "the Son of man." Jesus as the Lamb of God was obidient to the end, not seeking glory onto Himself. I just wondered if anyone else saw this! God Bless! |
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564 | To Post or Not to Post? | 2 Tim 2:15 | JCrichton | 119289 | ||
Hi, Hank! Thanks for your reply! When I first joined the forum I did a general research within the past topics... but I usually stay withing the top pages when I come into the forum... I thought that there was something going on that I was not aware of... This is an excellent forum... I too share your concerns that it not be allowed to deteriorate into a soap opera! God Bless! Angel |
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565 | The Bible, Creators word or what? | 2 Tim 3:16 | JCrichton | 150629 | ||
Hi, Kate! Glad to be of service! God Bless! Angel |
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566 | was luke a christian? | Philem 1:24 | JCrichton | 148699 | ||
Hi, Doc! Excellent point! God Bless! Angel |
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567 | Protect them wheresoe'er they go | Heb 4:16 | JCrichton | 107291 | ||
Excellent prayer, kalos! Thanks for the reminder! God Bless! |
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568 | Will wayward christians be forgiven? | Heb 6:4 | JCrichton | 129023 | ||
"So isn't it likely that He wanted them to acknowledge their guilt and confess their sin? Interesting that they didn't do it. But isn't that the pattern of so many?" Hi, Doc! You are correct! In Isaiah 1:18-19 we find a Loving Father who seeks not to Judge or reprimand but to offer us His Love, His Grace, and His generous nurturing Providence... but as we read on, verse 20, we also find that we are expected to remain loyal to His request (confess our sins and repent from our unrighteous lifestyles, turn back to our Loving Father, and submit to His Authority!)... Eve, Adam and Cain, as many of us today, quickly produced a rational to excuse their behavior and to circumvent both the guilt and the responsibility of depending on God for forgiveness and cleansing! We have become masters at avoidance while following the example of Pharisees and Sadducees who promoted their self-righteousness while augmenting any fault/error that they perceived (projected) on others... ...we disregard Jesus' command not to judge others and to look into our own faults before attempting to correct/educate others... we even become oblivious to the prayer Jesus taught His disciples which include both a direct command to forgive others and a direct command to ask God for forgiveness... Basically it is Pride, the ancient motivator, that creeps into us and slowly erodes away our dependency on God... Pride, when nurtured, boosts our egos and convinces many that God has automatically forgiven us all our trespasses and that we do not have to answer to Him for our "choices"--thusly, avoiding the pain of guilt, the shame of repentence, and the humiliation of recognizing that we are not autonomous but that we are eternally dependent on Christ! God Bless! Angel |
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569 | Reincarnation, scripturally founded? | Heb 9:27 | JCrichton | 150803 | ||
Hi, NYP! Scripture does not tells us that Elijah died... he was taken onto heaven as his servant Elisa watched... Moses and Elijah appeared with Jesus, again there's no mention of Elijah's death... Reincarnation is a premise of a soul/spirit jumping into another person's body, at birth or a metamorphosis into a different existence (man to animal or plan or thing) due to a spiritual growth or punishment... in either case it is divorced from Christ's Incarnation and Resurrection which promises that we will be risen in our existing condition (man as man, woman as woman) into a glorify existence (spiritual being)... Elijah, as Enoch, was taken into Heaven... what happened then?... it has not been clearly revealed, but we know from Jesus' Transfiguration (Matthew 17:3-6) and His post resurrection appearances that our bodies will be changed into a spiritual being--not a thing or animal or sharing another person's body... Now, are Elijah and John the Baptist one and the same persons... only God knows... He does have the power to have placed him into the womb of Elizabeth: And do not think you can say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our father.' I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham. (Matthew 3:9) 1 The hand of the LORD was upon me, and he brought me out by the Spirit of the LORD and set me in the middle of a valley; it was full of bones. 2 He led me back and forth among them, and I saw a great many bones on the floor of the valley, bones that were very dry. 3 He asked me, "Son of man, can these bones live?" I said, "O Sovereign LORD, you alone know." 4 Then he said to me, "Prophesy to these bones and say to them, 'Dry bones, hear the word of the LORD! 5 This is what the Sovereign LORD says to these bones: I will make breath enter you, and you will come to life. 6 I will attach tendons to you and make flesh come upon you and cover you with skin; I will put breath in you, and you will come to life. Then you will know that I am the LORD.' " 7 So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I was prophesying, there was a noise, a rattling sound, and the bones came together, bone to bone. 8 I looked, and tendons and flesh appeared on them and skin covered them, but there was no breath in them. 9 Then he said to me, "Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to it, 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe into these slain, that they may live.' " 10 So I prophesied as he commanded me, and breath entered them; they came to life and stood up on their feet—a vast army. (Ezekiel 37:1-10) God Bless! Angel |
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570 | Reincarnation, scripturally founded? | Heb 9:27 | JCrichton | 150893 | ||
Glad to have helped! Thank you for the encouragement! God Bless! Angel |
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571 | for by grace you have been saved through | Heb 10:26 | JCrichton | 136217 | ||
Hi, PCDarcan! Excellent reply! God Bless! Angel |
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572 | Just what is the purpose of baptism? | Heb 11:7 | JCrichton | 129944 | ||
"Please believe me, and this is meant for everyone's reading. I'm NOT trying to say that baptism is a work or part of a system of earning something, least of all our Salvation." Hi, Rowdy! I understood you clearly... this is why I took the liberty in expanding on your thoughts... many times Christians end up on different sides of the table because of simple misunderstandings... We know that Christ alone is Salvation, but baptism does not take away from this; rather, baptism is commanded by Him as a public demonstration of our acceptance of God's Authority as we humbly submit to His Command to become one of His people... It is simple to say: "I believe in my heart!" But words can be as empty as a vacuum when not translated into live practice! In baptism we submit to the Father as Christ, through example, taught us to do! God Bless! Angel |
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573 | Do you control your thoughts? | James 1:14 | JCrichton | 140883 | ||
Hi, lionheart! Thanks for your words of encouragement! It is such a simple thing... yet it seems that we would do anything and everything to stimulate animosity or to flaunt our "wisdom," rather than to seek to serve Christ in humility and love! My constant prayer is that we (Christianity and the world at large) submit our wills to Christ's! God Bless! Angel |
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574 | Do you control your thoughts? | James 1:14 | JCrichton | 141140 | ||
Hi, lionheart! It happens... sometimes I am kickout numerous times (fire walls and servers do not get along well sometimes!)... be assured that you are include in my prayers! God bless! Angel |
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575 | The little words | James 3:9 | JCrichton | 136816 | ||
Hi, Lissa! In Matthew 12:34 Jesus is speaking of matters of the heart or the deposit of our intellect and spiritual beings... even simple language as "whatever" can have a negative connotation if the heart is ill or thirsty for vengeance or wickedness... we are witness to this duality of language both at home (people, radio, tv, movies...) and elsewhere (office, school, streets...); even children are becoming more and more calloused as they imitate the adults in their lives or their "heroes/idols..." I remember when, years back, I used to relish insulting people with a smile on my face... I was so cunning and subtle that the object of my assault did not even realize it; at times it took a few secods or a third party to clarify that I had meant what I said as an insult (of couse most of the times it was done in jest; but people could never be sure when I was "just kidding"). I loved that sense of "superiority" that "crushing" peoples spirit afforded me... I was much like a stand-up comic... looking for ways to pull the rug from under those around me... Words are so seemingly neutral... yet, we can, and have, learn to twist and bend them just the right way to cause as much or more damage and pain than sticks and stones! This is precisely why there are admonishions in Scripture about the words that we use... I love James 3:9 so much because it liberated me from the negative power of words--OK James uses tongue, instead; just think, if a smile can brighten someone's life... how much more can a pleasant, supportive, and hopeful word/s do? Negative and hurtful words can cause irreparable damage and deep-rooted pain. The worst part is that once released we can never take back the harm we cause with these negavite words--many relationships fail due to the practice of one or both parties engaging in the battle of words. This is why it is so important for Christians to measure themselves and to check their anger at the beginning of any interchange with others, specially with God! (James 1:19-20)... This said, I must counsel you that though we cannot judge another person's deposit of the heart, people, through self-disclosure, reveal to us the treasures that they have stored in their hearts (Jesus words, though not ad verbum)... We are highly intelligent beings... when speaking to others, even over the telephone, we can tell when the other person is distracted, eating, attempting to carry on a conversation with others at his/her end--no matter how subtle the exchange is--, we can tell if the person is happy, sad, tormented with worry, smiling, sympathetic, apathetic... the more intimate the relationship, the more the mind is able to read from the voice, the words, the entonations, the pauses... You are in a position of knowing your ex's habits, body language, and capacity to control or demoralize other people... Culturally "whatever" has become the quintessential word of completeness (encompassing all spectrums: good, bad and ugly--work with me... sometimes I run into old movies or songs in my analogies!)... too often, when people fail to have facts supporting their arguments they resort to use "whatever" as a shield to reject the opposite argument/s... this allows them to safe face by not admitting that their position is wrong! You may not be able to distinguish between animosity or sauciness when speaking with a stranger... but you are able to read your ex in light of your past personal relationship with him... without passing unjust judgment, you can distinguish between a charged or sassy "whatever" or whatever other expressions he may use! Remember to weigh in all of the conversation... if you simply dissect one word out of the total you may elevate it to a value beyond its original intent... the tone of the conversation is also important to gauge the meaning of words... is he being disrespectful, loud, angry, accusatory, defensive, unduly agressive or argumentative...? Lastly, define the status of your relationship... where is it, where is it heading, are there ulterior motives behind the dialy communications, is there a future (or hope for) reconciliation? As a Christian you are obliged to keep the peace and to behave with more justice than the world... but never are you obligated to suffer the world to the extent of sacrificing Christ's Doctrine... Love does not exact selfish deeds... make him aware, if you have not done so yet, of how much he is hurting you; and set clear boundaries on your relationship with him! If after all the prayers, and patient requests your ex cannot curb the behavior which causes you to lose your peace (and eventually your grace), you must consider distancing yourself from him... God Bless! Angel |
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576 | Spiritual dilemma | James 5:9 | JCrichton | 133204 | ||
Hi, Janae! (This is out of topic... do you know if your name has any French roots?... I am curious because that is a name from my early childhood (Jean-Janae to be precise... I don't know where they got it but it was one of my pseudonyms!) I am glad that you were assisted on the forum... I understand your worries ("He did not treat God with respect and his words were demeaning to God.")... for some reason some "Christians" think that they have such an intimate relationship with God that they can say/demand anything and that, through their special relationship, God's OK with it... Since I do not know the exact contenct of his words I can only caution you to stay alert! It is one thing for friends/relatives to use familiar tones with each other but it is waaaay disrespectful for us to address/speak of God in such terms... I mean, just listen to Scripture in reference to Satan: Nevertheless, these people are doing the same: in their delusions they not only defile their bodies and disregard Authority, but abuse the Glories as well. Not even the archangel Michael, when he was engaged in argument with the devil about the corpse of Moses, dared to denounce him in the language of abuse; all he said was, 'May the Lord rebuke you.' (Jude 1:8-9) So if the archangel Michael had such respect for Satan, we, who are not yet what we will become, how much more respect should we have for God? Now, difficult as it may be, you can still love someone while seeking to bring him/her to full fellowship with God--lovingly teaching him/her about the error/s being committed... it may take the effort of several members working and praying together for that particular cause... it may take extensive prayer sessions... but with your love you can rescue your brother in Christ (not you yourself but God through your intercession)! God Bless! Angel |
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577 | Spiritual dilemma | James 5:9 | JCrichton | 133260 | ||
Hi, Janae! I did not mean to infer that you were going off topic--I meant that I was side-stepping the thread in order to query you about your name... From the Scriptural passages you cited I can see that the Holy Spirit has enabled you to understand that through Love Jesus can conquer your friend's errors... Many times Satan uses or pride to blind us to the Truth (Christ) and he uses our errors to blind the brethren that could assist us in returning to the Fold... yet when we obey God, Scripture convicts us of the Truth and allow us to bring the lost sheep back: Finally, all of you, live in harmony with one another; be sympathetic, love as brothers, be compassionate and humble. Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult, but with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing. (1 Peter 3:8-9) Our love for God must burn in our hearts as well as our compasion for those who fail Him: it is God's love, through us that can rescue humanity! God Bless! Angel |
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578 | Why can we not just be Christians? | 1 Pet 1:2 | JCrichton | 151584 | ||
Hi, Doc! Check out Romans 1:29 and 2 Peter 2:13! God Bless! Angel |
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579 | Why can we not just be Christians? | 1 Pet 1:2 | JCrichton | 151650 | ||
Hi, Doc! I understand what you are saying and I do not suggest that Scripture say otherwise... but there are sins that actually build up (as addictive drugs)if allowed to fester (anger, envy, lust, greed...); there's hardly any moderation once a person engages them... I agree with you fully a transgression does not have to be extensive nor repetitious: sin is sin! God Bless! Angel |
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580 | Why can we not just be Christians? | 1 Pet 1:2 | JCrichton | 151656 | ||
Hi, Ray! I agree with you fully! I think that this is part of Scripture which people tend to omit when searching for answers... it is not just what sin is and what sin does that matters... we cannot, on our own, correct every single impulse that compels us to transgress against God... it is through His Grace that we are made alive... it is through humble obedience that we can submit our will to His! Just take a look at 2 Corinthians 5:20: ""Therefore, we are ambassadors for (Christ)..."" if we were to abide by it, we would not have any need to worry about sin... we would be compelled to abide in humble obedience acquiescing to God's Will instead of defying it! (Hebrews 10:26-39) God Bless! Angel |
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