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Results from: Answers On or After: Thu 12/31/70 Author: Maus Ordered by Date |
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Results | Verse | Author | ID# | |||
1 | WHATSOEVER YOU ASK THE FATHER | Bible general | Maus | 240156 | ||
SAQ: Allow me to add to what Jalek said ... God's main concern for us is that we grow in the Spirit, and that the fruits of the spirit reflect in our lives. So, we are not encouraged to ask for things out of selfish motives. But further, we often ask for things which, at face value, are not selfish, and seemingly in accordance with God's will. There, we run into spiritual warfare, resistance from the principalities and powers of this world. Spiritual warfare is only sort of taught in today's churches. Jesus constantly tried to teach the disciples about it, but they took a really long time to catch on. "Some things come only by fasting and prayer" in the Spirit. In the military of many countries, you have the ordinary conscripts, who perform the most common tasks; firing mortars, setting mines, hunkering down in fox-holes, and etc. Then you have "Special Forces", "Green Berets", "Spetznatz", "LURPS", and all of the other small, specialized, comprehensively trained troops. I suspect that our churches have become complacient, and have lost the vision of "Special Forces", those amongst us who are adapt, fully trained in spiritual warfare. Of course, it is God who calls us to that task, but perhaps there are not very many who percieve the need? Being too few who "volunteer" for that especially dangerous, demanding task? To each the gifts of the spirit, and ask for the greater gifts ... would being trained by the spirit in spiritual warfare be one of those gifts that some should be asking for? You are the one who brought up the question. Could it be that God brought your attention to it, so that you might think to ask God to train and equip you for just that very task? Or at least become a spokes-person to bring it to the attention of your church members? |
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2 | HOW CAN AN AGNOSTIC FULLY BELIEVE IN GOD | Bible general | Maus | 240146 | ||
gwood: I don't know if this will be helpful to you, but I went through a time in which I had to quit an apostate church, and had to figure out just where I stood with the concept of God. My reasoning was that if there is no God, no creator, then all that we know came into being by accident. That would mean that our conception, life, and death would be nothing but an accident. To me, accidents are an unpredictable unknown to be feared, since there can't be any sense of security, hope of expectations, or moral values. On the otherhand, if there is a God, then whatever happens, good or bad, is on purpose. Of course, which "God" becomes the question, as there are many "gods" to choose from. I had learned enough about our Father in heaven, and about Jesus, to have decided that I rather like them. A creator who takes a personal interest in my life, caring if I live or die, His being reasonable enough to give me opportunity to clean up my messy life, and learn how to become a decent person, sounds to me like a God which I would enjoy being around forever. There are a lot of "hard-liners", legalists, who would have you to doubt God's compassion, and reasonableness. But there are many more who hold to the simplicity of the Gospel, to the view that Jesus truly represented how the Father really is. The Old Testament has passages which seemingly portray God as harsh, unforgiving, even cruel at times, but you must consider that perhaps the people were so stubborn, so egocentric, that to be able to save even a few, God had no choice but to be harsh to the many who were constantly rebelling against every good thing that He was trying to do for them. Belief in God is a choice, but when you choose, let it be based upon the life and teachings of Jesus, as fully representative of the Father in heaven. While God doesn't allow anyone to take Him for a fool, He really is a kind, caring God, who will always give you the benefit of the doubt. |
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3 | belief in hell? | Rev 20:15 | Maus | 240071 | ||
Rev. 20:15 - "Anyone whose name was not found written in the book of life was thrown into the lake of fire". This is probably one of the most familiar verses which hint at a fiery eternity for the wicked, however, there is much dispute as to what hell really is, and the duration of punishment actually inflicted. Hell appears as one of those subjects that lie outside our earthly understanding, as even the experts have differing view-points. I think that lay-men, such as us, should view such controversial subjects with "tongue in cheek". Our limited understanding of hell, or lack thereof, isn't critical to our salvation by faith. I prefer to let the experts annoy each other with the subject. |
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4 | time lapse between Gen 1:1 and G | Gen 1:1 | Maus | 239859 | ||
Hello Apostle: The Genesis accounts of creation are written in the form of songs, poetry, ballads ... and certainly not to be mistaken for technical thesis'. The "Old-Earth" and the "Young-Earth" factions have strewn mine-fields for the unwary. These passages have, more often than not, been wielded as weapons to demolish the opposition viewpoints. This ongoing conflict certainly does not edify new believers. View these passages as the word of Elohim, but often twisted to suit personal agendas. | ||||||