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Results from: Notes Author: itiswritten Ordered by Date |
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Results | Verse | Author | ID# | |||
1 | many are called but only few are chosen | Bible general Archive 4 | itiswritten | 213517 | ||
I am not saying that. It is the condition of the heart...not the maturity. We are all called to ministry in one form or another. No part of the body of Christ is useless. However, the closer one keeps to the vine, the better the fruit, and the better the fruit (or character development, the more effective we can minister. Now we can do nothing without Him in any case. One can be called to minister to others early on but that ministry will expand and grow (not necessarily in numbers but in blessing, power and truth) as the person grows on the vine (so to speak)and matures. If you look at the life of the apostles. They were apostles immediately. But when you observe as time went on, as they matured and became more self-controlled and the fruit of their own personal lives matured, the power of the Lord was able to flow through them more powerfully than at first, simply because in their maturity they were more yielded. Near the end of their earthly lives, people were healed by standing in their shadow or receiving pieces of cloth that they had previously touched. This was not because they had their own power, but because the Lord was able to minister more powerfully through their yielded personalities. I believe we must realize that we know little and always be pliable and willing to learn until the Lord takes us home. I also believe, as our fruit begins to come in, and our character begins to develop, we are more and more useful to His cause. I also believe that there are some who are ever learning but never comeing to the truth because they think Jesus' words are great but they do not apply them to their lives and so every time they learn anything, they quickly forget and have to start all over again (II Timothy 3:1-7). For these, their fruit develops very little or not at all. Some may be saved, but they will enter in empty-handed...others are not saved at all. Those who go in empty-handed are those who never mature by disciplining themselves and never accomplishing their call, but they still enter in (See II Corinthians 3:11-15) but alone. (I Corinthians 11:31) Yes, we are saved by faith alone. But we are saved to do certain works (Ephesians 2:9-10). I don't believe we can do effective works unless we are developing fruit or character. Now as far as we limiting God to whether or not He can choose us. Absolutely not. I don't mean that at all. Paul is a perfect example of that. But the Lord also says that if we are lukewarm he will vomit us up. Someone in that condition, for example, is in danger of eternal damnation, never mind ministry. I hope this clarifies what I am meaning here. -Itiswritten |
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2 | many are called but only few are chosen | Bible general Archive 4 | itiswritten | 213513 | ||
Dear Doc, We are not saved by merit, but we must respond, repent and receive our salvation. He doesn't just drop it on everyone whether repentant or not. However, I do believe that He gives more responsibility as we are faithful with the little He starts us with. Case in point, look at Matthew 25:14-30. I believe this shows that the first two are given more responsibility in accordance with their faithfulness with what they were first given and the third is as you say, cast out. However for the first two, one is given more responsibility than the other according to what each has done with what he did receive at first. Also, verse 29, I believe speaks of gratitude. When it says "from him that hath not, what he hath...in other words the person thinks he has not... he is ungrateful for the little he has, and so loses what little he has. This, I believe, reveals ingrattitude. According to this parable, I believe the first two are examples of the saved, the third one is cast out, as far as I understand it. I could be wrong, but this is what I believe it means- Itiswritten |
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3 | The Prettiest "New American Bible"? | Bible general Archive 4 | itiswritten | 213510 | ||
Sorry - I did not mean "pretty" as is beautiful or lovely to look at but as is one of the more understandable versions to read. I prefer to encourage a person to read the Word no matter where it may be found, as long as it is a good translation, not criticize their attitude whether mature or immature. Sorry for the misunderstanding...I used an expression that was a poor choice of word. - Itiswritten | ||||||
4 | A fanatic, a zealot or a prophet? | Titus 1:1 | itiswritten | 204950 | ||
I have also experienced a similar situation. I have led a woman's Bible study for over 25 years. Many of the women who have been involved were new believers and I tend to be very protective toward them. For about 15 years I struggled with a woman who seemed to have prophetic gifts and was very demonstrative and vocal. She tended to manipulate and meddle and try to tell people what to do, but she would use the Word of the Lord and had supernatural insights that were hard to ignore. I struggled with judging her, yet I would constantly have to correct her with the Word when she would seem to go way too far in telling some of the less mature women what the "Lord" wanted them to do. It kept me on my toes ALL the time. Often I felt as though she was trying to shove a whole turkey down the throat of a new born babe and giving them tasks that they were yet unable to achieve, setting them up for unattainable "works" from which they may truly find as stumbling block to their spiritual growth. I love the Word of God and I use my gift of teaching His Word always with love and the leading of the Holy Spirit...not my own agenda. I would have to constantly have to call her on her actions concerning other members and I would go to the Lord on this many times. She was big on displaying tongues, prophecy etc. but I felt she did not have enough respect for the Word nor did she seem to hem herself in by it. She was rude, she was self-serving, she would do things that would cause the women's families to become upset...particularly husbands. Yet she KNEW things that could only be known supernaturally. One day the Lord finally answered my prayers for what was I dealing with. I can't believe I didn't see it all that time as it was clearly in His Word all along. The Lord called me by name and said You don't know them by their power, but by their fruit. I cannot explain why I was so deceived for so long when, as a "teacher" of His Word, I should have realized much sooner. Here is the Scripture: Matthew 7: 15-20 NKJV, [15] Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. [16] You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles? [17] Even so, every good tree bears good fruit but a bad tree bears bad fruit. [18] A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. [19] Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. [20] THEREFORE BY THEIR FRUITS YOU WILL KNOW THEM. Her supernatural abilities and showy, pushy and dominant personality were such that they blinded me from realizing my judgment should be discerned by judging her fruit. Whether deliberate or misguided, though she may even have believed that she was hearing from the Lord, she often was not. (Psychics also often believe their gift is from God yet it is demonic), or she may be hearing from her own spirit. Whatever the case may be probably because she was negligent in her respect for His Word, she was led astray and causing havoc in the lives of others in the body of Christ. |
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5 | Do Angels have Genders? Male and Female? | Bible general Archive 2 | itiswritten | 146114 | ||
Dear EdB, I don't think I said that angels are genderless. What I did was refer to the Scripture where Jesus said that they did not marry and that the references in Scripture that have any thing to do with angels and gender seem to imply masculine. However, the Scriptures do not go into detail on the subject as far as I know. Angels are created to live for ever and we are not told that they ever have children, so there is no need for marriage. I also do not recall saying that we will become genderless in heaven but we will no longer have a need to marry or be married as we will no longer have children as we do on this earth in the flesh. We will still have relationships with others and will know our loved ones in heaven, but we each will have our own independence and will not be legally bound with any one person. We will be free from physical needs (need for shelter, money, heat or cold, physical weakness, hunger, etc.)and so we may pursue whatever God has for us to do and enjoy without being dependent on another for that privilege. Yet we will be able to fellowship at will. I hope that clears up my meaning. I am not the voice of God and I certainly do not have all the answers, but I do not believe I meant what you seem to believe I said. -Itiswritten |
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6 | Do Angels have Genders? Male and Female? | Bible general Archive 2 | itiswritten | 120609 | ||
Dear Hank, You are correct. Itiswritten. |
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7 | Do Angels have Genders? Male and Female? | Bible general Archive 2 | itiswritten | 120573 | ||
Dear Ed, Yes, to clarify ...it is my opinion. I did not say it is definitely fact. I just gave my opinion as food for thought by what I thought the Scripture was implying. It was merely a comment on my part. Itiswritten. |
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8 | Do Angels have Genders? Male and Female? | Bible general Archive 2 | itiswritten | 120528 | ||
Dear EdB, I did not see this as a statement but I personally see the statement as IMPLYING that angels are genderless as they do not procreate. So, they have no need of gender. They are immortal as they are. Humans are mortal beings. In this body, we have gender so that we can come together for the purpose of continuing the human race. And this comment is only in addition to the former statements. Itiswritten. |
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9 | filled and upon mean the same thing | John 7:39 | itiswritten | 113371 | ||
Dear Ray, I appreciate the things that you are saying but I respectfully disagree. The only Scripture I can find that speaks of the Spirit of God given without measure is concerning Christ Himself. It is not the "spirit" of God in that sense. The Scripture which speaks of anyone receiving the Spirit without measure:That is located in John 3:34 and the verses surrounding it. I don't believe we receive the Holy Spirit without measure. I believe the Lord meets us where we are and fills us and that as we mature in our walk with Him our capacity enlarges and we can be filled more and more. I also do not believe any of us reach perfection this side of heaven. If there is another Scripture which speaks of the "spirit" without measure can you point it out to me? And then I can consider it. Sincerely, Itiswritten |
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10 | filled and upon mean the same thing | John 7:39 | itiswritten | 113094 | ||
Hi Ray, Sorry to hear that you had a rough time. I want you to know that I do pray for you from time to time. Be that as it may...back to the subject at hand. I do not wish to convey that my bottom line is whether a particular scripture is written in capitals or not. I compare scripture and context and what other scriptures also say and I believe in testing the spirits also. That being said, I still believe the Holy Spirit is within me as He is in every believer in Christ Jesus who died for his/her sins and rose from the dead. I still say the Holy Spirit is a person Who is within me not because of captitalization but because it also says "Greater is he that is in you than he that is in the world." [1 John 4:4]among other scriptures. In comparing verses 11 and 16 of I Cor. 2, I would say verse 11 distinguishes man's spirit from God's Spirit. I also believe that when verse 16 speaks of the mind of the Lord and that we have the mind of Christ, I believe it means that because we have His Spirit within us we have access to the mind of Christ. The Holy Spirit also will remind us of all that we have learned from Him and from His Word.[John 14:26]. Sincerely, Itiswritten |
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11 | filled and upon mean the same thing | John 7:39 | itiswritten | 113093 | ||
Hi Ray, Sorry to hear that you had a rough time. I want you to know that I do pray for you from time to time. Sincerely Itiswritten Be that as it may...back to the subject at hand. I do not wish to convey that my bottom line is whether a particular scripture is written in capitals or not. I compare scripture and context and what other scriptures also say and I believe in testing the spirits also. That being said, I still believe the Holy Spirit is within me as He is in every believer in Christ Jesus who died for his/her sins and rose from the dead. I still say the Holy Spirit is a person Who is within me not because of captitalization but because it also says "Greater is he that is in you than he that is in the world." [1 John 4:4]among other scriptures. In comparing verses 11 and 16 of I Cor. 2, I would say verse 11 distinguishes man's spirit from God's Spirit. I also believe that when verse 16 speaks of the mind of the Lord and that we have the mind of Christ, I believe it means that because we have His Spirit within us we have access to the mind of Christ. The Holy Spirit also will remind us of all that we have learned from Him and from His Word.[John 14:26]. |
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12 | filled and upon mean the same thing | John 7:39 | itiswritten | 112841 | ||
Hello Ray, Now I never said anything about all these other scriptures you are pointing out here. Where are you coming from? OK now I think you are looking for an argument and I don't really believe in arguing matters of faith. Do you believe in the Trinity of the Godhead? I do. And I am very aware that the word "trinity" is not in the Bible. Be that as it may. The Holy Spirit is a person to me. He is not a gift, or a force in the sense that would make Him impersonal. If one has the Spirit of God in him that Spirit of God which is in him may manifest certain gifts and/or blessings according to the grace the Holy Spirit may give that individual which would enable that person to take his place in the body of Christ as one who prays as an intercessor or functions as an evangelist or as a pastor, etc. Many languages have different words for the different nuances in meaning for words like love, for instance. They have a different word for erotic love, or affection, or unconditional love. The English language does not have this and so we rely on adjectives or whatever is the context of the sentence or paragraph to convey the meaning of something.I did not mean to imply that I rely on capitalization to decide what the meaning of a word is in a text. In fact, in the original Hebrew, as I understand it, there were no capitalizations and there were no periods or any separations whatsoever. I don't mean to sound harsh. However, I prefer to study and learn and walk with the Lord and share, than to picking and being argumentative. I am not angry. I am just tired. I don't like picking. Sincerely, Itiswritten |
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13 | filled and upon mean the same thing | John 7:39 | itiswritten | 112678 | ||
Hello Ray, It is good to hear from you again. OK from the top. I agree that we are the ones to be filled not the ones filling. I also agree that the Holy Spirit does not take control of us but that He fills us. However, I do not agree that the spirit in Ephesians 5:18 is a gift as in the lower case "spirit." The reason I believe otherwise is because in the King James version, the Amplified, the New American Standard Version and also the New International Versions, they all print out "Spirit" as capitalized meaning "Holy Spirit" and the Amplified states it as: "And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery; but ever be filled and stimulated with the (Holy) Spirit." I am not a linguist, sadly. So I cannot look at the original languages. However, when in doubt about something, I apply the next best thing I can and that is to compare several good translations of the Bible and see how they seem to translate. Having done this I respectfully disagree on this point. And so this is the reason for my opinion. Sincerely, Itiswritten |
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14 | filled and upon mean the same thing | John 7:39 | itiswritten | 112633 | ||
Dear Ray, Sorry I have taken so long. I have been having problems with my connection lately. OK - I say filled means indwelt - Well if you fill a cup you pour into it. You don't go on or next to but in. So, that is why I say that filled means indwelt. Romans 8:9- says "But ye are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God DWELL IN you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his." Well, I don't quite understand what you are asking me. If one dwells inside of something or someone he is inside of just as water can fill a cup or be inside of. Whereas, before the crucifixion and resurrection this did not seem to occur. In the Old Testament the presence of God's Holy Spirit was manifest inside of the ark and later in the Holy of holies in the temple. However, He was with the prophets and others but did not dwell in them individually. [see John 14:15-17] I hope this answers your question because I am not really sure what you mean. As far as the other Scriptures you cite, I agree with you on them also. No problem at all. I also believe that the rivers of living water are another way of speaking of the same Holy Spirit who indwells the believer. Sincerely, Itiswritten |
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15 | "If" small word, BIG DEAL | Rom 8:17 | itiswritten | 92017 | ||
Dear KCEvangelist, I would not say we are saved by our ACTIONS. We are saved by faith. However, if we believe we will act a certain way just as we would act a certain way if we did not believe. Now the Bible also tells us that we were saved FOR certain good works (read Ephesians 2:10 and James 2: 2-18). It is inevitable that if we live according to what we believe that persecution and/or affliction will come. There are also promises that God gives us that require certain "works" and certain blessings will come for those who fulfill the responsibilities required. "Give,and IT SHALL BE GIVEN UNTO YOU," and read about the fast that God has chosen rather than our depriving ourselves of food and see also the promises attached to "God's Fast." (read Isaiah 58:5-14). If we do little to nothing concerning our "faith" we are in danger because it says in Revelation 3:15-16- "I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth." Itiswritten. |
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16 | Righteousness by faith NOT WORKS!!! | Ps 32:1 | itiswritten | 88681 | ||
Dear tj57h, Dear brother in Christ,I speak as another believer out there with Jesus on my own... please remember to read the book of James as it will help you keep a balance. It speaks of works...properly. We are saved by faith but works should be produced by one who believes. It is sort of like the man who said he could roll a barrel on a tight-rope over Niagra Falls. He looked down at the onlookers and said to one of them..."Do you believe I can do this?" And the onlooker said, "Yes!" And the tight-rope walker said, "Get in the barrel." The Scripture tells us "Faith without works is dead" (See James 2:18-20). We are not saved by our works. But we are saved FOR works. We are saved to do the works of God on this earth. Reading the whole book of James would balance out the walk of faith. This having nothing to do with religion or tradition. This is not a criticism, just a comment. Itiswritten. |
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17 | What are Mortal and Venial sinis | Matthew | itiswritten | 87400 | ||
Dear Emmaus, Please do not take offense. As I said I was raised a Catholic. I was saved WHEN I WAS A CATHOLIC, as a Catholic, while reading my Catholic Bible. I am not saying this to "dis" the Catholic Church. I was taught by the Catholic Church that there were venial and mortal sins and that there was a purgatory. I was taught all about miracles and Jesus Christ. However, I was never told that I could have a conversion experience or have any such thing as an encounter with Jesus Christ the Savior of my soul. Not only that, according to Catholic church doctrine, I was practicing birth control and had not gone to church in 7 years which clearly put me in a state of mortal sin according to Catholic church teachings yet, One day, while reading my Catholic Bible, despite all the doctrine I had been taught I met Jesus Christ in my own living room. What I had been told from Catholic grammer school through college...had never told me this was possible. I do not believe that the scripture you refer to gives the same impression that the Catholic church teaching had in this area on myself and many others...the impression that well, if you are not clergy, you will sin...you can not be totally cleansed and you have to figure whatever you haven't been able to overcome in the flesh in this life will be burned off in purgatory for a time.I was taught by implication, to settle for that and that otherwise would be presumptuous to say the least. When Jesus came to me that day I was made instantly aware that I was a sinner (and not because of the reasons of doctrine that the church states), instantly aware that He loved me anyway, instantly aware that I was forgiven and cleansed and made a new person. It was a shock to me. A wonderful awareness but a shock as it showed me that sin was sin, that people had offended me but I was still a sinner because I was offended in the first place and my reaction was just as bad as those who had hurt me even if they were wrong. No mortal and venial...sin was sin, but that Jesus and what He did on the cross was the remedy and that there was no purgatory but you are either forgiven or not...period. Now mind you, I was reading the truths from my own CATHOLIC BIBLE and I do not say anyone should leave the Catholic Church. What I am saying simply is that this doctrine, as far as I know, about mortal and venial sins is taught in the Catholic church as doctrine almost exclusively. I don't think this scripture means that and this is simply my opinion. You are entitled to yours. I just want you to understand why I stated what I did...and the question that was put was simple and I thought looking for just that simple answer...that it was a doctrine of the Catholic church. I believe all doctrine should be from Scripture. I just do not agree that the Scripture you are quoting means the doctrine of mortal and venial sins as I was taught. But that is my own personal opinion. Itiswritten |
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18 | What are Mortal and Venial sinis | Matthew | itiswritten | 87369 | ||
Dear Emmaus, For what it's worth, the idea of "mortal" and "venial" sins is a doctrine of the Roman Catholic Church. It has no biblical basis as far as I know. Having been raised a Roman Catholic (I now attend Assembly of God churches)I was taught that concept at an early age. Mortal sins were acts such as Not attending Mass on any given Sunday, Murder, Adultery, etc., and venial sins might be something like telling a "white lie" so as not to hurt someone's feelings, or making a snide remark about someone. As was said before, in reality, all sin is sin and God makes no distinction. But I thought this might answer your question. Itiswritten. |
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19 | Studying O.T. is creating problems. | Genesis | itiswritten | 85176 | ||
Dear Freethinker, I was simply trying to answer your question but I certainly did not accuse you of being ruled by Satan, I did not intend to sound like I was talking down to you, because I was not and I still say you sound very angry. That is something you might want to think about. For myself, I have no argument with you. Sincerely, Itiswritten. |
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20 | Studying O.T. is creating problems. | Genesis | itiswritten | 84838 | ||
Dear Freethinker, I have been following this thread and at the risk of repeating an answer you may already have, Noah was told to board two of all the "unclean" animals and 7 pairs or 14 of the "clean" animals. You will find this in Genesis 7:2. Itiswritten |
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