Results 101 - 120 of 154
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Results from: Answers On or After: Thu 12/31/70 Author: stjones Ordered by Date |
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Results | Verse | Author | ID# | |||
101 | Let Mormon in on family celebrations? | Mark 2:17 | stjones | 47045 | ||
While Jesus was having dinner at Levi's house, many tax collectors and "sinners" were eating with him and his disciples, for there were many who followed him. When the teachers of the law who were Pharisees saw him eating with the "sinners" and tax collectors, they asked his disciples: "Why does he eat with tax collectors and 'sinners'?" On hearing this, Jesus said to them, "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners." I have a feeling Jesus would have dinner with your husband while your brother sounds like the Pharisees to me. I don't know you, your brother, or the rest of your family well enough to give advice, but I would have to ask myself if I really wanted to spend time with anyone so mean-spirited. I pray that God will bless and guide you. Peace and grace, Steve aka Indiana Jones |
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102 | "Speaking in tongues"? | 1 Cor 14:15 | stjones | 43720 | ||
Hi, Daniel; Mark 16:17 (not found in some of the earliest available manuscripts) says that speaking in tongues is a sign of the believer. Some churches accept this passage and ignore the many times that Paul says that not everyone should expect to speak in tongues because it is not a universal gift. (1 Cor 12:10, 28-30, 14:5, for example). But I would not scoff; speaking in tongues is clearly one of the gifts of the spirit. I think it's interesting that Paul says "Tongues, then, are a sign, not for believers but for unbelievers; prophecy, however, is for believers, not for unbelievers." (1 Cor 14:22) So it does seem odd that a church would place much emphasis on tongues as part of a community of believers worshipping together. It's also odd that churches don't seem as fascinated with the gift of service, say, or the gift of administration.... Peace and grace, Steve aka Indiana Jones |
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103 | can u b forgivn if you once turned away? | Luke 15:32 | stjones | 43679 | ||
Cheer up; of course it's possible. Re-read the story of the prodigal son (Luke 15:11-32). Every Christian I know struggles with this, if just for a moment or a day or a season. Sheep go astray; the Good Shepherd gathers them back in - when they're humble and willing to come. Dare I say "welcome back"? Peace and grace, Steve aka Indiana Jones |
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104 | 24 hour days are based on what? | Gen 1:2 | stjones | 43488 | ||
Hi, nimrod; I agree that the Bible is not a scientific text. It makes so such claims for itself nor does anyone within its pages make such a claim. It is absolutely authoritative in matters of faith and practice and is the peerless witness to the person and work of Jesus. But it's not a reliable source of scientific information. 2 Timothy 3:15-17 sums it up: " ... from infancy you have known the holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work." I am most grateful that the pioneers of modern science were guided by the Bible's teachings on spiritual matters while taking seriously Romans 1:20: " ...since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities--his eternal power and divine nature--have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made". What we know about the world today is the direct result of their seeing the world as the general revelation of God and believing what it told them. This is not, however, a popular view around here. Peace and grace, Steve aka Indiana Jones |
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105 | Promise? | Heb 11:39 | stjones | 43298 | ||
Hi, charis. I think the promise is salvation - promised throughout the OT but not seen or personified until Jesus' coming. Years ago, Charles Stanley had a great analogy - the OT saints ran up a bill against future payment - their faith was their credit card. God charged the penalty for their sins against this credit card rather than demanding immediate payment. The imputed righteousness of Christ was not yet available to cover the debt, so the debt sat there, unpaid but uncollected. Jesus paid the bill; this was the promise. As Christians, we don't run a tab because our debt has already been paid in full. At least that'e pretty close to what he said.... Peace and grace, Steve aka Indiana Jones |
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106 | Bless Israel - say "God bless Israel"? | Gen 12:3 | stjones | 42383 | ||
Hi, Search; I don't think Christians have any special obligations to the modern state called Israel. This Israel is a political entity created by political means; it is unrelated to the nation created by God to serve His holy purposes. There's a big difference between God and the U.N. ;-) I think Christians should pray for the people and leadership of Israel, just as we should pray for the Palestinian people and for all the lost who have been misled by the "prophet" Mohammad. While Christians do have a special relationship with the ancient nation of Israel, we should be prepared to see the modern state's many warts as well as its virtues. I don't think President Bush should single out Israel for any special blessings either. It's presumptuous to assume that God wants Israel to hold onto the West Bank or Gaza. God loves the Palestinians who wish to live in peace no less than He loves the Jews in Israel. It's hard for me grasp, but He even loves the terrorists too. President Bush - and all of us - should ask God's blessings on all the people of the world. As Christians, we should ask for God's gospel to be made known to all lost people, especially to the Muslims and Jews who know the name of Jesus and continue to reject him. And we should realize that Palestinian Christians are suffering alongside their Muslim countrymen. I'm not saying Christians - including the President - should't express to God our special concern for the Middle East. An extra prayer for peace there certainly won't grieve God. But Isael is a political issue, not a religious one and I think the President's utterances on the subject should be political, not religious. Just my two hundredths of a dollar. Peace and grace, Steve aka Indiana Jones |
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107 | Who can refute reasoning? | Bible general Archive 1 | stjones | 37077 | ||
Hi, CDBJ; I can't see that the passage you cite says anything about reasoning being the path to salvation. Taken in context, God is telling the people of Judah to think about their disobedience and its obvious consequences. Verse 19: '"If you are willing and obedient, you will eat the best from the land; but if you resist and rebel, you will be devoured by the sword." For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.' Your example of the thief on the cross is speculative. My own speculation is that, finding himself in a desparate situation, he grasped at the only hope left him - that the man next to him really was able to offer salvation of some kind. I doubt that he reasoned it out, but of course neither one of us knows. What we can know is that the consistent message throughout the entire Bible is that faith is the key to salvation. Reason may be a means to faith, but faith itself is a gift of God, not the product of reason. You may be able to cite a passage that, taken out of context, seems to suggest otherwise. The intellectual exercise of finding "one verse or another", however, can hardly disprove what the Bible as a whole makes clear. 'Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding' (Proverbs 3:5) I will lean instead on Paul's familiar assertion in Ephesians 2:8-9: 'For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith--and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God--not by works, so that no one can boast.' If I were able to reason myself to salvation - or even to faith - it would be of myself, something of which I could boast. Peace and grace Steve aka Indiana Jones |
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108 | Do you have any themes regarding Job? | Job 13:15 | stjones | 34896 | ||
Hi, Lapdog; Job is one of my favorite OT books so maybe I could help you if I had a little better idea of what exactly you're looking for. There are many themes in Job; one of the dominant ones (described by Phillip Yancy) is Job's struggle to reconcile three facts - God is just; God is all-powerful; he, Job, is innocent. If you think about it, any two of those can be true but from Job's point of view, they can't all three be true. Yet he knows they are. Other themes are his friends' foolish prosperity theology (not unlike what we sometimes see on TV these days) and Job's faith. The roles played by God and Satan and God's confidence that Job would disprove Satan's cynical view of humans' love for God are important. One theme you certainly will not find is "the patience of Job" - Job was hardly patient. Hmmm, well, I guess I tried to answer anyway. ;-) Hope this is useful. Peace and grace, Steve aka Indiana Jones |
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109 | Strike out at his people. | John 3:16 | stjones | 34793 | ||
Hi, Vic; I'll take a little different approach from EdB's. While we could probably have an interesting discussion about the words "strike out at", I'll just make an observation: I know my kids will rebel and sin. That doesn't keep me from disciplining them. Sometimes I let them suffer the natural consequences of their actions. And sometimes I manage to just show them grace. So it is with God. Peace and grace, Steve aka Indiana Jones |
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110 | Why did Peter deny Jesus? | Matt 26:34 | stjones | 34791 | ||
Greetings, Barry; I think Peter denied Jesus because he was Peter - flawed, bold, impetuous, the one who wanted to camp out on the Mount of Transfiguration, the one walked briefly on water. I'm sure he meant it when he told Jesus he would never fall away but when push came to shove, his boldness failed him. I think he tended to rely on his own strength until Pentecost. I think (but can't prove) that when he discovered the power of the Holy Spirit that day, he realized that his own was insufficient. I think Jesus predicted it because he wanted Peter to know that he knew. If Jesus had not told Peter ahead of time, then when he did deny Jesus, Peter would have thought that his failure was private. Jesus' prediction enabled Peter to feel the full weight of his sin, to experience all the remorse, and to finally see that he could not rely on his own strength to do God's work. I agree that there is a parallel (3 denials, 3 opportunities to express his love for Jesus). It is interesting that what is translated as "love" all three times is actually different the third time: The first two times, the Greek word is "agape", the third it's "phileo". I've read and heard various explanations for this difference; I'm not really sure what it means. ;-) I think all this was to prepare Peter for his ministry and martyrdom. Just my two one-hundredths of a dollar. Peace and grace, Steve aka Indiana Jones |
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111 | How is the end really going to happen? | Bible general Archive 1 | stjones | 34024 | ||
Greeting, poet; Not to put too fine a point on it, but who cares? God will get it right and I'm confident that we'll all be surprised one way or another. "Left Behind" is fiction; enjoy it for that. Jesus said to go and make disciples; he didn't tell anyone to sit around and speculate about how or when he would return. People who think they have it all figured are little scary. Peace and grace, Steve aka Indiana Jones |
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112 | Let's crucify Ezra Brown | Job | stjones | 33213 | ||
SRN: Not to speak for Jensen (who doesn't need my belp) but ... What are you talking about? Peace and grace, Steve aka Indiana Jones |
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113 | Elegant Salvation? | Eph 2:5 | stjones | 31136 | ||
Hi, Percival; "Elegant" is a good word for God's plan of salvation. Many denominations and many theologians like to make it more complicated than it is. I don't think God resorts to trick questions or gimmicks. He's not in the busineess of fooling people into thinking they're saved then rejecting them because they've failed to dot an I or cross a T. Just to pick a nit, I can't imagine any reformed church claiming to be infallible; that idea was part of what got reformed. Peace and grace, Steve aka Indiana Jones |
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114 | Who was Elihu? | Job | stjones | 30232 | ||
Hi, Saved; I'm inclined to accept his identity as the bible presents it: a young man of the clan of Ram whose father was Barakel the Buzite. Given some idea of his age and ancestry, I think he's just an ordinary human. God didn't rebuke Job's wife either, despite her suggestion that Job just "curse God and die". Elihu at least tried to do a better job of defending God than Job's other friends did. Absent more compelling evidence (and there may be some; I've never looked), I'd say some commentators have w-a-a-a-y too much time on their hands. Peace and grace, Steve aka Indiana Jones |
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115 | Where is "Go against the Flow" at? | Bible general Archive 1 | stjones | 29991 | ||
Hi, Brandyb; James Taylor recoreded a version of "Mockingbird" in the 60s that included the line "I'm gonna go with the flow and ride with the tide". I would guess that "go against the flow" might have been coined as a counter-example. Billy Graham isn't afraid to refer to the culture so he might well have originated it. At any rate, EdB is right on with his reference to Romans 2. Peace and grace, Steve aka Indiana Jones |
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116 | Christian Response To Eastern Thought? | Is 55:11 | stjones | 29988 | ||
Hi, Jensen; What is your friend's attaction to this cult? Emotional? intellectual? Do you think your friend is simply missing some (any) spiritual dimension to his/her life? Why does your friend find the "master" believable? Personal charisma? the message? What button is he pushing? It may not be the eventual deity pitch that's drawn your friend in. I'm asking because I don't think there are any standard approaches. People are susceptible to this cult or that because of some un-met need. (I needed to be shown that Jesus' claims about himself were rational.) I think cults succeed because there are so many of them, every one a little different from the others. Each one has some appeal that will ensnare people who hunger for what it offers. God, on the other hand, is much less specific - he meets all needs. I suspect that it's not at all obvious to some people that a God who meets the needs of Mother Theresa or Kurt Warner can meet theirs. Look at it this way - if you crave chocolate, what will be more appealinig to you? A Fanny Mae store or a department store with a candy counter? If you know that Fanny Mae focuses on selling pretty good chocolate, you may never discover that the department store sells Godiva's (really outstanding) chocolate. I think people are reluctant to believe that God's department store simply has the best of everything - better than every specialty shop and boutique in town. And the best prices too! So they settle for a pretty good shop and ignore the department store. You have to find what your friend is shopping for, then show your friend the department in God's store that offers what he/she needs. Hope this is useful somehow. Peace and grace, Steve aka Indiana Jones |
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117 | Inspiration extent to every part | Bible general Archive 1 | stjones | 28695 | ||
Hi, moedee; Yes. I don't know. What do you suppose might have happened? Peace and grace, Steve aka Indiana Jones |
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118 | Have you seen His grace in your life? | Rev 22:21 | stjones | 28694 | ||
Hi, Search; I have seen his grace in my life abundantly since I was saved in 1989. But I'd just as soon he wait until all those I care about are either saved or dead. And I'm REAL glad he didn't return before 1989. Selfish of me, I suppose, but there it is. Perhaps every generation's feeling this way delays his return; I don't know. Peace and grace, Steve aka Indiana Jones |
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119 | Are jews the wisest? | James 1:5 | stjones | 28580 | ||
Hi, vkey; Your are correct that wisdom is a gift of God. According to James, it is freely given. I doubt you could single out any group of people and say they are the wisest. And I don't think there is a "community" of Jews. There are atheistic Jews, Orthodox Jews, Hassidic Jews, and every shade in between. No racial, national, or ethnic group has a claim to be the best in the areas you asked about. There are stereotypes but those are based on prejudice and ignorance, not facts. And no, America is not "built on Jews". It is built on the Bible, Enlightenment philosophers John Locke and the Baron de Montesquieu, abundant natural resources, hard work, ruthlessness, compassion, diversity, and visionary leaders. Peace and grace, Steve aka Indiana Jones |
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120 | Is John 3:16 for real? | Bible general Archive 1 | stjones | 28432 | ||
Hi, Dan; God has made his existence and nature known to everyone: Romans 1:18-21 - The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness, since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities--his eternal power and divine nature--have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse. He reveals himself to those who seek him: Jeremiah 29:13 - You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. And he will not reject anyone who calls upon him for salvation: Joel 2:32 - everyone who calls on the name of the LORD will be saved (quoted by Peter in his Pentecost sermon in Acts 2 and by Paul in Romans 10) Thus God has opened a path to saving faith even to someone who has never heard the Gospel. The Old Testament faithful were in a similar situation: Hebrews 11:1-2 Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. This is what the ancients were commended for. (39-40) These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised. God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect. John 3:16 is reliable and trustworthy. Hope this is useful. Peace and grace, Steve aka Indiana Jones |
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