Results 121 - 140 of 495
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Results from: Notes Author: Aixen7z4 Ordered by Verse |
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Results | Verse | Author | ID# | |||
121 | Christian, or Good Ole Boy? 1 of 2 | Prov 23:7 | Aixen7z4 | 153631 | ||
Sufficient to such a man is this punishment, which was inflicted of many. So that contrariwise ye ought rather to forgive him, and comfort him, lest perhaps such a one should be swallowed up with overmuch sorrow. Wherefore I beseech you that ye would confirm your love toward him ... lest Satan should get an advantage of us: for we are not ignorant of his devices. (2 Corinthians 2). |
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122 | in what ways does god punish people | Prov 28:13 | Aixen7z4 | 104433 | ||
"A person" can face an eternity in hell (Psalm 9:17). Yet, it is not clear that we should call that a punishment. There are those who say God does not send anyone to hell, it is the sinner who chooses to go there. Of course, Psalm 9:17 says that the wicked shall be turned into hell. Revelation 20:15 says that those whose names are not in the book of life are cast into the lake of fire. It should be clear, however, that God does not want to impose the penalties for sin. The penalty was borne by Jesus, and God wants to forgive us. What he requires is repentance, and faith. That is why he says, "If the wicked will turn from all his sins and do that which is lawful and right, he shall surely live, he shall not die” (Ezekiel 18:21). “As I live, saith the Lord GOD, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live”. He begs us, “Turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways”. He asks us, “Why will ye die?” And yet, AO is correct. Even a temporary interruption of his fellowship with God is painful to a believer. This pain is an evidence of his salvation and it is an incentive to repent and return to the Lord. To be turned into hell is the ultimate, as it means to be denied fellowship with God forever. Whether we call it a punishment or a consequence or a choice will not matter. Happily, we are assured that this cannot happen to one who believes on the Lord Jesus Christ. “A person” can end up in hell. A believer cannot. When a believer sins, he will be chastened of the Lord, but he will not be condemned with the world (1 Corinthians 11:32; Heb 12:10). |
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123 | Such thing as a choice? | Eccl 6:10 | Aixen7z4 | 153168 | ||
What more can be said, that has not been said, I wonder, about this and the related topics? I would be alone ranger at this point, if necessary, and say that this debate will serve no useful purpose. But then again, perhaps that is what Samantha has said. Searcher has suggested that we may not want to go too deep into the question, and we seem to have agreed to that, as we have not gone too deep. I have often wondered what the purpose is, in taking sides in this great debate. I have some ideas, but I judge that it would not be any more profitable to suggest them. With apologies to our brother Tim, I would suggest instead that we do go deeper, and I will hasten to add that we could do so by looking for the truth in the other side. The two sides, I say, are compatible, and they come together at the deeper level. Scriptures do not cancel out each other. They are all true. We should not add to them, and we should not in any wise take one jot or one tittle away (Proverbs 30:5,6). Blessed is the man who has learned to say that Scripture teaches both an unchanging God and a God who calls for, and responds to repentance. I could take some time to show how the two come together, but I suggest instead that each of us look into it. It would save us time, no doubt, and give us time to respond to God with obedience. For one thing, it would allow us to obey 1 Corinthians 1:10. It says, to remind us, that God wants all of us to speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among us; but that we be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment. It would please God if we did that. It would also allow us to stand together in one spirit, with one mind, striving together for the faith of the gospel, as mandated in Philippians 1:27. I do hope it is self-evident that the time spent debating this issue is time that might be spent striving together for the faith of the gospel. I would not be surprised if someone can prove otherwise, but I would suggest we not get into it. As before, I would suggest that each one look for himself into what those verses say, and what they require. |
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124 | Balanced, centered, or lukewarm? | Eccl 7:18 | Aixen7z4 | 101174 | ||
You are correct. I am not doing enough. I feel certain of that. More than that, I wonder have I done my best for Jesus Who died upon the cruel tree To think of his great sacrifice and suffering And know my Lord expects the best of me It’s a matter of quality over quantity. And yet, you need to be careful with the extrapolations, Compu, for you know not the thoughts of another person beyond what has been written, only your own. In any case, the invitation is to share your own thoughts, not to look into the thoughts of others. For me, it is not a matter of condemnation. Is it for you? For me, it is not whether God loves me or I love him, and I cannot even address the points about doubt or vanity. You say that one can look within oneself too much, and that is getting closer to the point. With what do you balance looking within? And how much is too much? Where’s the balance? You say , “what we do throughout the day can show our love to the Father just by doing daily responsibilities”. Where is the balance, then? I might guess that you think the matter of balance is not important, but I don’t want to read your mind. When you survey the wondrous cross, what do you do? Do you strive for balance in your life? |
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125 | Balanced, centered, or lukewarm? | Eccl 7:18 | Aixen7z4 | 101184 | ||
So, there is the time dimension. You balance church activities and family activities. You balance time spent on this forum with time paying bills. In preparation for a crunch I suppose you've also set priorities. Interesting because I am always late for everything, because I spend too much time on everything. Interesting because I heard on the radio a few minutes ago that, in the rush of responsibilities, the family should come first. I wonder what you would place first and, more importantly, what scriptures guide that. There seems to be a need for balance. It must be that it says somewhere that we must put our families first or that preacher would not have said it. But Jesus also said, “He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me”. Moreover, “If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple”. There is a need for. The same wise man who said, “I know that there is nothing better for them than to rejoice and to do good in one's lifetime” also said, of laughter, “ It is mad: and of mirth, What doeth it? The one who said, "Here is what I have seen to be good and fitting; to eat, to drink and enjoy” also said “It is better to go to the house of mourning, than to go to the house of feasting”. But my question really relates to intensity, to fervor, to heat. How fanatical are you concerning the things of God? Are you ready to die for him and the Gospel? Or would you rather live that quiet and peaceable life? Or is there something in between that you have chosen? Doesn’t the very fact you are satisfied mean you are not as hot as you might be? Think about it. On a scale of 1 to 5, where is your fervor? |
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126 | Balanced, centered, or lukewarm? | Eccl 7:18 | Aixen7z4 | 101187 | ||
You say you don't recall reading in the Scriptures about balance? Then maybe you should read our key verses again. They are Ecclesiastes 7:16-18. The scriptures also speak about “moderation” and “modesty” and “self-control” and these seem to connote balance. One might say they are most desirable qualities in any man, most of all the Christian. “Balance with what?”, you ask. Don’t you like the way Jesus balanced power with meekness, knowledge with humility, desire with patience? But then individual postures, such as anticipation, may well be balanced too. Some days you can't wait for Christ's return and some days you say, “Oh God, don't come now”. How do you strive for balance? You don't. You seem to have good tolerance for the ups and downs of anticipation. If you wanted to have balance there you could decide to “abide in him; that, when he shall appear, we may have confidence, and not be ashamed before him at his coming. Remember to be ready always : “for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh”. Another alternative to balance is to be extreme. Very hot. Very cold. Very fast. O so slow. “Just go and go and go”. Or “no go”. One gets the picture of a driver rapidly alternating between the accelerator and the brake. Would it not be better to get some balance of that peddle? I think our passage, indeed the whole tenor of scripture, says there is a need for balance. It seems that experience and practice should help us to achieve it. What do you think? |
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127 | Balanced, centered, or lukewarm? | Eccl 7:18 | Aixen7z4 | 101215 | ||
Please do not be discouraged. This is not an exercise in giving answers. For me, it is not a matter of having the answers. Rather, it is that we encourage each other to practice what we know (John 13:17). If we have established that the Lord requires a balanced life, the question remains: How do we do it? Experiences, with verses, would be most welcome. |
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128 | Balanced, centered, or lukewarm? | Eccl 7:18 | Aixen7z4 | 101217 | ||
Interesting. I wonder why Martin Luther did not choose to be a common laborer. Martin Luther King once said, "If it falls your lot to be a street sweeper, set out to sweep streets like Michelangelo painted pictures. Set out to sweep streets like Beethoven composed music. Set out to sweep streets like Shakespeare wrote poetry. Set out to sweep streets so well that all the hosts of heaven and earth will have to pause to say, ‘Here lived a great street sweeper who swept his job well’”. I wonder why Dr. King did not choose to be a street sweeper. But those were wise men. Those were great men. And it seems that each one felt the call of God to do what he did. And I would guess that neither one would spurn a turn to be a laborer or a street sweeper in a pinch. But MLK said, “If it falls your lot” and on one occasion he added “to carry it to one extreme”. I would guess that each one would say it is OK to aim higher, or at least to do some thing of a spiritual nature when you have the gift and the chance. That would provide some balance. Those men went to extremes. And there are many of us who say, “I would never do what these men did”. I have heard some to say, “I could never do what they did”. There are those who are saying now that they would not carry this conversation as far as Aixen is carrying it, or ask as hard a question. He should probably be more moderate on both counts. But the question he is asking is, how far is too far? And should we all not travel some? Must Jesus bear the cross alone And all the world go free? Some of us have sung the hymn as old Isaac Watts wrote the lines, Shall I be carried to the skies on flowery beds of ease; while others fought to gain the prize and sailed beyond the seas? And someone made it so they sailed through “bloody seas”. Would you go that far? How far would you go? How far have you gone? And how did you manage the balance? |
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129 | Balanced, centered, or lukewarm? | Eccl 7:18 | Aixen7z4 | 101241 | ||
Good morning, John. Rejoice. His mercies are new every morning: great is his faithfulness. We know not what a day may bring forth, but he is with us. Therefore, whatsoever your hand finds to do, do it with your might. I am assuming, of course, that you want a balanced life. I think that’s what he offers us. He whose heart is kind beyond all measure Gives unto each day what he deems best Lovingly, it’s part of pain or pleasure Mingling toil with peace and rest. Sorry to bug you, my friend, but it is to bless you. He giveth more grace. |
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130 | Are you quite sure about that? | Eccl 11:6 | Aixen7z4 | 100144 | ||
Keyman, I am glad to see you here. If I understand correctly, God has been speaking to you for some time, and you have recently responded by committing your life to him. I trust you will continue to find encouragement in your church and also on this forum. Let me say that one-sided conversations are OK with me as long as the person is talking about the Lord or about what the Lord has said. It happens sometimes in church and we can bear with it, even enjoy it, when the preacherman is telling us “Thus saith the Lord”. I am happy that you read at least one of the passages mentioned in that post before responding. I trust that you considered the others as well. In some sense we are responding now, among ourselves, to a one-way conversation in which God has been speaking to us in the Bible. What has he been saying to us? And how have we responded? Have we even asked him to make it clear to us? We may not like one-way conversations because we think we have something important to say, I suppose. But if God is speaking, we should be willing to listen. This thread is asking us two questions. First, would we be concerned about the possibility God is not directing us and we are acting on our own? Also, when we speak for God, we would hope and like to think that the people are listening. But sometimes it seems they are not listening. Should we continue speaking anyway? God seems to be saying that there are times when he withdraws himself in order to induce us to seek him. We would not want to miss that message. First and foremost, we need him for ourselves, to guide us. He does not want us to go on without him. And when we speak, we want to speak his words, not ours. He wants us to speak when he sees fit and not in a time of our own choosing. But what if we are not listening? I think you are exactly correct in saying that God does not want a one-way conversation. He has spoken to us and he wants us to talk to him. It is not to tell him our opinion, which is often why we want our turn in the conversation, but to ask him. In other words, to pray. Sometimes it seems that God is not talking, but it may be that we are talking and not listening. Sometimes it seems that he is listening and we are not talking, to him. Even now it seems that we are talking to each other and not to him. I don’t think he likes that either, to be left out of the conversation. So, Consider what I say, and may the Lord give you understanding in all things. And Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD, my strength, and my redeemer. |
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131 | Are you quite sure about that? | Eccl 11:6 | Aixen7z4 | 100164 | ||
Yes, Ken, we do need a deeper understanding. That is the reason we are sharing here. Please share your insights on the topic. Also, please share something about yourself by filling out the User Profile. It will give us an idea how far you have come and why you think it is only we who need a deeper understanding. And let us not put a stumbling block in front of our weaker brethren. Let us pursue the things which make for peace and the building up of one another. But can you explain how building up one another helps us to know the mind of God. Is it by getting stronger that we get closer to God? And are you quite sure about that? |
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132 | Are you quite sure about that? | Eccl 11:6 | Aixen7z4 | 100195 | ||
I am sorry to say that I have no idea what you are talking about, or how it might be related to our topic. I will read your note again when I have the time. In the meantime, you might want to read the question again and review the comments of others. God bless you as you do, and if you write on this thread again, please make sure it is related to the question, and please try to make it clear. | ||||||
133 | Why don't you know for sure? | Eccl 11:6 | Aixen7z4 | 100198 | ||
The passages referred to in the first post were primarily from the New Testament, with only one from the Old. The posibility of separation from God has always been there. Our foreparents chose because they had the ability to choose. Please take the time to think and to do the necessary research before telling us what we must realize. Please take your time. You do not have to have the final answer. Just share your thoughts and read what the others write. The answers will appear. |
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134 | Why don't you know for sure? | Eccl 11:6 | Aixen7z4 | 100200 | ||
God made man with free will, and the alternative to obedience was always there. God even made man aware of the alternative and its consequences. Read it again (Gen 2:16,17): "The LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die". Incidentally, it says what kind of tree it was. Folklore says "apple", but you have just seen what God and the Bible said. Also, it is not that man lacked knowledge. He lacked the knowledge of evil. And we ourselves should limit our knowledge of it. Please note Rom 16:19 "I would have you wise unto that which is good, and simple concerning evil". Knowledge, my friend, comes through experience. May God help us to limit our knowledge of evil. We should learn that which is good, from the word of God, and then put it into practice. Be encouraged. Jesus said (John 7:17)"If anyone desires to do his will, he will know about the teaching" and (John 8:31,32) "If you remain in my word, then you are truly my disciples. You will know the truth, and the truth will make you free." We also have the Holy Spirit to guide us, but we must be sensitive to his leading through the word. |
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135 | Are you quite sure about that? | Eccl 11:6 | Aixen7z4 | 100203 | ||
Thanks you for sharing that. I must say I have met only one other person with the burden you described. Is it widespread, as far as you know? I must say also that that burden seemed to put that brother at odds with almost everyone he met as they did not seem to understand the idea of practical sonship and the need for that type of relationship with Father. Do you think that seeking that type of relationship would help us to more clearly discern the will of God? Is it that we need to have a closer walk with him? |
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136 | Why don't you know for sure? | Eccl 11:6 | Aixen7z4 | 100245 | ||
As I write here I try to be careful. I want to be sure I don't say wrong things, because someone else is reading it and I don't want to lead anyone astray. When I am not sure about something, I say so. I am not sure I should say the following, so I hope everyone understands. I think we should all say what God has taught us and stop there. It is not true that "The Bible doesn't talk about man having free will". I can cite many passages where the Bible says he does. Genesis 2:17 is an example. Deuteronomy 30:19 is a classic. 1 Kings 18:21 says it. Isaiah 28:13 and Isaiah 30:15 prove it. Matthew 23:37 laments it. The fact that some who read this agree and some disagree renders it indisputable. Maybe there are other verses that seem to say the opposite, but to say the Bible never says it is a mistake. And there are others. It was not the tree of life that God said man should not eat of. It was the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Check it out. As far as why God allowed sin to happen, that is a question that has been discussed many times and I would guess there is a record of it somewhere on this forum. Someone probably said that it is a matter of logic. There is no way God could have known it would happen and then prevented it, because that would mean it would not happen and God would have been mistaken to think that it would have happened. This type of reasoning can be confusing. It's of the type that ponders whether God can make a stone so large that he can't lift it. It is usually not useful to ask these questions. Someone else might have said that God is Sovereign and we should not question what he does. He knows best and we should accept what he does. In fact, we should be grateful that he reveals his will to us so we can do it. Someone else might have said that it does not matter if God allowed sin since he also gave us the antidote for sin. It's like saying it is OK that God allows us to be hungry and thirsty because he created food and water. There is sin, but Christ died for our sins. Now man, with the free will that God gave him, can choose to remain in his sin or he can repent and receive God's forgiveness. I say it is more useful to accept that than to argue with God. Some will say that God has not given us free will, but they will then exercise their free will to argue. Then someone will ask why God allows us to argue. The fact is we do not have to. We can submit to him. Sometimes I am not too sure about these things, but I will edit this before posting it, to make sure it squares the word of God. Will you also be careful how you answer? |
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137 | Oral sex between husband and wife | Song of Solomon | Aixen7z4 | 106789 | ||
If there is no scriptural answer, it might be suggested that the matter not be discussed on an Bible forum. If is not of general interest, but a private matter, it might be suggested that it not be discussed on any open forum. A couple may decide such an issue between themselves or take it to a counselor. This is a personal opinion, for which I may be spanked, and this is not my forum. But I believe some matters must be kept private. I recommend this forum even to my patients, but I am embarrassed to see the present topic openly discussed. It has been dormant for some time and I suggest, respectfully, that it should remain so. |
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138 | Oral sex between husband and wife | Song of Solomon | Aixen7z4 | 106928 | ||
May the Lord give us wisdom and discretion. I trust that help will always be available when needed. But some discussions should be held in private and with confidentiality, whether in person or in personal correspondence with a counselor. The Bible is not silent on the subject of sexuality, but God in his wisdom gave us few details about the mechanics. There is still room for shamefacedness and sobriety and for modesty, I think. And there is a need for privacy in the bedroom and the bathroom and the doctor's office. |
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139 | what does the scripture mean? | Is 9:6 | Aixen7z4 | 120469 | ||
Jesus lets us know that following him will involve pain, that the Christian life is not a life of ease. Living for him will bring us into conflict with others, and I suppose that the sword is a symbol of conflict. This is only one of the many difficulties that one experiences because of his association with Christ (Luke 9:23;John 15:18). It is apparent that conflict within the family is quite painful for some people; painful to see and painful to experience (Jeremiah 15:10). And Jesus explains what he means by continuing to say that there would be divisions within natural families because of him: “a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law“ (Matthew 10:35). The language does seem strange because Jesus seems to be saying that he came for that purpose, to set us one against the other. Other Scriptures state that his purposes were otherwise (Luke 19:10; John 10:10). I suppose that he is saying, not that he desires these conflicts, but that these conflicts are an unavoidable consequence of his coming (John 16:33; 2 Timothy 3:12). True, as mommapbs has said, he does give personal peace (John 14:27). This peace is beyond human understanding (Philippians 4:7), and it reigns in the heart in spite of the conflicts. The believer has personal peace, and even joy, even when his family may misunderstand him and reject him. He will love them and want to be at peace with them, but his faith often makes that impossible. Unbelievers can be hostile and resentful towards believers. In some cultures it can be severe. That, I suppose, is the sword. Whether there should be conflict among believers is another matter. Within the household of faith, we are commanded to be at peace among ourselves (1 Thessalonians 5:13). We may not know exactly what difficulty tip is having with the statement quoted in the question, but this writer hopes that these thoughts, added to those that our sister has already given, are a useful contribution. |
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140 | And the winner is ___ ? | Is 42:4 | Aixen7z4 | 107052 | ||
You have made some good points there. Striking among them is the fact we need to decide what constitutes victory. The seventy returned again with joy, saying, Lord, even the devils are subject unto us through thy name. And he said unto them, “I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven. Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you. Notwithstanding in this rejoice not, that the spirits are subject unto you; but rather rejoice, because your names are written in heaven“. It is true that wrong is often the aggressor, and it appears to win. We struggle to fit in the word “appears” when the righteous brother dies. But that is what we see, and hence the question and the challenge. My question asks, “Why was not Abel the aggressor?” Why was he not approaching his brother with the light and the right and the truth? Why was he not urging upon him the right way? It is clear that we can use our imagination to say that perhaps he did, etc. But the facts revealed indicate that Cain was the aggressor, with all of his evil skills and tools. We do not know that he sneaked up on him and such. We can imagine that. Can we not imagine Abel being smart enough to see what was coming and to protect himself? Beyond that, I say again, Abel could have decided to be the aggressor, to be proactive, to bring right and life to his brother. We are told to be on guard so that the enemy does not sneak up on us. “Be sober, be vigilant” (1 Peter 5:8). It does not seem to help the situation for us to say, while in the supine position, that he sneaked up on us. We are encouraged to be wise as serpents, and with that wisdom we go, with armor on from head to foot and a sword in our hands. We are to be proactive. We are to win. And he that winneth souls is wise. But of course, we also have to look out for each other. I wish that was saying that we look our for each other‘s welfare. But we have to look out for attacks from each other, because we do attack each other, rather than the foe. If you asked me, that is one of the main reasons we so often do not win. We spend so much of our effort attacking and opposing each other, it is a wonder we have any strength left to fight the foe. A kingdom divided against itself will suffer defeats. We also waste our time on nonsense. While the world is going to hell we sit and argue about where Cain’s wife came from. Mention it, and someone is sure to ask, “Who are you to judge?” We need some sure way, it seems, to provoke one another to love and to good works. Odium is swift and hate is strong. Love is slow to rouse itself. Truth is forever on the scaffold, wrong forever on the throne. Once again I’ll say that Joshua won, and Jesus won because they were proactive. Since we have the weapons of warfare, mighty as they are for the pulling down of strongholds, we should be notching up more victories. By victory I mean turning aside a temptation, winning a soul, doing a deed of kindness, encouraging a brother, earning a good reputation, getting up after you have fallen, restoring a brother who has fallen, suffering patiently for the gospel, getting to the meeting. Satan tries to stop these things. But in the strength of the Lord, with encouragement from a brother or sister, we can do them. We can win. |
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