Results 141 - 154 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# | |||
141 | question about salvation | Phil 4:6 | stjones | 21485 | ||
Hi, Wendy; Welcome. I'm pretty new here myself. Whether your friend is saved or not is between your friend and Jesus; no one else knows. Most new Christians go through dry spells, often prolonged. Pray for your friend (and with, if possible) and continue to encourage. Maybe you can get your friend to look at other Bibles - a paraphrase (such as "The Message") or a modern English version such as the Good News or New Living Translation. Or you might try Christian music - there are artists in practically any style you can think of. Or visit a "seeker" church or other churches. Or see if there are any communities in your area that conduct three-day renewal weekends - first for yourself, then for your friend. The best-known are Cursillo (Catholic) and Walk to Emmaus (Methodist). This link will get you started to find out about them: http://www.cursillos.ca/en/index.htm (click on the "Expansion" link to read about movements that have grown out of the Cursillo.) This page contains links to many such communities around the country: http://home.indy.rr.com/indyvoice/links.htm But keep on praying. I pray this is helpful to you and your friend. Peace and grace, Steve |
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142 | Why was Judas' kiss needed? | Matt 26:48 | stjones | 21196 | ||
Hi, SpreadWord; Perhaps when Judas arranged to betray Jesus, they didn't know whether any Jewish officials would accompany the Roman soldiers. So they made sure that Jesus could be identified either way. Of course, as I'm sure you know, the gospels don't agree on whether or not Judas actually did kiss Jesus: 'Going at once to Jesus, Judas said, "Greetings, Rabbi!" and kissed him' (Matthew 26:35; Mark is similar) 'While he was still speaking a crowd came up, and the man who was called Judas, one of the Twelve, was leading them. He approached Jesus to kiss him, but Jesus asked him, "Judas, are you betraying the Son of Man with a kiss?" When Jesus' followers saw what was going to happen, they said, "Lord, should we strike with our swords?"' (Luke 22:47-48) John makes no mention of a kiss at all. (John 18:2-8) Don't know what to make of that.... Peace and grace, Steve |
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143 | After Salvation, What? | Luke 9:23 | stjones | 21015 | ||
Hi, Hank; I don't know if I would say any of what follows are obligations because I'm not sure we have obligations - sounds kinda legalistic to me. But I'm pretty sure(!) God would like us to always choose righteousness, to allow ourselves to be ruled by the mind of Christ within us (Jeremiah 31:33 - "I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts" and 1 Corinthians 2:16 - "we have the mind of Christ.") This is the struggle Paul discussed in Romans 8:14-25. So I respectfully submit the following as examples of how we should manifest the mind of Christ controlling our lives: "We know that we have come to know him if we obey his commands. The man who says, "I know him," but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But if anyone obeys his word, God's love is truly made complete in him. This is how we know we are in him: Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did." (1 John 2:3-6) '"Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me. He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and show myself to him." ... "If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. He who does not love me will not obey my teaching. These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me. "All this I have spoken while still with you."' (John 14:21-25) 'A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another."' (John 13:34-35) Peace and grace, Steve |
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144 | Are theregospels about Mary Magdeline? | Mark | stjones | 21011 | ||
Hi, Freespirit; Jesus cast out seven demons from her (Luke 8:2) while healing several women. And she was a witness to Jesus' crucifixion. There is a book called the "Gospel of Mary" purportedly by or about Mary Magdelene. This book was known and rejected by the early church. In the last 100 years, it has become one of the treasures of liberal (scewball?) theologians who want Jesus to be anything but the holy Son of God. Hope this is helpful. Peace and grace, Steve |
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145 | name of lost book in Bible | Bible general Archive 1 | stjones | 21005 | ||
Hi, Skot; There are several "lost" books; the "Gospel of Thomas" is probably the most infamous. There is also a "Gospel of Peter", a "Gospel of Mary [Magdalen]", "Pistis Sophia", and a few others. There is also a hypothetical Gospel named "Q" which is not known to exist in any form. Copies of many of these were found in Egypt at Nag Hammadi in 1945. Liberal theologians are making a lot of noise about the "discovery" of these "lost" books despite that fact that most of them have been known and their authenticity and claims refuted for more than 100 years. The reason these books were "lost", of course, is that they espoused heretical views - mostly gnosticism - that the early church firmly rejected. They are now presented as equivalent or even superior to the NT, revealing "alternate Christianities". The appeal is obvious: if you don't want to be accountable to a Jesus who sits in judgment, just hang out with one who learned his stuff in India. If you are prepared to believe that Jesus was a Buddha (please say you're not!), you may enjoy them. I recommend "Hidden Gospels: How the Search for Jesus Lost Its Way" by Philip Jenkins (Oxford University Press, 2001). Hope you find this helpful. |
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146 | Was He being punished... | NT general Archive 1 | stjones | 20875 | ||
Hi, REVbuff; You're right; Jesus was sinless. If he weren't, he would simply be suffering the punishment for his own sins and so could not be the substitutionary sacrifice for ours. God reveals his grace (his unmerited love for us) by allowing us to exchange our own sin for Jesus' righteousness. When we do that (through faith in Jesus), we get his sinlessness before God and he gets our punishment: "the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed." (Isaiah 53:5) Hope this is helpful. Peace and grace, Steve |
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147 | Does God uses people to prophecy anymore | Matt 23:34 | stjones | 20319 | ||
Acts 13:1 says there were prophets: "In the church at Antioch there were prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen (who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch) and Saul." Also 1 Corinthians 12:28 - "And in the church God has appointed first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then workers of miracles, also those having gifts of healing, those able to help others, those with gifts of administration, and those speaking in different kinds of tongues" Since there is a gift of prohecy (1 Corrintians 12:10), I assume that gift is still given. Of course, a prophet is simply one who speaks a message from God; not all prophecy foretells the future. I hope this is helpful. Peace and grace, Steve |
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148 | What is a good bible version for study? | Bible general Archive 1 | stjones | 20246 | ||
Hi,Myra; Good for you. A translation that gets in the way of your understanding won't do much to enhance your study. Take some time to find a version that is readable and understandable - keeping in mind that some parts of the Bible are just plain hard to understand. For pure readability, I like the New Living Translation; for serious study, I always reach for my NIV Study Bible (lots of notes, maps, historical information and such). I keep a Good News (Today's English) handy and find myself checking the NKJV online. Maybe your best bet would be a parallel Bible. Personally, I would look for one with the NIV, NKJV, either Good News or New Living, and one other older version - RSV, ASV, something like that. I also find a "complete" concordance very helpful for tracking down verses when I remember some of the words but not the source. An "exhaustive" concordance indexes every single word in the Bible while a complete concordance leaves out articles, (a, an, the), pronouns and such. A "brief" concordance leaves out lots of other words too. Concordances are version-specific, so wait until you settle on the version you refer to most often. Then, of course, there are computer Bibles.... One other thought - you might try a "read through the Bible in a year" booklet. You can find one to guide you straight through from Genesis 1:1 to Revelation 22:21. The one I used listed the passages in chronological order. It took a lot more than a year (lack of commitment on my part), but I'm very glad I did it. Happy "re-entry"! Peace and grace, Steve |
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149 | Is Depression of the devil? | Matt 9:12 | stjones | 20200 | ||
Greetings; Depression is an illness, sometimes purely psychological, sometiems physical, sometimes both. I would have faith in God while remembering that God might heal through a doctor. Whatever you do, don't be like Job's friends and assume that an affliction is evidence of insufficient faith. Paul's great faith didn't deliver him from the thorn in his side. You didn't specifically ask about demon posession, but you may be interested in an article in Christianity Today entitled "Obsession or Posession?" I think it was the August issue; it is also available online at http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2001/011/1.46.html. I found it balanced between skepticism and faith; you may find it helpful. I hope this is some help. Peach and grace, Steve |
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150 | Religions, who is right???? | Matt 7:23 | stjones | 20081 | ||
Hello, Serenetime; Everything Tim said in his reply is true - Jesus said he was the only way and I'm not about to argue with him. I'd like to address your last question. If by "religion" you mean denominations or particular congregations, yes, they are man made. In the case of Christians, they are the result of groups of people trying to create the kinds of fellowship and church governance that Acts and Paul's letters describe. But if you mean "religions" in the larger sense - Judaism, Christianity, Mormonism, Islam, Buddhism, etc., the answer is no, not all. Two of them were created by God - Judaism and Christianity. Now you may reply that while the Bible says that, there are other holy books that make similar claims. So why take the Bible's word for it? There are many reasons to believe that the Bible is truthful and therefore reliable. For me, a helpful reason is to ask of each holy book, "who wrote it?" The Qur'an was written by Muhammad, claiming that the message was from God. The Book of Mormon was produced by Joseph Smith, claiming that the message was from God. And so on. The Bible was written by ... lots of people over a period of many centuries. Some of them were historians, recording what happened when God intervened in the lives of people and nations that they knew about. Some of them were leaders who recorded their own experiences. Some were indeed prophets who claimed that their message was from God. But there were so many of them over such a long period of time speaking to different audiences who all described the same God with the same attributes and the same will. How could so many people, separated by such great distances of time and geography come up with a consistent message if it were not inspired by God? How could Isaiah (chapter 53) describe Jesus in such detail - in manuscripts that are known to predate Jesus - if God didn't tell him? I believe the Bible because I believe in Jesus Christ, but there are many who believe in Jesus in part because the Bible by itself is just plain believable. Peace and grace, Steve |
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151 | IN PSALMS 37:4 | Psalm | stjones | 20054 | ||
Hi, Charlotte; I think I would say "holy happiness" - happiness that comes not from the world and its pleasures and wickedness but from the joy of God's grace. More specific to this context, Psalms 1 (1-3)and 119 (69-71, 76-78, 91-93, 173-175) talk about delighting in the law. Taken as a whole, these passages convey the idea that the law provides access to God's love, providence, protection, and salvation. So I think it would be safe to say that "delight" means to find satisfaction or joy in these things. Hope this helps. Peace and grace, Steve |
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152 | the conversion of Zaccheus | Luke | stjones | 19966 | ||
In addition to what prayon said, there are a number of other lessons or examples in this incident: 1. Zacchaeus showed determination in his desire to find out about Jesus - he wasn't passive. (19:3-4) 2. When called, Z responded immediately and obediently, unlike, say, the rich young ruler in Mark 11:17-22. (19:5-6) 3. Without being prompted, Z demonstrated a giving spirit. (19:8a) 4. Again without prompting, Z repented and made amends for past sins. (19:8b) I wonder how many of us, upon first hearing about Jesus, responded with enthusiasm, obedience, and a joyful spirit like Zacchaeus. I know I didn't :-( Peace and grace, Steve |
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153 | The tower in Luke 13 | Luke | stjones | 19817 | ||
No mention of terrorists in the NIV. Jesus was talking to the crowd about a pair of incidents they knew about where a number of people had died violently. Like Job's friends, they assumed that such a catastrophe was evidence of extreme sinfulness. Jesus told them they would die too, so they needed to repent. The NIV is among several translations available at www.biblegateway.com. Peace and grace, Steve |
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154 | Bible and evolution both? | Gen 1:1 | stjones | 19402 | ||
Yes - sort of. First let me say that arguments about HOW God created the universe distract us from the wonder of the fact THAT God created the universe. "in the beginning, God" may be the four most important words in the Bible because everything else hangs on their truth. The Bible is not a scientific textbook, it is a spriritual textbook ("... 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" - 2 Tim 3:15-17). I have no trouble with thinking of the first few chapters of Geneseis as a parable. Such thinking does not impair the Bible's chief purpose of pointing the reader toward Jesus. Knowing him - and our need for him - has nothing to do with how or when God created the universe. For us old-Earth Christians, evolution is nothing more than one way God could have created the diverse life on this planet. Note that the agent is God, not the mechanism that Darwin erroneously proposed (random mutation plus natural selection). It makes perfectly good sense to me that God could have directed evolution, with his ultimate creature, man, in mind all the time. IMHO, God-directed evolution explains the evidence for both evolution and intelligent design and is consistent with the spiritual truth of Genesis. So, yes, I do think that a form of evolution provides a better explanation of the physical evidence than a literal reading of Genesis 1-2. And yes, I am a Christian who accepts without reservation my sinful condition, my inability to save myself, the person and work of Jesus, the grace of God extended through Jesus, and the promise of salvation through faith in Jesus. |
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