Results 141 - 160 of 269
|
||||||
Results from: Notes Author: Country Girl Ordered by Verse |
||||||
Results | Verse | Author | ID# | |||
141 | A stranger they will not follow | John 10:4 | Country Girl | 125521 | ||
I'm thinking the biggest reason why this analogy of comparing mankind to sheep keeps popping up in Christ's words throughout the Gospels is their accuracy in our understanding of the Bible. Our world is so literal, so finite whereas our God's world is so spiritual and infinite. When one really thinks about it, we really are like sheep. We're easily distracted from our focus on Him as the center of our lives, our leader. We're so timid when we're faced with real trouble in our lives, especially our spiritual relationship with Him and His/our Father. We're so prone to listen and spend far too much time discussing and debating on issues not really that important to our God, like the Rapture and other questionable areas of the Bible. We even get sheared every once in a while and start all over again with our struggle to maintain some balance and a proper amount of humility in our lives. If we could only learn from sheep and follow the voice of our Shepard and keep ourselves out of trouble, the world of Christianity would be far better off. What are your thoughts on this matter? Anyone else? Blessings to you all. Country Girl |
||||||
142 | Would you consider Hebrews 12:14? | John 10:34 | Country Girl | 127728 | ||
If I may interject, it seems obvious Who is the primary active Agent in verse 9 as quoted below. The same Person is primary in verses 10 and 11. Heb 12:9 Furthermore, we had earthly fathers to discipline us, and we respected them; shall we not much rather be subject to the Father of spirits, and live? Heb 12:10 For they disciplined us for a short time as seemed best to them, but He disciplines us for our good, so that we may share His holiness. Heb 12:11 All discipline for the moment seems not to be joyful, but sorrowful; yet to those who have been trained by it, afterwards it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness. So what are we to conclude from this discussion? Everyone knows we humans certainly aren't Gods or gods either one. So apparently Jesus once again was speaking to His "testers," his biggest political enemies while here on earth, the Scribes and Pharisees. So many of the discussions and statements from Jesus to these people were often filled with difficult concepts and quotes from the OT. It's obvious Jesus' main priority was to humble their thinking and their attitude to Himself and His Father. Blessings to you. Country Girl |
||||||
143 | The Teacher and His teachings? | John 14:23 | Country Girl | 127534 | ||
There seems to be a rush to reach a conclusion without including the rest of God's Word on this subject. Yes, we do absolutely nothing toward our own salvation, I agree but that doesn't mean we get out of doing the works of faith as described in James, Chapter 2. We must remember, we must in addition to obeying Jesus' Words actually spoken by Him, we must also follow and obey the words written by God's representatives throughout the NT. James is very clear on this matter, a true and genuine faith in God WILL produce fruit/works of Christianity like we see encouraged throughout His Word. Without those works, James says our faith is dead and being dead would not be of any value to anyone. Hope this helps and blessings to you all. Country Girl |
||||||
144 | Human Power? | John 15:5 | Country Girl | 128618 | ||
I agree with Mr. Owen in that we have no power to do anything without the specific approval and blessing to do so. The only reason we're allowed to keep breathing, eating and sleeping is by the Grace of God and His Infinite Mercy. BUT that doesn't negate the message of James. We are to do our fair share of God's business just Christ started when He was twelve years old. We all must adopt a truly Godly lifestyle and spread the Good News that His Son has died for the whole world. Further we must imitate Christ and go about our lives bestowing acts of kindness on those whom we see in need. This is the only way God will accept our Christianity as being real and genuine. This is the only way we can be assured Christ's cleansing blood keeps us free from our sins as shown in 1 John 1. In this way, we'll keep our attitude in check and realize it's not anything we could possibly do or say to earn this Gift of Salvation. We simply owe a debt to our God, our Creator. We can merely hope to be counted worthy to be His vessel, His conduit, His lantern through which we must shine His light, show His priorities in our lives. In this way, like Paul, we must be willing to "become all things to all people, so that we might win some" to this lifestyle of God. Yes, indeed the power of the cross rests in our Lord and Savior of this world, IF we'll let Him become our Master and King of our lives. BUT that Mastery and Kingship must be true and genuine. Something only our God can measure on Judgment Day. Blessings to you. Country Girl |
||||||
145 | Human Power? | John 15:5 | Country Girl | 128672 | ||
You seemed to have overlooked a key passage: Rev 3:20 'Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will dine with him, and he with Me. The Bible is clear on this matter (in my mind). God is not going to impose His Will and have His Way with us if we refuse Him. Sure He desparately wants to come into our lives and be placed on the throne of our hearts but He leaves that decision up to us. Blessings to you. Country Girl |
||||||
146 | Human Power? | John 15:5 | Country Girl | 128681 | ||
There is no actual verse in the Bible that I could recall to depict God in this condition of being desperate. However, I do think we can draw the proper conclusion from God's actions. If you or I as parents were to offer one of our own child(ren) as a sacrifice, we would be either considered completely crazy or someone worthy of a prison sentence. But since God offered "His Only Begotten Son" as that Perfect Sacrifice, we can only say thank you, dear Lord. So in effect, it looks as if God is willing to do literally anything in His power (a pretty good picture of desperation if you ask me) to get you and me to re-evaluate our lives and become one of His. This is especially true when one re-reads the story of the crucifiction and Jesus' mockery of a trial. But again, in submission to your comment, I have to admit it's a difficult concept to think of our God as being desperate for anything since He created the whole universe and could make any one of us do as He please IF He chose to. I guess that's the crux of the whole matter, He chooses NOT to but He still wants very badly to have the whole world repent and give up this world of sin. I appreciate your giving me reason to make me think about what I've stated. Blessings to you. Country Girl |
||||||
147 | Human Power? | John 15:5 | Country Girl | 128809 | ||
Can you or Doc T show me in the Bible an example where someone established a relationship with God, lost it like King Saul and then God overpowered them and insisted on bringing him/her back into His Good Graces? Just need Book, Chapter and Verse to see this eternal security at work. Thanks. I guess I really open the challenge to anyone else on the Forum. Let's call it "Pick Up and Smear" just like we were kids. But I still pray for God's blessings on you all. Country Girl |
||||||
148 | Human Power? | John 15:5 | Country Girl | 128816 | ||
Can you refer me to a Forum post discussing such a Biblical example of eternal security as I described in my previous statement/question? Still hoping. Blessings to you. Country Girl |
||||||
149 | Human Power? | John 15:5 | Country Girl | 128819 | ||
Quoted for reference: Rev 3:14 "To the angel of the church in Laodicea write: The Amen, the faithful and true Witness, the Beginning of the creation of God, says this: Rev 3:15 'I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot; I wish that you were cold or hot. Rev 3:16 'So because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of My mouth. Rev 3:17 'Because you say, "I am rich, and have become wealthy, and have need of nothing," and you do not know that you are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked, Rev 3:18 I advise you to buy from Me gold refined by fire so that you may become rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself, and that the shame of your nakedness will not be revealed; and eye salve to anoint your eyes so that you may see. Rev 3:19 'Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline; therefore be zealous and repent. Rev 3:20 'Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will dine with him, and he with Me. Rev 3:21 'He who overcomes, I will grant to him to sit down with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne. Rev 3:22 'He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.'" Obviously, I don't have the education background you show but it seems this letter to the Laodiceans was simple and straight forward like the other six letters to the churches in Asia. Some churches were praiseworthy but most received harsh criticism from our Lord like most of us would if we were all judged today. Anyway, verse 20 is just a simple statement that our God wants to be the center of our lives as shown throughout the rest of Bibles, BUT the Lord's attitude is obvious here. He's NOT going to barge in and thrust Himself on anybody if they don't want Him in their lives. I hope this is clear. Blessings to you. Country Girl |
||||||
150 | Human Power? | John 15:5 | Country Girl | 128827 | ||
Thanks, I'll check it out. Blessings to you. Country Gir | ||||||
151 | Human Power? | John 15:5 | Country Girl | 128962 | ||
I sincerely apologize as I didn't mean to put words in your mouth. The main point of my quoting from that particular passage was also to point out that with God, we can't take the middle ground or staddle the fence on the major issues in the Bible. Our Lord and Savior expects us as His children to study ALL of His Words on a particular topic and draw the proper conclusion considering His intent behind all of it. We also must include the words of His official representatives, the writers throughout the NT. I really thought you were coming down on the Pro side of this Eternal Security issue. As I've stated several times, our salvation individually is an incredibly fragile thing, something we have to work at with much diligence. God of course never waivers or moves in this process as He is the most constant Being in the whole universe. We humans on the other hand are very fickle and moody. We'll say we love our life long spouse at one point and seconds later we'll confess we love our favorite ice cream. At any rate, God certainly does want a life-long relationship with all of us but I believe He also gives all of us complete and total freedom to choose a life with Him or without Him. He also gives complete freedom to change our minds afterwards, just as He did with Sodom, Gomorrah and Ninevah before destroying them. Notice Ninevah repented and changed their ways for a little while at the preaching of Jonah. But according to Nahum, they soon went back to their evil ways and God did such a complete destruction of their whole country, that we didn't even know they existed outside of the Bible until a 100 years ago. Again, I apologize to you. Remember "to err is human, forgive is divine." Blessings to you. Country Girl |
||||||
152 | Human Power? | John 15:5 | Country Girl | 128995 | ||
I'd like to think I could recall several examples but at the moment with my being so tired, I can only recall the one cited below. In Acts 8, we see Simon the sorcerer become a christian and of course this is after he has repented and apparently is trying to turn his life around but he blunders very badly by lusting after the miraculous powers as displayed by Peter. Peter of course rebukes him rather harshly but I guess that's just my weaker side coming out of me. But the conclusion is that all of us start out as "babes in Christ" upon first being converted to God's family. And like all babes, our condition is fragile, that is our faith is young and immature. We're prone to make mistakes in judgments, where to go and with whom to associate. Paul teaches that the stronger, more mature brethren should watch out for the younger christian amongst them so as to not lead them astray. For example, we all know about Paul's admonition not to eat meat that had been offered to idols in front of a newly converted christian that's just come out of that practice, that is offering meat sacrifices to idols. So you see, it's a matter of drawing the proper conclusion from God's Word and using our common sense. But thank you for taking a new and objective look at my post. It does give me "pause for the cause." Blessings to you, my dear friend. If you have any further questions, don't hesitate to come knocking. Country Girl |
||||||
153 | Human Power? | John 15:5 | Country Girl | 129001 | ||
Quoted for context: 1 John 2:18 Children, it is the last hour; and just as you heard that antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have appeared; from this we know that it is the last hour. 1 John 2:19 They went out from us, but they were not really of us; for if they had been of us, they would have remained with us; but they went out, so that it would be shown that they all are not of us. There's a slight difference between the folks cited by John and those in Jesus' letter to the Laodiceans. Basically, it boils down to the hypocresy as described by Jesus. The church there was trying to stay popular with the world and yet be in Christ's army against sin. Whereas John was apparently talking about people who had already clearly shown their alligence to the devil as being called part of the antichrist is pretty strong language. But like I stated before and Christ stated as much about the Laodiceans. On Judgment Day, there will be two groups, those decidedly and emphatically in Christ's body and all others in the other group. So to be lukewarm is very, very dangerous ground indeed. That's been my point all along. When it comes to major principles and truths in God's Word, we cannot afford to be wishy washy and take a chance with vauge scriptures on a particular topic when there are other scriptures on that same topic that clearly dictate one way, the Lord's Way. Blessings to you, dear friend. Country Girl |
||||||
154 | Human Power? | John 15:5 | Country Girl | 129167 | ||
I guess I didn't make myself clear. I'm talking about Eternal Security, or as most call it "Once saved, always saved." I'd say this concept clearly failed Ananias and Sapphira miserably. Where was their Eternal Security? I'm saying let's see some specific proof of this very focused idea that once you are considered part of God's family of christians, there's absolutely no way you can lose that salvation. Please show me Book, Chapter and verse proving that this is an absolute benefit from God. Of course you understand, I'm talking about God's saving us in spite of what we do after we're in Christ. So for example if a christian goes back to his previous life of sin, mudering, stealing, lying, cheating, etc., God assures him and all of us that He'll just say on Judgment Day, "Come on in, my Son's blood wasn't all that important after all. I really did want all of my children to come home anyway." Or some semblance of that sentiment. I'm hoping this makes my query a little more clear. Blessings to you. Country Girl |
||||||
155 | Human Power? | John 15:5 | Country Girl | 129186 | ||
Since we know the Bible to be absolutely complete and true, we have to think of ways that these kinds of passages compliment one another. In my mind, without a whole lot time to study the matter, I think back to the verses on God's Grace. You see, as long as we're giving God our very best then His Grace covers us, just in case we die suddenly we're good to go. I'm convined it's after a significant period of neglect of our precious relationship with God, that we christians jepordize our salvation. We must see ourselves in constant (at least daily) need of prayer and repentance to our Lord for the sins of yesterday and the sins we might commit or the good deeds that we ommit from our lives in the day ahead of us. Blessings to you. Country Girl |
||||||
156 | Human Power? | John 15:5 | Country Girl | 129189 | ||
I'm not sure how you could have possibly misunderstood my statement but I'm of the opinion like most christians that Ananias and Sapphira died in their sins. Acts 5 seems pretty clear on that point. I'll have to check later on this thread. I simply must leave you all now and do some homework. Blessings on you all. Country Girl |
||||||
157 | Human Power? | John 15:5 | Country Girl | 129250 | ||
I'm sorry but I have to respectfully disagree. It proves the point against OSAS at least as much as all of the verses that have been cited in its support. As I mentioned, there's several million christians who hold to this interpretation just as I do. As you know, there's going to be quite a bit of controversy about this subject as shown throughout the Forum. Nevertheless, I pray God's blessings on you and your continued study. Country Girl |
||||||
158 | Human Power? | John 15:5 | Country Girl | 129252 | ||
I also remembered the other example of christians with a weakness for "the darker side" of sin as shown in the following verses from Paul. 1 Tim 1:18 This command I entrust to you, Timothy, my son, in accordance with the prophecies previously made concerning you, that by them you fight the good fight, 1 Tim 1:19 keeping faith and a good conscience, which some have rejected and suffered shipwreck in regard to their faith. 1 Tim 1:20 Among these are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I have handed over to Satan, so that they will be taught not to blaspheme. And then of course, there's the words from Peter 2 Pet 2:20 For if, after they have escaped the defilements of the world by the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and are overcome, the last state has become worse for them than the first. 2 Pet 2:21 For it would be better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than having known it, to turn away from the holy commandment handed on to them. 2 Pet 2:22 It has happened to them according to the true proverb, "A DOG RETURNS TO ITS OWN VOMIT," and, "A sow, after washing, returns to wallowing in the mire." If a person reads God's Word as much as possible in the same spirit as He intended it, we'll see His Messages to us as being very straight forward and simple. Here it seems very clear that God knows that we humans have and will exercise our freewill. That's one of the aspects of humanity that distingusihes us from the rest of creation. If we had no such option to "change" our minds and go back to a life of sin AFTER becoming a christian, it wouldn't be near as glorious as one of His children actually choosing to remain faithful till death as cited in Rev 2:10. Then our Father beams His glory all over the place and He gets the praise. Because remember, there's nothing in this process that can possibly be glorious for you and me. He gets it all. I hope this is helpful in your understanding. Blessings to you. Country Girl |
||||||
159 | Human Power? | John 15:5 | Country Girl | 129311 | ||
So I'm assuming you and Hank are preparing your responses to my other post with scriptures from 1 Timothy and 2 Peter, correct? I await your responses. Thanks. But back to Ananias and Sapphira. I still don't see how anyone could draw any other conclusion about these two. They lied to the Apostles, and to their Lord and didn't repent of these sins before their obvious and very deliberate deaths at the very behest of the Holy Spirit. At the very least, we should draw a conclusion of extreme caution when it comes to sinning and going on with our lives with no intent of repenting. This is exactly what Paul was talking about in the following: Heb 10:26 For if we sin willfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, 27but a certain fearful expectation of judgment, and fiery indignation which will devour the adversaries. 28Anyone who has rejected Moses' law dies without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. 29Of how much worse punishment, do you suppose, will he be thought worthy who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, counted the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified a common thing, and insulted the Spirit of grace? 30For we know Him who said, "Vengeance is Mine, I will repay," says the Lord. And again, "The LORD will judge His people." 31It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. However, I'm still interested in your response. Blessings to you. Country Girl |
||||||
160 | Human Power? | John 15:5 | Country Girl | 129361 | ||
I think I can agree with the bottom line of your assessment of the OSAS, or rather than take a chance on misinterpreting let me summarize. I also believe very strongly that ALL christians can reach the point of spiritual maturity that we can KNOW for an absolute fact that we are saved and that we ARE going to Heaven as reflected in 1 John 5:10 He who believes in the Son of God has the witness in himself; he who does not believe God has made Him a liar, because he has not believed the testimony that God has given of His Son. 11And this is the testimony: that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. 12He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life. 13These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life, and that you may continue to believe in the name of the Son of God. If we've obeyed God's commands to the best of our ability, we can meet God at Judgment Day with full confidence that our Lord Jesus, our Advocate will be there to cover us with his Pure Blood. That and God's Grace is all that we'll need to go to Heaven forever and ever. Blessings to you, dear friend. Country Girl |
||||||
Result pages: << First < Prev [ 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 ] Next > Last [14] >> |