Results 141 - 160 of 975
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Results from: Answered Bible Questions, Answers, Unanswered Bible Questions, Notes Author: Aixen7z4 Ordered by Verse |
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Results | Verse | Author | ID# | |||
141 | Who was God going to kill? | Ex 4:24 | Aixen7z4 | 138609 | ||
It is my understanding that God does not desire the death of the disobedient person. Ezekiel 18:23 “Have I any pleasure at all that the wicked should die?” saith the Lord GOD: “and not that he should return from his ways, and live?” Ezekiel 33:11 Say unto them, “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: turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways; for why will ye die …?” 2 Peter 3:9 The Lord is … not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. The Lord had no more intention to kill Moses or his son than he had of destroying the people of Nineveh (Jonah 3,4) or than Jesus had intention of going further (Luke 24:28). The God who knew that Abraham would direct his family in the right way (Genesis 18) knew that Moses’ family would accede to his demand for circumcision of the male. It does not take away from the fact that God is just and will punish sin. The soul that sinneth, it shall die (Ezekiel 18:4,20). The wicked will be turned into hell (Psalm 9:17). But God looks forward to our repentance and to his chance to forgive us. We might not do well to delve into the foreknowledge of God because it could lead into a discussion of predestination, and that is not the purpose here. But would it not be interesting if God would have chosen Moses to deliver the children of Israel from Egypt and then turned around and killed him (or his son) before he had had a chance to do that? It seems then that God’s threat of death is to remind us that he is a God of justice, but he never wants to follow-through on that threat. He will kill some, as he did Er (Genesis 28) and Korah (Numbers 16), and Uzzah (2 Samuel 6) and those who refuse to repent and trust in Jesus (John 3:16). But he knew he would not have to kill anyone in Moses’ family on the way to Egypt. I agree with you that someone would have died if atonement was not made. But atonement would be made there, and on the cross, by Jesus, and no one needs to die. I speak here of spiritual death. |
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142 | Can one who commits suicide be saved? | Ex 20:13 | Aixen7z4 | 104469 | ||
Unless he got saved before the act. There is no repentance after death, but the death of jesus takes care of everything, once you've placed your trust in him. | ||||||
143 | Can one who commits suicide be saved? | Ex 20:13 | Aixen7z4 | 104470 | ||
Hello: I have not read much on this thread, but my ministry is in counseling and I was led to your note. I agree with you that suicide is not an answer. Depression is a common problem and can be overcome. Please seek help. I hesitate to tell you that suicide does not send a believer to hell, but I hope it does not make the idea any more appealing. I want to encourage you to trust the Lord and give your life to him. You should know that baptism is not the answer. God requires repentance and faith, trustng him. Baptism is good, but it comes after those two. Trust in the Lord, and live for him. |
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144 | In Israel or not? | Ex 35:22 | Aixen7z4 | 42109 | ||
I assume you are linking this verse to 2 Ki 19:28. This is part of the response God sent to one nation, an enemy of Israel, that was planning to attack them. The phrase is figurative. He was saying they would not be successful because they would be turned around. As to the meaning of the phrase note: From The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge: This alludes to the method by which the common people manage their beasts in the East, especially the dromedaries, which are governed by a bridle fastened to a ring, which runs through the nostril of the beast. Job 41:2 Ps 32:9 Eze 29:4 38:4 Am 4:2 |
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145 | Explain the Holy Trinity-verysimple form | Numbers | Aixen7z4 | 103539 | ||
It is good to have such a request from someone who has recently gotten saved. People like that are usually sincere in their questions, really wanting to know and not to make a mystery of everything. This person will probably keep it simple and accept what God has revealed about himself. I recently had the privilege of leading a gentleman to the Lord and he asked the same question. He accepted the answer quite readily and seemed to be satisfied. Let me offer you the same explanation and see if you and this new convert will also find satisfaction in it. There are three beings who work together to rule the universe. Each one is called God, but that is only their title. One is called the Father. One is called the Son. The other is called the Holy Spirit. They are united in the way they work together, always agreeing, never opposing each other. They all have the same qualities such as holiness, power, and knowledge. They are supreme and perfect in all these areas. They do different things. The Father rules over all. The Son created the heavens and the earth and keeps them in working order. He once took the form of a man and allowed himself to be crucified, but he then rose from the dead and went back to heaven. The Holy Spirit goes about restraining sin, convicting people and leading them to Christ for salvation. He lives in some people, the ones who are saved, helping them to understand the Bible, guiding their lives, comforting them, and so on. People refer to this group of three as the Trinity, although they never call themselves that. The Father refers to himself by many names, such as the Almighty and El-Shaddai and so on. He also refers to the Son as "my beloved Son" and to the Holy Spirit as "my Spirit". The Son speaks of himself as the Son of Man and so on. He refers often to his Father in heaven and to the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the one who inspired people to write the Scriptures and they never used the word Trinity. However, they did speak of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Although these writers admit that they do not know everything about God, they freely wrote about what was revealed to them. They did not seem to have any difficulty with the fact that the God of the universe consisted of three persons acting together as one. |
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146 | must be theologians? | Numbers | Aixen7z4 | 103609 | ||
No!!! Theologians have always tried to justify their craft by telling us that they are the only ones who know. But God is no respecter of persons. Open your heart, and he will reveal himself to you. Open your eyes. Look at Jesus. Nicodemus says, "How can these things be?" but the man who had been touched by Jesus says, "One thing I know, that, whereas I was blind, now I see". Thus saith the LORD, “Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might, let not the rich man glory in his riches: But let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth me”. |
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147 | Explain the Holy Trinity-verysimple form | Numbers | Aixen7z4 | 103619 | ||
Methinks, my friend, that you make the matter much more difficult than it is. You ask, “How can something be three distinct persons, yet all be one person?” I do not know anywhere that the Bible says that God is “something”. “Only one ‘What’: God”?!? Where did that come from? And please do not say from Honegraf? Where did Honegraf learn that God is a thing? Nor does the Bible say that God is “one person”. It does say (Deuteronomy 6:4) that “The LORD our God is one LORD”. We would have no idea how three persons can be one person. But we know that three persons are one God. Why do I need to pretend that this is a difficult concept? Is the idea of a team, or a group, or a family, likewise beyond our human understanding? |
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148 | What are the questions? | Numbers | Aixen7z4 | 103622 | ||
What are the questions? | ||||||
149 | must be theologians? | Numbers | Aixen7z4 | 103627 | ||
If you are a theologian, EDB, I apologize to you personally, and I regret having made that statement about theologians. I have not heard any theologians to say that they are the only ones who know. The statement then, may be untrue. I am not sure what “patently” means. Truth is I am not sure what theologians really do or say. They just give me the impression that by dint of study they think they know. Yet they confuse me with admissions that there is so much they do not know. I only meant to answer that one does not have to be a theologian to know the only true God. I wondered why that questioner asked that question. Does one expect to get to know God by devoting most of one’s life to studying the word of God? I do not know. They tell us there are some things we do not understand and that they know more (understand better?) because they have spent many years studying. My problem is this: How can we judge whether what they are telling us in true? They invent words such as “Trinity” which are not even in the Bible. Then they tell us it is a difficult concept and they have been studying it for many years and they will explain it to us. We listen and we don’t understand and we say, “That is totally confusing to me”. They then accuse of not believing or of limiting our faith to our level of understanding. In attempting to make things simple, theologians make things more difficult for some of us. I do not study the word of God, but I search the word of God for information and instruction, and I think I have an understanding of my God. I am afraid that such a statement will be shot down, but I take comfort in the fact that I know that I know him personally and that I am allowed to say so. For this cause I suffer also these things. Yet I am not ashamed, for I know him whom I have believed (2 Timothy 1:12). I know that I know him, and I hide behind the fact that I am allowed to say that, even to uxult in it. Doubtless, boasting is not usually a good thing. “But Let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth me, that I am the LORD which exercise lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness, in the earth: for in these things I delight”, saith the LORD. I would not be a theologian because I am not sure we ought to be studying the word of God. That statement will shock many and it will probably be shot at too, but I have not seen such an instruction in the Bible. I know, as I have said, that I should search the word (John 5:39; Acts 17:11, etc.) but I do not know that I should study it. Those who study it tend to argue over words, and their debates seldom serve to elucidate anything. When they run out of bible words such as sanctification they invent words such as Trinity and eschatology and transsubstantiation, or they go to Greek and Hebrew words, and they do not seem to help us. I hope no theologian tells you here that you should “study to show yourself approved”. We should know the word of God, and also we should know God. But “of making many books there is no end; and much study is a weariness of the flesh. This is the end of the matter. All has been heard. Fear God, and keep his commandments; for this is the whole duty of man. Is this a call for ignorance? No. You search the Scriptures, because you think that in them you have eternal life; and these are they which testify about him. That is good. May the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him. |
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150 | must be theologians? | Numbers | Aixen7z4 | 103631 | ||
Good question, brother Tim. I have never heard a theologian to say that. So again, I apologize to all of the theologians. But I am troubled by the fact some people may be thinking that only theologians get to know God. I am troubled by the idea of studying God. I am troubled by the idea of someone making it a career to study the word of God, and I do not know that they have done us any good. I have said elsewhere that I think they invent terms and study them and disagree among themselves about them and in the end they make things complicated. Take this as a case in point. Why the term “Trinity”? OK, it can be justified. But does it help in this situation? Can we go to the theological dictionary to find a simple definition that we can provide to a new believer? I am afraid we tend to lead people into a world of terminology and word studies instead of encouraging them in a personal relationship with God. Spend time with the Lord. Spend with his word, searching it, reading it meditating on it. Accept it as it is. But to study it or him I find not. Know him. Learn of him. (Does that mean to study him?). Sit at his feet. Listen to him. Trust him. Obey him. (Does that mean to study him?) Even now, this is becoming too complicated for me. I think we can accept, and state, that the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit work together as one God, without going into all of this. |
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151 | Explain the Holy Trinity-verysimple form | Numbers | Aixen7z4 | 103683 | ||
God is great, and in many ways beyond our understanding. But the fact that the three persons exist and work as one is not difficult to accept or understand, unless you make it so. But the folks on this forum are tough! Ouch! Be careful with them. If you are a new Christian and don’t know what happens here, you night get hurt! Tell the new believer: they do not sound too much like Jesus, but I do believe they are Christian. They are forgiven. They are my brethren. These are the kind you’ll find in church. So be prepared. Love them anyway. And do not leave. But please do not believe them when they say “the Bible describes God as one single being”. It does not. If they had seen it in the Bible they might quote the verse. They cannot. They say that the concept of three being one is beyond our human understanding. The Bible does not present it as incomprehensibel but simply presents our God three in one. We are not spooked when one of them says, “Let us make man in our image” (Genesis 1:26). The Spirit is moving (Genesis 1:2). The Son is creating (John 1:3). God the Father put all things under the Son (1 Corinthians 15:27) and the earthly scene unfolded. When Jesus is on earth and a voice speaks from heaven saying, ”This is my beloved son”, this is not ventriloquism. It is one person speaking to another. When the Spirit descends on Jesus, it is not an apparition. He is another person entering the scene. These are not one person, my friends, but three. The Bible does not say that the three are one person. We Christians have a hard time tolerating our oneness (1 Corinthians 1:12). We bite and devour one another (Gal 5:15). We divide into denominations and we have racial hatred, and we have cliques and church splits, and even religious wars. We have to try hard to keep the unity that God has set up, and peace (Ephesians 4:3). No wonder some of us have a hard time understanding how the Father and the Son and the Spirit can be one. We quarrel and fight and throw insults. But there is no such thing within the godhead. They are united. And Jesus prayed that we would be one, just as they are one (John 17:22). But it is difficult for some of us to understand and practice. That is the way it is with us concerning many things that God says. We find it hard to do, so we prefer to study. But the behavior on this forum, on this thread, proves the point that Bible study is not helpful. It is not helpful, I say, because it does not translate into behavior. We pursue knowledge and not godliness. The fact is, we do not practice what we know. We can give a good exegesis of love but we do not practice love. In fact we often do the opposite of what the Bible says. Many of us have yet to learn that God is not interested in what we know, but in what we do (1 Corinthians 8:1). Some people who have had no Bible behave better than we do. Abraham had no Bible, but he obeyed God (Hebrews 11:8). The Gentiles did not have the law, but they did the things contained in the law (Romans 2:14). And we have Bible schools. We pass man’s exams, but fail to do the will of God. You might as well say this to the new believer. This is what we do, and this is what they can expect. And let my brethren prove me true by lashing me again. No, I’m no masochist, my friend, but I am a realist. I know what to expect and I can take it. A doctor learns medicine in order to practice healing. A psychologist leans about human behavior to help humans to make good decisions. An architect learns the building trade to erect and fix buildings. Believers study the Bible in order to … I’d like to see us win a soul here, or heal a marriage, or restore a backslider, or do something else that God says. We like to display what we know, and so we study. And yet, a brother has been studying comes on here to say that “study to show thyself approved” means to study the Bible. And so, with ideas like that, we enter Bible study rooms and express our opinions. We are none the better for it. Some of us have seen so much of it, we are tired of it. But we do not give up. We practice patience and take their jabs and prod them still to love and to good works. We will not be weary in well doing. God’s goal for us is that we be one. And we will be. Just as the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit are one. Separate persons but one God. Grace to you from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ. And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption. Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice: And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you. Don't study these things, my friends. Do them. And the God of peace will be with you. |
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152 | Explain the Holy Trinity-verysimple form | Numbers | Aixen7z4 | 103686 | ||
Good to see you, Kathy. You are one person with three roles: mother, daughter, niece. I would not be surprised if you have other roles as well. Come to think of it, you are a Forum member, a sister, a friend. Similarly, our Lord Jesus Christ is Prophet, Priest, King, Lamb of God, Savior, etc. But there is also God the Father, a separate person. He is the father of our Lord Jesus Christ, and our Father. Jesus sits at his right hand. The Holy Spirit is a separate person. He descended upon Jesus as he was being baptized. He led Jesus into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil. He is the "other comforter" Jesus promised to send. Yes, he is another person, and that's the truth. He is called the Spirit of truth. There are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one. |
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153 | must be theologians? | Numbers | Aixen7z4 | 103687 | ||
You are correct, and I deserve that, Radioman. Sometimes I feel there should be no such discipline as psychology. And sometimes, I feel useful. The theologian must feel the same way, I suppose. I think now I must change my mind, get acquainted with him and let him have a place in my life. | ||||||
154 | must be theologians? | Numbers | Aixen7z4 | 103691 | ||
You are OK with me, my friend. We can learn from each other. Your name is strange to me, and I am sure my words are strange to you. But maybe I am not as mixed up as you think I am. We must search the Scriptures (John 5:39;Acts 17:11). We must meditate on it (Psalm 1; Psalm 139). We must receive it as a graft, and let it be a part of us (James 1:21). But the word of God is not an academic thing for us to play word games with. Word games are not profitable (2 Timothy 2:14). They do not lead you to the truth. How do you come to the truth? Read the word. Read it in context. Read about that topic throughout the Bible. Read it prayerfully, with an open mind. Be prepared to act on what the Lord reveals to you. It is no use understanding the fine points of sanctification, my friend, unless you have a desire to live a holy life. How do you know what the word means? Context, my friend. Read it in context and you will not miss it. Strange as it may sound there is nothing in the Bible suggesting that we should study the Bible. “Study to show thyself approved”, you say. Except that the word “study” does not mean “study”. Instead of getting upset and responding quickly, take your time to read it carefully. If you are not a “KingJamesOnly” person, then read it in another translation. Yes, we must be careful, my friend. And yet, if we will carefully search the word of God, looking for the will of God, all the while ready to follow and obey it, I care not what you call that activity. Call it Bible study if you like. And yet I say to you that is not what we usually do. We want to probe into ideas like “The Trinity”, how can it be. Compare that with the instructions to the seven churches in Asia that they should read, hear, and keep those things which are written therein (Revelation 1:3). Compare that with Philippians 4:9 where we are encouraged to do the things we have learned, and received, and heard, and seen. I have seen one church to study the Book of Revelation a dozen times. And yet they have no idea what it means to “keep those things”. I have seen a church go through the book of Philippians also, and remain the saddest sourest lot in the city. I once asked a class, “When can we start doing these things?” and they looked at me as though I was speaking Greek. I asked a sister, “How do you rejoice?” and she said, “You know!” My brother, you may feel free to call me mixed up now if you like. I say again that God gave us his word so we can obey it (Deuteronomy 29:29). Do you remember another place where he said to study it? You have studied me and determined that I am mixed up. And now, will you study God? Will you try to assess his omnipotence? His omniscience? His omnipresence? Better I say to respond to him as you read of him and as he reveals himself to you. I say that he prefers worship to a sermon on worship and love to a sermon on love. They will know it when they see it. I hope we can do it when we see it to be done. This doctrine of the Trinity is not to be studied. It will get you nowhere. Read about the Father. Come to Him. Jesus is the Way. Follow him. If you do you’ll do that you will know it is the Holy Spirit who is leading you. You will experience them in your life and you will thrill then as you read about them. They are to be known by experience and not by study. God is a person, not a topic. I still sound mixed up, do I? OK. Sometimes people sound like that. But the word is very nigh unto thee, in thy mouth, and in thy heart, that thou mayest do it. Do it. |
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155 | Explain the Holy Trinity-verysimple form | Numbers | Aixen7z4 | 103715 | ||
There is one God. No question about that. The Bible reveals that God exists in three persons. Not one person. As to what is meant by "God as one single being", we would need the person who said that to explain what they meant. I began to try to explain it for him but I think he will not appreciate it. He has said in response to one of my posts: “You say that it's not a difficult concept. If so, then I must think that you don't fully understand it to begin with. The trinity isn't merely a family, a group, or some team wirking together. The Bible describes God as one single being”. I still say that three being one is not a difficult concept for me, and I think it is a revelation I can easily receive. So perhaps our brother can explain his term and the difficulty he is experiencing. By the way, I think your post is very clear and I agree with everything you said. As for the Holy Spirit being God, I think the point has been made in previous posts. |
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156 | What are the questions? | Numbers | Aixen7z4 | 103716 | ||
Excuse me, but I think the question was to jmjeh and not to Tim. Moreover, Tim was asking the same question of jmjeh. If you really need to display this attitude, I think you should wait for a better opportunity. | ||||||
157 | must be theologians? | Numbers | Aixen7z4 | 103718 | ||
Brother Steve, your point is well taken. To be true to Scripture, I will not quibble over the words. I believe you have given a good description of the difference between “search” and “study”. I explains in part why I prefer the word “search”, but the important thing is not the word we use but the activity that we engage in. I do believe we should read the Bible to find the answers to specific questions. Let me be clear. I think we should read the Bible to see what God is saying to us. A question then can be, “What is God saying to us?” We can read any portion of Scripture with that question in mind. We might even read it with the prayer, “Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law”, as in Psalm 119:18. I think we should read whole portions of Scripture, a story, a letter, a psalm, all the way through. It puts particular statements in context and makes them meaningful. If you are looking for answers to a specific question you may find indeed that “the Bible is a very disorganized book in some ways”. That is why you need to search, and Jesus encouraged that activity (John 5:39). The Bereans were commended for that activity (Acts 17:11). This is where concordances, and chain references are so useful. We should use them. I personally know of no better Bible searching tool than the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge. It simply points you from where you are to other places where the same topic is touched on and I treasure it and recommend it. BTW, I think the word "sanctification" is in the Bible. (You may need to try a different translation. And it is to be recommended that we read one passage in different translations). The problem with "invented" words such as “Trinity” is that we have to define them. As we do so we are really teaching, and we have to be very careful. If we define “Trinity” as “God in three persons - ‘God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost’”, I think that would be an accurate encapsulation of a Bible fact. If “Trinity” presents “God as one single being”, I think it would not be accurate teaching. Teaching is needed. Teachers are needed. If teachers find the need to “study” or to ask their students to “study” so be it. But we should “search the Scriptures” and do so with a goal beyond knowing facts. The goal should be to know the Lord and his will and to respond to him by doing his will. The problem, again, is not with the term we use but rather with the goal of the activity. Teaching should be defined in terms of imparting skills and learning should be defined in terms of acquiring skills. The skill should not be limited to handling the word but it should be deployed, putting the word into practice. Let the teachers teach us how to witness, how to bear one another’s burdens, how to worship, how to love. And let us do those things. “Identifying eternal principles and trying to understand how to apply them to the here and now” is a noble goal. If that is what theologians do, then I support them. One eternal principle is that man was created for relationship with God. The Bible reveals that. As we see it, let us actively respond to the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Brother Steve, I do not know you very well, but I have tried to respond to you here. I think that I am responding to you in body (the things your fingers put on my screen) soul, (the emotions you expressed) and spirit (your self). So let it be with God. Let us accept him as he presents himself and let us respond to him. Let us respond, for example, to his love, and his grace. Let us act on what we know. We thank him for the grace Descending from above That overflows our widest guilt The eternal Father’s love Love of the father’s everlasting Son Love of the Holy Ghost Jehovah, Three in One. |
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158 | must be theologians? | Numbers | Aixen7z4 | 103722 | ||
Words fitly spoken, Brother Tim. Teaching with an eye to application is attractive. Might be good if every lesson included some role-play. All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works. I hope that some theologian reading this will decide to have his students to worship God after learning in class about him. He might decide to model it and ask them to follow his example, the way we do when teaching math. Reading Philippians 4;9, I think that was the way that Paul taught them. Reading 2 Timothy 3:10 onward, I get the impression that it was the way that he taught Timothy. |
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159 | must be theologians? | Numbers | Aixen7z4 | 103724 | ||
I am blessed by that, EdB. For some reason I am thinking how good God has been to save me and to bring me to this point. I obtained mercy, that in me Jesus Christ might show forth all longsuffering, for a pattern to them which should hereafter believe on him to life everlasting. Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, be honor and glory for ever and ever. Amen. |
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160 | must be theologians? | Numbers | Aixen7z4 | 103725 | ||
I am sorry that I sound mixed up to you, my friend. I feel fine and I hear you well. But sometimes it is difficult to communicate. When I said your name was strange I meant only that I had not communicated with you before. Words are interesting, aren't they? Sometimes we do not use them well and then they do not serve us well. We have to be very careful with them. I agree that it does not matter what word we use if we know what we mean. I agree that we should get into the word. His words are found and I do eat them; and his word is unto me the joy and rejoicing of my heart: for I am called by his name. I hope you understand. |
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