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Results from: Answers On or After: Thu 12/31/70 Author: Country Girl Ordered by Date |
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Results | Verse | Author | ID# | |||
21 | Why did God send Jacob's Family to Egypt | OT general | Country Girl | 130150 | ||
The best answer I can come up with is the traditional: this is the perfect antitype showcasing the similarity to God's rescuing the world both in their dispensation with His sending Moses and His Sacrifice of His Son for the whole world for all time. Notice the similarities: We (both mankind and Israelites) went into this condition willingly and flourished. We both gripe and grumble about the conditions therein. We both want and need a rescuer but don't really know it. We both want to be rescued on our terms, in accordance with our wishes. A price had to be paid in blood; there is a ritual celebrating the shedding of that blood. The journey to get to the ultimate destination is long and tedious, frought with perils and battles along the way. There are many, many who don't make it; as a matter of fact, only two made it into the Promised Land, reminding us of the Straight and Narrow Way to Heaven. Moses negotiated at the Mountain for his people just like Christ is doing for all of us now as our advocate. Moses issued God's Decrees and Laws just like Christ has done for us through His Apostles. In both cases, most of them are really for our own good and to improve our lifestyle here on earth. Moses delegated to his brother Aaron just like Jesus did to His beloved Apostles. I'm sure I must be missing some other similarities but you get my point. So much of the OT points toward the NT so that we see God's intention all along. Rom 15:3 For even Christ did not please Himself; but as it is written, "The reproaches of those who reproached You fell on Me." 4For whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that we through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope. 5Now may the God of patience and comfort grant you to be like-minded toward one another, according to Christ Jesus, Blessings to you. Country Girl |
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22 | does the Bible address things breaking | Bible general Archive 2 | Country Girl | 130022 | ||
There are only a few verses in the Bible that indicate God's actual physical manipulation and superceding natural laws of nature (without a person involved) like the Burning Bush appearing to Moses. Another incident in this category is the splitting of the thick, heavy curtain separating the Holy of Holies from the rest of the temple. This curtain was very, very thick, something like a foot or more but it was torn completely like a piece of paper from top to bottom immediately at the very second of the Christ's death on the cross. Unless I'm badly mistaken, which is quite possible, all the other miracles of Bible here on earth were performed by God but they involved the prescence of another being, human or angel. I really don't think there's any cause for alarm in your case, as there is probably some natural explanation for these events. Blessings to you. Country Girl |
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23 | giving birth without sex? | Luke 1:35 | Country Girl | 130007 | ||
I would have to ask if she has had this verified by several reliable witnesses. Doctors could easily confirm her story OR reveal the truth. What's the "rest of the story?" Blessings to you. Country Girl |
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24 | Rule or Ideal? | 1 Tim 3:2 | Country Girl | 130001 | ||
It's been my experience here in America that we're seeing less and less christian men who qualify for this office. Of course, one of the most important qualifications is the desire for that office. As the ideal conditions encouraging the growth of Christianity continue to deteriate, I think it's important all the more to stick to the pattern that God has set out for us to follow. His commands, both by imperative statements and by the examples as demonstrated by NT christians paint a picture of Perfect Success in the first century. There in the first century, they had every imaginable kind of sin, especially as displayed in the Books of I and II Corinthians. So we would be well advised if we want to ensure the church as intact, living and viable through the next generation, we need to resolve to teach our kids and our grandkids an awesome level respect for God's Word. We CANNOT possibly exceed or even come close to the level of Perfection we see in our NT Bible but we need to give it our best shot. I would suggest we just stick to the simple qualifications for church leadership as cited in the NT. That's the safest and most logical way to be certain we're true to God. Adding or attempts to improve will just get us into trouble, as afterwards who gets to say when we stop. It's a long and slippery slope you're suggesting, one with very, very dangerous consequences. Blessings to you. Country Girl |
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25 | What is it about these two natures? | Gal 5:17 | Country Girl | 129996 | ||
We also see this battle depicted rather clearly within the life of the Apostle Paul in Romans 7. Thus as we grow more and more mature, our spiritual nature hopefully wins more and more of these battles over that of our physical, human nature. Then we can truly KNOW that we are spiritually mature as John described in 1 John 5. In my lifetime, I've known some wonderful christian couples who counseled us and were such a wonderful example of a loving Christ-like leadership. They were about as near perfect a representative here on earth as I could imagine. We do have so much to be thankful for as Americans. Blessings to you. Country Girl |
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26 | Fruit vs. Works: the same or different? | Gal 5:22 | Country Girl | 129936 | ||
I do see some close correlation between fruits of the Spirit, fruit of our vine being connected to the Branch of our Lord and the works or acts of Christianity as discussed in James 2. It seems from the verses as given in the Bible that the fruits are reflective of our spiritual personality. We see some christians who are more talented in showing their fruits than others. Thus, some are better at showing patience or others may find it easier to be loving or kind. Some of these fruits are also inter-related but we should strive to add them all to our spiritual person and upon adding them, strive to improve them and grow in our spiritual relationship with our Lord. This results in a better, well armed christian to ward off sin in our life. Now as to works or acts of Christianity, the fruits of the spirit help support those works. When we're truly kind and loving to our fellow man, then we can show those acts of kindness with genuineness and Agape type love. The wonderful thing about working in the Lord's vineyard in this way has a receprical return as the Lord told us it would. Acts of Christianity has a way of spreading the love and enthusiasm in His Name, all to His Glory. We experenice growth both spiritually and numerically. We see our fellow christians round about us grow and mature in their relationship. They help us grow as we help them. We talk about our weaknesses and exchange them for each other's strengths. Thus the body of our Lord grows all the more. So you see, all of this is very closely intertwined as it should be. But I would also add that our Lord does expect to see some of the evidence of Christianity both in our lives now and on Judgment Day after living a faithful live. Rev 2:10. Blessings to you. Country Girl |
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27 | How can incest be forbidden? | Gen 3:3 | Country Girl | 129758 | ||
As most of the responses to your question has indicated, it really all boils down to a matter of trusting in God. There are many features in the Bible which pose some interesting puzzles such as the fact that God commanded the killing of the original inhabitants of the promised land, Canaan before, after and during the taking over of that region by the Israelites. And this is in direct contrast to God's Commandments given to the Israelites just a few Bible chapters before. When we're given puzzles like this, we're all motivated to question such contrasts. So again, in the final analysis, it must boil down to the question: Are we going to trust God or do we continue to question Him and jepordize our relationship with our Father and our fellow christians. Blessings to you. Country Girl |
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28 | What is God's major attribute? | Bible general Archive 2 | Country Girl | 129543 | ||
With all these questions you've just posted, it looks like we're doing someone's homework again. This isn't going to turn into a habit, is it? Regardless, blessings to you. Country Girl |
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29 | Verses relating to backstabbing. | Bible general Archive 2 | Country Girl | 129537 | ||
The only topic I can think of that relates to backstabbing would be the sin of gossipping which is found in these verses. Prov 20:19 He who goes about as a slanderer reveals secrets, Therefore do not associate with a gossip. Rom 1:29 being filled with all unrighteousness, wickedness, greed, evil; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, malice; they are gossips, 2 Cor 12:20 For I am afraid that perhaps when I come I may find you to be not what I wish and may be found by you to be not what you wish; that perhaps there will be strife, jealousy, angry tempers, disputes, slanders, gossip, arrogance, disturbances; 1 Tim 3:11 Women must likewise be dignified, not malicious gossips, but temperate, faithful in all things. 1 Tim 5:13 At the same time they also learn to be idle, as they go around from house to house; and not merely idle, but also gossips and busybodies, talking about things not proper to mention. 2 Tim 3:3 unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self-control, brutal, haters of good, Titus 2:3 Older women likewise are to be reverent in their behavior, not malicious gossips nor enslaved to much wine, teaching what is good, I would recommend your studying those and the context around them, select the best ones applicable to your paticular fancy and let God's Word speak for Itself. Sounds like a very worthwhile project. Blessings to you. Country Girl |
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30 | who is called to maturity with believers | NT general Archive 1 | Country Girl | 129518 | ||
The whole Chapter of Matt 5 is really applicable, indeed the whole Sermon on the Mount. Matt 5:43 "You have heard that it was said, 'YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR and hate your enemy.' Matt 5:44 "But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, Matt 5:45 so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven; for He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. Matt 5:46 "For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? Matt 5:47 "If you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? Matt 5:48 "Therefore you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect. But the most applicable verse to your question is the last, verse 48. Here the Greek word for perfect really meant mature or complete, and remember Christ was speaking to a very huge crowd of people. He wasn't just speaking to the leaders or the older members of the audience. Thus He and His Father both want all His children to grow up spiritually in Them. Of course that means different things to different people. To a smoker, it might mean giving up tobacco. To a drinker or a drug abuser, it means giving up those addictions. To anyone who has anything standing in between he/she and their Lord and Master, that thing must be discarded or at the very least take "second chair" as in a spouse. To someone who's shy and and not particularly fond of speaking in public, it would show great maturity for that person to aspire to be a teacher. For others who have a big mouth and say too much like me, it's a great thing for us to learn to keep our mouths shut and just learn from someone like that new teacher just mentioned. My spouse and I have learned something a little unusual in our travels. We've learned NOT to particpate in every facet of the congregation, even those areas that you may have a talent, IF that particular ministry is already being filled by someone else who's doing a fine job. It took a long time for me to learn this but we must ocassionally let someone else's talents shine especially when they need to perform that service or ministry for their Lord. So again, I say we must allow folks to mature at their own rate in accordance with the talents and motivation that the Lord provides. We should see ourselves as the Lord's assistant but at His bidding AND at His timing. The real test of growth in this refining process by our Lord is for us to "get out of our comfort zones." That's the only way to experience real and substantial growth in our christian walk of faith. Lastly, the ultimate sign of maturity in the Lord is to show Agape type love (like God's love) and to show that love without conditions and to show much tolerance and patience to our fellow human beings. We've all got defects, bumps and bruises we've picked up along the way and only the Lord can make us truly perfect when go Home with Him in the life hereafter. I hope this helps. Blessings to you. Country Girl |
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31 | Deacon/Pastor divorced before saved | NT general Archive 1 | Country Girl | 129490 | ||
There is a wide spectrum of interpretations on this issue. I can only tell you what I've experienced in my christian walk. Most of the congregations with whom we've worshiped hold that the qualification as given by Paul to Timothy and Titus was given in the "progressive" sense. Thus when the husband is no longer married, he's no longer qualified. Some groups even interpret this guidance this way when and if the wife dies. I have mixed feelings about that as it seems a little ultra-conservative. But I must admit when a man goes through a divorce, it does seem to give one reason to suspect the quality of his judgments which is a factor when he's making important and vital decisions for the church. Again, I would emphasize our Lord knows us best and that means He knows what's the best pattern to adopt for wide-scale use for the whole church throughout the world. What is your interpretation? How does your congregation/church handle this situation? Blessings to you. Country Girl |
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32 | follow-up question. | Is 9:6 | Country Girl | 129424 | ||
I'll take a shot at your question. I've posted about this subject in a vague sort of way in the past. We need to understand the world back then was far more addicted to this physical world than we are in this current age. They wanted their Messiah to come back and deliver them from the Romans. We see that most clearly in Acts 1:4 And being assembled together with them, He commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the Promise of the Father, "which," He said, "you have heard from Me; 5for John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now." 6Therefore, when they had come together, they asked Him, saying, "Lord, will You at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?" 7And He said to them, "It is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has put in His own authority. 8But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth." Here we see the resurrected Christ with His disciples just moments before His ascension to His Father. He has been to cross, died for all mankind, and He's been raised from the dead. The most fantastic miracle ever performed in the whole history of this planet. And His disciples ask if He is now ready to take Israel back to its proper prominence in the world when He's already predicted its doom in just a few years. They, His disciples apparently were ready at that very moment to take up the sword against the Roman army and deliver Israel from bondage. No, if the disciples couldn't possibly understand God's plan for us as His children, the rest of the Israelite nation couldn't be expected to as they hadn't spent 3 and one half years with the Lord as these gentlemen had. It took the special empowerment and God given knowledge of the Holy Spirit a few days later for the Apostles to know and then spread the Word to the rest of the world. We must remember "God's Ways are simply NOT man's ways." We are and our thoughts to Him are much like the ants are to us, only farther and far more in contrast. Now, don't get me wrong. We in this dispensation don't do any better. Just look at the history of this planet since the advent of Christianity. We continue in wars, constant world-wide conflict and we can't even agree on what God says in His very own Book. The Book written by men who gave their very lives believing to their dying breath every Word therein. No, we don't have a single thing to brag about. We're all prone to think of ourselves when we're in a crisis. Absolutely none of us could hold a candle to what Christ did or even the Apostles did; mainly because they had the Spirit of God to assist them. We humans have only one thing to look forward to if any of us are looking for the "good life" and that's after Judgment Day. Praise the Lord till that day comes and blessings to you. Country Girl |
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33 | biblcal reference to lessons | Bible general Archive 2 | Country Girl | 129359 | ||
I can't think of a specific verse that speaks to this subject. But I do think the Bible in general, particularly the OT goes over the same story about the Israelites losing and regaining the favor of God shows us that basic principle. Remember, the basic purpose of the Bible is to introduce God, His Thoughts, His Ways to us, His creation AND to assure us that He loves us enough to have sent His Son and reserve a place for us in Heaven. Hope this helps. I'll be watching, hoping someone, knowing God's Word a little better will come up with a verse in support of this principle. Blessings to you, Country Girl. |
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34 | The New Birth - A Survey | NT general Archive 1 | Country Girl | 128860 | ||
I'm afraid the Lord doesn't portray salvation as being quite that simple as you depict for as Paul says 1 Cor 3:6 I planted, Apollos watered, but God was causing the growth. 1 Cor 3:7 So then neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but God who causes the growth. 1 Cor 3:8 Now he who plants and he who waters are one; but each will receive his own reward according to his own labor. 1 Cor 3:9 For we are God's fellow workers; you are God's field, God's building. 1 Cor 3:10 According to the grace of God which was given to me, like a wise master builder I laid a foundation, and another is building on it. But each man must be careful how he builds on it. 1 Cor 3:11 For no man can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. 1 Cor 3:12 Now if any man builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, 1 Cor 3:13 each man's work will become evident; for the day will show it because it is to be revealed with fire, and the fire itself will test the quality of each man's work. 1 Cor 3:14 If any man's work which he has built on it remains, he will receive a reward. 1 Cor 3:15 If any man's work is burned up, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire. 1 Cor 3:16 Do you not know that you are a temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? 1 Cor 3:17 If any man destroys the temple of God, God will destroy him, for the temple of God is holy, and that is what you are. Correspondingly, we too as recipients of God's Gift of Salvation have our part to play. We must repent, confess and be baptized. Yes, definitely that is our active participation in this process but God's action is the most powerful and long lasting as He's the one who actually saves us and adds us to His Son's Body. Mankind would love to sum up this process in just a few words or maybe even one word but that's impossible as it wouldn't do justice to the amazing sacrifice and selfless love as exhibited by our Lord in going to the cross. I hope this is clear, at least as clear as presented by God's Word. Blessings to you. Country Girl |
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35 | What is the "straight and narrow gate"? | Rev 19:8 | Country Girl | 128682 | ||
Mommapbs, I was re-reading your questions here and thought of another way of answering. Yes, I have to agree with you for the most part. Our acts of kindness ARE indeed but filthy rags to our Lord and we all must look forward to "trading" those rags in for that perfect linen as you've mentioned so eloquently. But if we don't even have those filthy rags to "trade in," then we'll be naked as warned against in 2 Cor 5:1-7 and Rev 3:17-18. No, I'm afraid, dear friend we can't possibly think about approaching our Maker and our Judge without giving Him our very best. We must carry our cross as Jesus has given to each of us. We must imitate Him and His representatives throughout the NT as best we possibly can, while keeping in mind that we CANNOT possibly earn this salvation but we must be found faithful as cited in Rev 2:10. Blessings to you. Country Girl |
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36 | What are the duties of a pastor? | NT general Archive 1 | Country Girl | 128352 | ||
If you'll insert the following words (or variations thereof) into the Search function at the right of your screen, you'll come up with all the pertinent verses on the subject. In the NT, the office of pastor is the same as bishop, overseer, elder or shepard. Thus our Lord Jesus is the Chief Bishop (High Priest), Overseer, Elder and Shepard. Further the next tier in the organization of the Lord's church in this modern age, since we have no Apostles, is the deacons which means servants. They are to serve the church by following the leadership of the elders above. Both of these two offices in the church are listed in 1 Tim and in Titus, with qualifications for each. I hope this helps and blessings to you. Country Girl |
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37 | the last judgement and be heaven bound | Hebrews | Country Girl | 128149 | ||
In contrast to the somewhat vague and highly symbolic language, we have other scriptures Heb 9:24 For Christ did not enter a holy place made with hands, a mere copy of the true one, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us; Heb 9:25 nor was it that He would offer Himself often, as the high priest enters the holy place year by year with blood that is not his own. Heb 9:26 Otherwise, He would have needed to suffer often since the foundation of the world; but now once at the consummation of the ages He has been manifested to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself. Heb 9:27 And inasmuch as it is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment, Heb 9:28 so Christ also, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time for salvation without reference to sin, to those who eagerly await Him. In verse 27, it's clear that Judgment Day is final and forever. Also Christ talks about this rather clearly and thoroughly in Matt 25. Nothing in Revelation should be understood to override Jesus Words in Matt 25. Blessings to you. Country Girl |
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38 | I married wrong woman,what can I do? | Bible general Archive 2 | Country Girl | 128052 | ||
God would want you to expend every fiber of your being toward a long and fruitful life with the lady of your life...and you'll be a better husband after this process of trial and refinement. Have you told her how you feel when she does/says these things? Have you considered seeing a christian marriage counselor? One in whom both of you can trust and will be balanced but Godly for both of you? Again, I would encourage to exhuast every means at your disposal as God only gives two possible ways to exit a marriage: death or adultery. I assume naturally neither of these should even come up for discussion at this point. We'll be praying for you to receive blessings of encouragement and strength to follow God's Will in this struggle. Country Girl |
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39 | Do animals have souls? | Eccl 3:21 | Country Girl | 128000 | ||
Upon looking I noticed there's a tremendouw wealth of discussion on this topic. It seems to me that the Bible clearly shows a strong negative response to this question. Whereas those in favor have a rather weak set of sciptures in support. I'll offer a couple rather brief verses from God's Word and then draw a conclusion. First of all, we all know from Genesis 1, that the one and only being in all of God's Creation in whom He made in His Image was the man and woman, Adam and Eve. We also know from Genesis that He gave the rest of the world to mankind to be used as we see fit. Next, we see from the Book of Leviticus a very elaborate system of animal sacrifices directed and commanded by God. In direct contrast, God NEVER does actually condone or command the actual killing of a human being at the discretion of one person. The single instance where God did command Abraham to offer his son, Isaac as a sacrifice, God stopped Abraham from carrying through with the ritual. So, we see from all this that God did create in man His Image which did include our souls. In animals, he created those to be used by mankind like the rest of our world. It seems very clear that God did not create animals with a soul. Blessings to you. Country Girl |
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40 | Staying together before marriage. | 1 Cor 8:9 | Country Girl | 127997 | ||
I can only remind you that since you question it and you know the temptations you are causing yourself, it's not wise to follow this practice. The following verse from Paul doesn't apply only to eating, the principle applies to our whole christianity. Rom 14:23 But he who doubts is condemned if he eats, because his eating is not from faith; and whatever is not from faith is sin. Instead Paul admonishes in: Col 3:17 Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father. Since it's obvious you've already indicated you can't possibly be doing this sleeping on the bed with the woman of your life with a completely clear conscience, I would advise you to stop immediately. Sure it would be wise to show your girlfriend when you're making such a choice. Among those reasons would be your resolution for both of you to follow God's wishes on His priorities and set a precedant of following Him for the entire duration of your relationship together. All of us will praying that you following your conscience in accordance with God's Word. Blessings to you. Country Girl |
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