Results 21 - 40 of 48
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Results from: Notes Author: Zsuzsi Ordered by Date |
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Results | Verse | Author | ID# | |||
21 | "Least in the kingdom of God"? | Matt 11:11 | Zsuzsi | 122698 | ||
Emmaus, You might be right. Yet, seeking the Truth I normally attempt to consider all points of view, and take all uncertain issues directly to the Lord in prayer. His answers are usually fast and clear enough - just as in this case. A young person like me, in such a media- and money-centered society, can only hold onto the teaching that comes directly from Him. So He has the last word. :-) Psalm 119 is one of my favorites: "How can a young man keep his way pure? By living according to your word. I seek you with all my heart; do not let me stray from your commands. I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you. Praise be to you, O LORD; teach me your decrees." Psalm 119:9-12 Thanks for the comment, though. :-) God bless you, Zsuzsi |
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22 | My thoughts | Rev 1:1 | Zsuzsi | 122696 | ||
Thanks, Peter22, and welcome to the forum! The passages you chose are really good, all from the Pauline Epistles. But there are also others in the Gospels, and the OT.. I'll only give some more from the NT: (All quotes are from the NIV) Mark 13 is actually all about what Jesus said the end of the times would be like. Mk 13:33: "Be on guard! Be alert! You do not know when that time will come." Mt 24:44 also says, "So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him." For worrying about tomorrow, Jesus said: Mt 6:34: "Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." He also said: Mt 6:33: "But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well." So God takes care of us, including our tomorrow, if we seek His kingdom and righteousness. Death is nothing... It's simply going Home, which we can look forward to. "For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain." Phil 1:21 :-) God bless you, Zsuzsi |
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23 | My thoughts | Rev 1:1 | Zsuzsi | 122693 | ||
Here are my thoughts about this verse, as promised: Rev 1:1: "The revelation of (from?) Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show his servants what must soon take place. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John" NIV "This is a revelation from (of?) Jesus Christ, which God gave him concerning the events that will happen soon. An angel was sent to God's servant John so that John could share the revelation with God's other servants." NLT Who revealed, what and to whom? - God the Father revealed what is to come to His Son, Jesus Christ. - Jesus Christ revealed what He heard from the Father to John, by sending an angel to him. - John revealed to the other servants of Christ what Jesus had told him through the angel. C.v: Luke 10:22: "All things have been committed to me by my Father. No one knows who the Son is except the Father, and no one knows who the Father is except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him." Who is John? Who is he writing to? John, the author of the book, is traditionally identified with the author of the Gospel of John, who is supposedly the 'disciple whom Jesus loved' (John 21:20-24). There is however no clear reference to confirm this in the Book of Revelations. The Greek 'bond-servant' also means 'slave'; so whoever John really was, he was definitely writing exactly what was revealed to him; we can trust that he was writing the truth. (See also Rev 22:18-19.) I would mention that God sent the original message to be disclosed to His [God's] 'bond-servants', not 'believers/bond-servants of Christ'. To me that means two things: 1) People of all ages are included, not only those who lived while Jesus was on earth. So it was meant to be read by us as well, not just the disciples of Jesus living at the time (though the letter is actually sent to the 7 churhces in Asia). 2) Also people of different religions, who claim to be 'bond-servants of God' (eg. Muslims) should be reading this book; as I was saying, John confirmed that he was writing the truth, and his book testifies of Jesus. (I know from experience that one of the greatest possibilities of a missionary is to talk to people about the end of the times - it usually makes them think!) What is 'to come'? The end of the times.. This is what the book is about. :-) What does 'soon/speedily/shortly' mean? Good question! 2000 years have passed and this has not happened yet. But God states that He is the Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the End (1:8) - my sincere belief is that He is not limited by time as we are. Measurement and perception naturally originate from a comparison of something with something else. We can measure time because we know the difference between 'yesterday' and 'today'; with each second we get closer to our earthly death, so we know how to define time is. But does such a thing exist for an always-existing God? Remember His proper name, 'Yahweh', that is, 'The Existing One' - why that, have you ever wondered? But of course, this is just like the question: "Can the Almighty God create a stone that He Himself cannot lift?" We must accept that He has His own secrets! :-) As for us, our earthly life is rather short in comparison to eternity, so our death is indeed 'soon to come'. If we suppose that by our earthly death, we also stop perceiving time (can no longer die, become the children of resurrection, the children of God, like angels, etc, see Lk 20:35-36), then 'soon' also starts to make sense in this context. How was the revelation 'given' to John? - John reports that the angel, and elders in some places, speak to him, and most of the time he is passively watching all that is happening. - He is commanded throughout about what to and what not to write. (many examples) - He is, like many OT prophets, asked to do certain tasks (eg. eating up the little book, 10:8-9), which possibly help him understand the revelation more as he is personally involved in it. Again, he is given all the tools to write the truth. Rev 1:1 is part of John's prologue for the Book, in it he gives an idea of what he is going to write about, how he received the revelation, who sent it, who it is aimed at, and what purposes God and he [John] had with it. Theoretically it should be studied in the context of Rev 1:1-3... Just by this verse alone it is difficult to say much more than this. Hope this starts some thoughts. Blessings, Zsuzsi |
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24 | "Least in the kingdom of God"? | Matt 11:11 | Zsuzsi | 122688 | ||
Hi VictorA, I suggested a reading into Revelations because that is one of the most obvious things to read when we want to learn about the kingdom of God and the end of the times... :-) I read the entire book last night, actually, and also prayed; I honestly did my best to see things from your point of view but I am still arriving at paradoxical questions. I think we need a very intimate relationship with the Lord before we can understand these prophecies as they were meant to be understood, just like in the case of the OT books of the prophets. It is really "solid food", to put it that way: no wonder why He fed the people milk instead in His parables! But I do hope He comes soon. Come, Lord Jesus... (Rev 22:20) And yes, sure, we can discuss many things about Revelations if you have questions - I love this book too: it's scary yet beautiful. To start with, I'll post my thoughts about the very first verse, as you asked; look up Rev 1:1. Yours in Christ, Zsuzsi |
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25 | "Least in the kingdom of God"? | Matt 11:11 | Zsuzsi | 122669 | ||
Hello VictorA, Yes, WOW... It is a really deep topic! And I do not mean to offend you in any way, but I think I have to respectfully disagree with you about many of the points you make... "Some humans have the special priviledge of ruling in heaven over the earth, but the vast majority will fulfill God’s purpose for the earth by populating it forever in perfection." Do you have any Biblical reference for this? 1Cor 6:2: says, "Do you not know that the saints will judge the world?" "Saint" is most often used for 'godly people', both in the OT and the NT... "Again, God’s reward of living on earth will fulfill man’s every desire, since man was made to live on the earth God’s original purpose for creating man. God created angels to live in heaven." Agreed about the creation part. But immortality and freedom from suffering and complete liberation from sin and temptation are also part of all men's desires (at least part of mine, lol) - only heaven promises those to people. I call the 'perfect world' which is to come 'heaven'. Also, please note that Jesus said that people who get to heaven will be like angels (Matt 22:30, Mark 12:25, Luke 20:36). So I doubt that they will reproduce etc... "King David, had not ascended to heaven and so was not in any kingdom of the heavens or kingdom of God in Acts 2:34, “Actually David did not ascend to the heavens,”" NO! I believe 'ascended to heaven' here means the physical ascension of Jesus, which David obviously did not do. (The Greek "anabaino" means: 'ascend, to go up to, rise, mount, be borne up, spring up') Reading the whole verse and the exact wording of Acts 2:34 in the NASB, "For it was not David who ascended into heaven, but he himself says: 'THE LORD SAID TO MY LORD, "SIT AT MY RIGHT HAND," - to me this means that Jesus was more than David, not that David was not going to get to heaven at all! "...in Matthew 8:11 Jesus referred to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob figuratively..." Well, Isaac didn't actually die... Jesus did. But anyway, even if I do accept your argument about this, I still have doubts about Luke 13:28, where He does clearly mention 'all the prophets' - however we look at it! Also see Rev 18:20, about 'saints' and 'prophets' getting to heaven. Please read my replies to Angel (JCrichton) and Emmaus to see what I believe this passage really means. Your viewpoint is a completely new one for me, actually; I have seen many different interpretations of this passage and of the Kingdom in general, but among all those there is none like yours! I think I'll read Revelations again tonight, or at least parts of it, and pray about this... I encourage you also to do so. Will get back to you tomorrow. Sincerely yours in Christ, Zsuzsi |
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26 | "Least in the kingdom of God"? | Matt 11:11 | Zsuzsi | 122667 | ||
Emmaus... :-) This is so Catholic... :-) I was brought up in an environment which encouraged me to 'mortify' myself... The Lord took pains to teach me that the point in sacrifice is not to cause great suffering to ourselves (that would be masochism, not Christianity) or to try to 'save' ourselves (or anyone else) instead of humbly and thankfully accepting what Jesus has already labored for, but to unite ourselves with the Savior in all ways, including suffering. Their love for Jesus kept even the most dedicated Catholic saints going, not any commandment they received or any desire they had to suffer... Too many people teach today that you need to say 'NO' to yourself in order to say 'YES' to God - I believe that by being reborn, our whole inner nature changes: in our inner being we actually delight in God's law (Romans 7:22) - what we need to struggle with is our yet unredeemed flesh. If we give way to our sinful fleshly desires, we grieve the Holy Spirit within us, i.e. we grieve our own inner selves. Yes, I do not deny the need for personal discipline. Through sacrifices we also learn to appreciate what Jesus went through for us. But that does not mean unnecessary morbidity... We do fast, to let ourselves know, from time to time, that the Giver is more satisfying than the gift - but we don't do it constantly, that would be anorexia; we do stay up late at night in prayer, because we love spending time with Jesus more than we love sleeping - but we don't do it constantly, that would be suicide... I cannot imagine it is pleasing to God to keep life in a person who tortures his/herself for no reason: Jesus has already died for all of our sins! I had to be reminded that 'Do not kill' is a commandment: even we ourselves are those whom we are trying to kill. As for 2), Jesus said we should not fear those who kill the body, for only Satan can destroy the spirit and the body (Luke 12:4-5); and I do not identify Herod or any Jew with Satan.. But these are intriguing interpretations indeed, thanks for sharing them with me. Zsuzsi |
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27 | "Least in the kingdom of God"? | Matt 11:11 | Zsuzsi | 122664 | ||
Thanks.. While waiting for (more), I just wanted to tell for your first question: the point about which we agree is that we both have problems with the natural logic of Jesus' statement: if any man is the least in the kingdom, the only way His sentence can make sense is if John never gets there. But unlike you, I found that to be a dead-end, so to speak. ;-) Later, Zsuzsi |
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28 | "Least in the kingdom of God"? | Matt 11:11 | Zsuzsi | 122662 | ||
Emmaus, We are not diverging... :-) I agree with what you said about identifying with Jesus or Moses, and also that John the Baptist was the greatest of all the OT saints. I find your comments about being born of the Spirit very important as well. There are Biblical references that the same Holy Spirit was given to people BC and AC as well: (I will only mention NT examples since the OT was written mostly in Hebrew) -David spoke of the Messiah by the Holy Spirit (Mk 12:36) -The Holy Spirit ascended to Mary at His conception (Matt 1:18,20) -The Holy Spirit ascended onto His shoulders when He was baptized (John 1:32) -The Holy Spirit filled Zecchariah (Luke 1:67) -The Holy Spirit would give the words to the believers' mouth in times of tribulation (Mk 13:11) The Greek word is 'pneuma' in all of these cases - so the Holy Spirit, the very same Spirit Whom Jesus also had, was given to people BC, while Jesus was on earth and also AC. That makes me arrive at the conclusion that the OT saints who trusted in the salvation of the Messiah, were saved in the same way as we are... They also received the Holy Spirit, the Comforter, the Spirit of Truth - the prophets prophesied about Jesus, and they actually desired to see the coming of the Messiah (Matt 13:17)! They did not see Him, just like we do not see Him now, but they had the chance to believe in Him and be reborn, just as we have the chance to believe in Him and be reborn... Jesus was, is and always will be the Rock of all ages.. That is the Gospel! But that was only possible in the New Covenant, through the blood of the Lamb, in which He, the Greatest, did become the least in the Kingdom for the time He was on earth... Although John was the greatest person ever born of women, Jesus, even if at the time He was the least (i.e. most humbled) in heaven, was/is/will be greater than him. Therefore I still think He was referring to Himself... As I see we basically agree, even though we do start from two completely different interpretations of the passage - now that's not bad at all. :-) As I have told Angel, I was really touched by this passage some time ago and since then I appreciate the sacrifice Jesus made for us more than ever. And I am ever so glad to have such a wonderfully loving Lord! Have a blessed Pentecost. Zsuzsi |
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29 | "Least in the kingdom of God"? | Matt 11:11 | Zsuzsi | 122658 | ||
Thanks for your reply, I agree with every word you said! But exactly for this reason, Christ spoke in the present tense of 'the least in the kingdom of God' ('is' - as far as I know, the Greek 'estin' can not be understood as 'will be' - but maybe we'll need to ask someone more knowledgeable about this)... At the time He was speaking, while on earth, He was the least in the kingdom of God, wasn't He...? I mean, He ate, and drank, and slept, and wept, suffered and died, even prayed as a fully human person... Of course He was fully God as well, but becoming a human at all was just far beneath His dignity to say the least! (Please read also my replies to Emmaus.) In His resurrection, He was glorified, and now He is the greatest in all of heaven and earth... Of course. He sits on the right hand of God and He will come back to judge all the earth... :-) If He hadn't been the Greatest, He wouldn't have been able to defeat satan (who, thanks to Jesus, doesn't even deserve the capital letter any more). This passage really touched me some time ago and since then I appreciate the sacrifice He made for us more than ever. And I am ever so glad to have such a wonderfully loving Lord. :-) Blessings, Zsuzsi |
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30 | bible study | Bible general Archive 2 | Zsuzsi | 122652 | ||
Mike, if you are interested in the original languages, visit http://biblemaster.com/bible (their Greek stuff is especially good), and http://www.tgm.org/bible.htm. If we do get into an organized Bible study like that, I'd love to join. Your little sister in Christ, Zsuzsi PS: This is how you spell it: "between". But as long as the first and last letters are correct it doesn't matter. ;-) |
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31 | Can someone help me get to God? | Rom 10:9 | Zsuzsi | 122650 | ||
Hi Edb, Being willing to become a Bible scholar and/or a theologian, I might have a special viewpoint, but I believe an honest heart does recognize the voice of the Holy Spirit! If we search the Bible just to find some passages that prove our ideologies, we will probably end up with getting lies and deception out of it - but then it is our deliberate choice... But if we prayerfully and without prejudice (for this reason, personally I don't even read the commentaries before I study a passage myself) read the Bible, the Holy Spirit will lead us to His Truth and teach us all things (Jn 14:26)! Don't we pray, 'deliver us from evil' (Mt 6:13)? We know that God listens to all our prayers (Jn 14:13-14) - so if our sincere intention is to find the Truth, not to bigotedly hold on to our beliefs, we can fully trust in God's power to protect us from lies and deception from the adversary! Luke 11:13: "If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him?" The truth that the Holy Spirit reveals to us is never in contradiction with the Scriptures, and ripping single verses from their context or holding on to beliefs which are clearly proven wrong is clearly not 'being led by the Holy Spirit'... "Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith; examine yourselves! Or do you not recognize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you -- unless indeed you fail the test? But I trust that you will realize that we ourselves do not fail the test. Now we pray to God that you do no wrong; not that we ourselves may appear approved, but that you may do what is right, even though we may appear unapproved. For we can do nothing against the truth, but only for the truth." 2Cor 13:5-8. We listen to preachers for the purpose of testing our faith. We are to pray and open our minds: if we know the Truth, nobody can convince us of anything else, for God Himself will protect us, if we ask Him to do so. But if we do not know the Truth, we must be prepared to change our mind... This is what teachers and preachers are for: we judge their teachings, and pray that God will show us what we are to accept and what we should reject. Whether we are lay people or theologians, we are not to suffer fools gladly... (2Cor 11:19) Blessings, Zsuzsi |
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32 | "Least in the kingdom of God"? | Matt 11:11 | Zsuzsi | 122648 | ||
Hi Emmaus, Thanks for your replies... Yes, this is the interpretation that I have found most often. But I must admit that this is very hard for me to accept! Here are my reasons: 1) VictorA was actually faster with making this point, but let me repeat it: did John get to the kingdom? If he did, then Jesus' statement does not make sense; if he didn't, what about Lk 13:28 and Mt 8:11 where He states that all the great prophets would enter the Kingdom? (See my reply to Victor A) 2) Do you distinguish between the kingdom of the New Covenant and the kingdom of the Old Covenant? Are born AC people really more priviliged or blessed than born BC people in this sense? (How is that in agreement with God's justice?) 3) To me that interpretation does not seem to fit well into the contexts of Luke 7 and Matt 11, into Jesus comparing Himself with John. John notes in Luke 7:29-30 that "...even the tax collectors.. acknowledged God's justice... But the Pharisees ... rejected God's purpose for themselves" According to this interpretation, how does God's justice come in here, and what is God's purpose for the Pharisees and experts in the law? Also, In Matt 11:12, Jesus states: "From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and violent men take it by force." What exactly does He mean by this? 4) Fourthly, the Greek 'mikroterov', i.e. 'smallest/least' is interpreted in a negative way, but it actually carries a positive meaning ('humble')... Jesus uses the same word (its noun form) for the little ones He loves so much, for example in Mt 18:6, and He prefers to use 'elaxistov' with its definitely negative sense for 'the least in the kingdom of heaven' in Mt 5:19... If we take that Jesus was referring to Himself, the rest of these two chapters is also more easily understood: first He confirms that He is the Messiah, then confirms the greatness of John, even telling that John is greater than a prophet; but He explains that John is only a forerunner of the Messiah! Although John is the greatest human ever born, the Son of Man is greater than him, even if He has now 'made Himself nothing' (Phil 2:17), becoming the least in heaven and came to earth as a fully human person to suffer and die for sinners. This is why the Kingdom 'suffers' (c.v. "The kingdom of God is within/among you" Lk 17:21).. John's disciples testified of God's Truth, for John himself had told them long ago: "The one who comes from above is above all; the one who is from the earth belongs to the earth, and speaks as one from the earth. The one who comes from heaven is above all." (Jn 3:31), but the Pharisees and experts in the law rejected God's purpose for themselves, which was to believe that Jesus was indeed the Son of God. (This is usually the very thing in Jesus' teachings that the Pharisees did not want to accept!) It took the utmost, ultimate sacrifce and supreme humility of Jesus to become a human like us and submit to suffering and death! Remember how He humbled Himself when He was baptized by John (Matt 3:13-15)? And that He even washed the feet of His disciples? "Do you understand what I have done for you?" (John 13:12) - His question is the same to us! Please read Phil 2:6-11 (I have quoted it to Angel as well), I believe it summarizes my viewpoint very well. Hope this explains my thoughts about this... God bless you, Zsuzsi |
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33 | "Least in the kingdom of God"? | Matt 11:11 | Zsuzsi | 122643 | ||
Hi VictorA, Hmm, your opinion is very interesting...! Your starting point is the same as mine but I think have to disagree with your conclusion: maybe that is what you call 'justice' but to me it certainly isn't! Did Moses, or John the Baptist, or you or me decide for ourselves whether we wanted to be born BC or AC? I doubt... Does God then privilige some people by causing them to be born AC? Ezekiel 33:20 "Yet, O house of Israel, you say, 'The way of the Lord is not just.' But I will judge each of you according to his own ways." So He will judge according to our own ways ('ways' is not the same as 'works'), not whether He chose us to be born BC or AC... Personally I think it cannot 'fully rewarding' for faithful servants of God like John the Baptist or David that they would become 'earthly subjects' to 'co-heirs' with Christ, simply because of the date of their birth... I believe Jesus died to save the whole world, not just the people who come after Him; I do not like the idea of 'limiting' God to our earthly way of looking at time. Also, please see Luke 13:28 and Matt 8:11: Jesus did say that the old prophets would enter the Kingdom: Luke 13:28 "There will be weeping there, and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, but you yourselves thrown out." Matthew 8:11: "I say to you that many will come from the east and the west, and will take their places at the feast with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven." I have found no direct Biblical reference stating that the people born before Christ would not enter the Kingdom or that they would be subject to the people who have lived after Christ - and forming additional assumptions is usually not the best idea. This is one of the reasons why I think that this interpretation is maybe mistaken altogether... God bless you, Zsuzsi |
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34 | "Least in the kingdom of God"? | Matt 11:11 | Zsuzsi | 122640 | ||
Hi Angel, No-no, of course I am not denying or even questioning the full and absolute Deity of Jesus!!! On the contrary, actually! But my answer to your question, "How can God be the least in heaven?", is this: that's what I call Grace... Every soul in heaven has actually been bought at the price of the blood of the Most High - it's a bit like the slave-stories we only read about today, with people bought and sold for one another... But something infinitely greater happened here: the Almighty Lord of heaven and earth willingly chose to free the slaves of sin by He Himself becoming a slave for them in submitting to human suffering and death! Phil 2:6-11 (you referred to it as well) probably sums up my point in the most beautiful way: "Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but MADE HIMSELF NOTHING, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death-- even death on a cross! Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." The Almighty made Himself nothing, He became the very least - yet He is our Lord and God, and He is truly a marvelous Lord! At His Name every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father, forever and ever, Amen! Hope this clarifies the way I look at it a bit more. God bless you, Zsuzsi |
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35 | Can someone help me get to God? | Rom 10:9 | Zsuzsi | 122592 | ||
Hmm... Yes, our Good Shepherd would like the big sheep to protect the little sheep from bad food that will make them sick - but He would also have us give them something good which they can actually feed on! Mark 6:34 When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. So he began teaching them many things. Sincerely yours in Christ, Zsuzsi |
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36 | what about a Bible study??? | Bible general Archive 2 | Zsuzsi | 122576 | ||
Hi Mike, I agree, the OT books are not easy to study!! In general, the books you mentioned contain prophecies about Jesus, and the destruction of Jerusalem, and the end of the times.. I believe we really need God's guidance for this; I usually tell Him I am 'scratching my head' and wait on Him to answer my questions... Which He lovingly does, always. :-) It usually helps to read them in light of the NT, for the OT and the NT are closely connected, and cannot really be studied separated from one another. Maybe start with Micah, it is not too long and I think it gives a really good overview of the general ideas in those books. It has helped me a lot, at least. Possibly the NIV will not be too difficult to read; http://biblegateway.com also gives explanations to some words you might not understand. Wishing you all the best... Blessings, Zsuzsi |
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37 | ye are gods? ps 82:6 | Ezek 28:9 | Zsuzsi | 122561 | ||
Hi Ray, Thank you for your message. I think I agree with you! We are actually 'gods' in the sense that we do have power over most creatures on earth (Gen 1:26-29), and we also have much dignity since we ARE indeed the children of God, and heirs of Him, even co-heirs with Christ (Rom 8:16-17). This is really something we should know and live up to! We have our new 'birthrights', to put it that way: we can call God our Father (Rom 8:15), we are His personal concern (1Pet 5:7), we are not under the law any more (Gal 5:18), we are told that we will even judge angels (1Cor 6:3)! But with this comes much responsibility: "Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children."(Eph 5:1) We must follow the Spirit of God living in us, because we are only His children if we are led by Him (Rom 8:14); we must be careful not to grieve the Holy Spirit in us (Eph 4:30). We also must know that we never deserved this privilege; we should be very thankful for salvation and instead of boasting, exercise humility. Phil 2:5-14 is one of my favorite passages: "Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death-- even death on a cross! Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name,that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth,and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." Amen! Even though we are 'gods' in some sense, I think we must be aware of the great dangers of calling ourselves 'gods'; in the body we are still limited, and it is only by God's grace that we can be called His children! Our good self-awareness must not develop into pride... Jesus died so that we might become part of His family, which we are, and He is not ashamed to call us His brothers (Heb 2:11) - but also we have to remember: "What is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him?" (Heb 2:6) ...The thought of His Grace never ceases to touch me... Psalm 30:4: Sing to the LORD , you saints of his; praise his holy name! God bless you, Zsuzsi |
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38 | Right purposes for miracles | NT general Archive 1 | Zsuzsi | 122403 | ||
Hi Rowdy, Thank you for your fast reply! As a matter of fact, I deliberately linked my message to your statement.. The question was meant to be whether you agreed or not. :-) The points I was trying to make are basically my answers to your questions: 1) If we see no miracles today done by Christians, it is the sad result of our corruption, not the 'end' of the Holy Spirit giving His gifts. As I was trying to point out, Jesus said ALL people who believed ('pisteuwn', to have confidence in, trust, be persuaded of etc.) in Him would be able to work miracles; not just the apostles. I have now researched John 14:12 again to see if my interpretation of this verse was right; still, to me the Greek 'o' definitely suggests 'whoever' instead of 'you' or 'the apostles' or such. Also, John 14:13 reads: "Whatever you ask in My name, that will I do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son." That made me think that it was His promise to give us power to work miracles so that the Father may be glorified... Which leads on to my answer to your second and third questions: 2-3) If miracles are done, the way to find out if they really come from God is to look at the effects they have on people: who is glorified, God or the supposed magician? 'Testing the spirits' does refer to judging their teachings; we have to look for their purposes behind the 'miracles'. As I understand from your posts you do not believe in modern miracles, and sadly, I must agree with you to some extent... I am also rather skeptical about people who claim to be using their 'bioenergies' to heal on TV etc. Yet I believe we cannot say that the Holy Spirit does not want to exhibit His power in our age any more; it is our fault that we (Christianity) are not working miracles, not His. If we only had faith in the promises of Jesus and the purposes which the apostles had in the early church, we would safely tell a mountain to move and it would obey us - for God's glory, not for ours. Of course you do not have to agree with me. But in any case, I believe we can trust the Holy Spirit to let us know in any given situation whether the 'miracle' performed is mere deception, the work of false prophets or a true wonder of God which we should be thankful for. As for me, until I have personally witnessed a miracle like those described in the Bible, I cannot say they do exist today. But until I find definite Scriptual references which clearly suggest that miracles could only be done in the apostles' age, I do not deny their existence either. God bless you, Zsuzsi |
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39 | Peace...? | 2 Tim 2:15 | Zsuzsi | 122243 | ||
Yes I know... :) I actually love the sciences too; I do see God's design behind them. But I like studying directly about God more than studying indirectly about Him through the sciences... The impressive people you talked about went from God to the sciences; you see, I would rather like to go from the sciences to Him... ;) But it should not be about what I would personally like but what He calls me to do. I am looking forward to walking the path He is showing me! Blessings, Zsuzsi |
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40 | Peace...? | 2 Tim 2:15 | Zsuzsi | 122241 | ||
Thank you for all three of your messages, Kalos. I apologize for not having replied to you personally before, but I thought I answered your earlier comment in my response to Justme. Yes, I absolutely agree, "the church" is the body of Christ - and I also agree that "the church" is never separated from or in conflict with Him. But I think the major question is what we actually mean by "the church"... Is "the church" merely a financial institution to pay the salaries of "ordained" pastors? Is it some political or social authority to enforce certain rules on people? Is "the church" really the legal organization which calls itself "the true church of Christ", condemning to hell all those who do not belong to it? Or is Christ's Church rather the living community of ALL worshippers who belong to the Lord, united in the Spirit of Love, co-operating with one another to build the kingdom of God? Getting a bit more personal about this, do you believe that "the church" or Jesus Himself should forbid me to spread the Gospel to my non-Christian classmates and friends, both in words and actions, just because I am only 16 and have not been 'authorized' by a church in a formal 'ordination' ceremony to do so? I have no certificate in theology (yet) and I possess no legal right whatsoever to claim that I am a 'missionary' or a 'preacher' - but has the Lord not given me authority, or even an obligation, to do my best to make good use of the spiritual gifts He has blessed me with? I do study, to make my service to Him more efficient. But I do not believe it is His will that I (or anyone) should stop 'preaching' just because I am not formally ordained. "So in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. If a man's gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his faith. If it is serving, let him serve; if it is teaching, let him teach; if it is encouraging, let him encourage; if it is contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously; if it is leadership, let him govern diligently; if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully." Romans 12:5-8 "There is one body and one Spirit--just as you were called to one hope when you were called-- one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it." Ephesians 4:4-7 As I said in my reply to Justme, I believe the question is not whether we are called but what we are called to do. I do disapprove of 'Christians' who go about prophesying and teaching things that never came from God, for their own selfish purposes (eg. earning money for their online 'service')... But will their teachings not be futile and controversial because of the absence of God? (1Tim 1:3-7) Additionally, do we not need to be empowered by the Holy Spirit to perservere in doing what God has called us to do? (Isaiah 40:30-31) If someone is not a Christian, he will obviously not go around preaching things about the Bible and Jesus (Mark 9:40). If nevertheless someone is a Christian (by which I mean "born of water and the Spirit" - John 3:5), I trust in the guiding power of the Holy Spirit to convince him of his calling (eg. Philippians 2:13; see also Romans 8). Possessing the gifts of the Holy Ghost is NOT the same as possessing a manmade certificate about it... Being Christian, whether a pastor or a toilet cleaner, is 24-hour service, 365 days a year. Concentrating too much on church formalities and far too little on the Lord Himself has resulted in the painful wounds in Christ's Body... Only when ALL members, not just the ordained pastors, are individually in but not of the world, ALL being made one in the Spirit, will "the" church of Christ function to His good pleasure. Or at least that's what I believe. May God bless you, Zsuzsi |
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