Results 241 - 260 of 269
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Results from: Notes Author: Country Girl Ordered by Verse |
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Results | Verse | Author | ID# | |||
241 | Superior Hope | Heb 11:40 | Country Girl | 127037 | ||
Maybe "put down the Law" is a little harsh. I was trying to make a point in the contrast as shown by Romans and Hebrews. Yes, I agree with you. The Law did and still does show us as mankind how we are totally lost without God's Grace and His Son's blood. I must go back to my main point of emphasizing the authority of the NT over and above that of the OT. Appreciate your correction. Blessings to you, dear friend. Country Girl |
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242 | Superior Hope | Heb 11:40 | Country Girl | 127084 | ||
Although I may ocassionally read about religion or other Bible topics outside the Bible written by various men and Bible students, I think it's a mistake for them to introduce concept completely new and independent of the Bible. In this regard, with reference to dispensations, I only see three main dispensations clearly taught by the Bible: 1) the Patriarchical Age, Adam to Jacob 2) Israelite Nation w/Law of Moses and 3) Age of Christianity. This is endorsed by the discussion (verses) below as being the mystery hidden with God until the time was right when he chose to reveal all to the world. Rom 16:25 Now to Him who is able to establish you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery which has been kept secret for long ages past, 1 Cor 2:7 but we speak God's wisdom in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God predestined before the ages to our glory; 1 Cor 15:51 Behold, I tell you a mystery; we will not all sleep, but we will all be changed, Eph 1:9 He made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His kind intention which He purposed in Him Eph 3:3 that by revelation there was made known to me the mystery, as I wrote before in brief. Eph 3:4 By referring to this, when you read you can understand my insight into the mystery of Christ, Eph 3:9 and to bring to light what is the administration of the mystery which for ages has been hidden in God who created all things; Eph 5:32 This mystery is great; but I am speaking with reference to Christ and the church. Eph 6:19 and pray on my behalf, that utterance may be given to me in the opening of my mouth, to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel, Col 1:26 that is, the mystery which has been hidden from the past ages and generations, but has now been manifested to His saints, Col 1:27 to whom God willed to make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. Col 2:2 that their hearts may be encouraged, having been knit together in love, and attaining to all the wealth that comes from the full assurance of understanding, resulting in a true knowledge of God's mystery, that is, Christ Himself, You might notice that main themes throughout the OT point toward the future looking forward to the time of the Messiah. The Gospels through Acts 1 introduce the life, ministry, death, burial and ressurection of Christ. Acts 2 through Revelation cites the establishment, administration, government, dealing with problems and the ultimate goal of reaching Heaven. So just what was/is the mystery of God revealed in His Word. It's not completely described in specific detail so we're left on our own. It seems clear that if the Devil suspected that God meant all along to literally sacrifice His Son on the cross for the sins of the entire world, for all time, that he the Devil would have done everything in his power to have prevented it. The Devil just didn't understand God's Perfect Sense of Justice and didn't see the danger to Himself in allowing Christ to die. He probably thought if he could just get Christ to come down to his world by having Him killed, then He'd have the last laugh on God. But God is incredibly clever and knows how to turn the bad things in our world and makes them turn for His Good. I realize this is somewhat simplistic but that's the way I see God's Word. I don't think He minds our probing and delving into His Word and discussing those truths as deeply as we like. The big thing I would be very cautious about and avoid almost entirely are those topics as I mentioned above if it's outside the parameters as set by the Bible. Hope this helps and blessings to you. Country Girl |
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243 | Superior Hope | Heb 11:40 | Country Girl | 127104 | ||
I might start to sound like I'm obsessed about this subject so I'll try to be brief and to the point. In my opinion, it's OK to become obsessed when we're talking about God's Word, most especially the NT. Again, IMO, we should see ourselves as being devoted to God's Word AND doing our best to imitate the attributes and all the other aspects of God and Christ we see in the Bible. In the OT, God got ALL of mankind's attention and worship. Those with the Law of Moses of course, worshipped him in accordance with that guidance. Those w/o that guidance worshipped Him in the same way as before the Law of Moses. The most important point of my statement that we must maintain our focus on Christ our Lord, just like Peter discovered while walking on water. When we take our eyes off our Lord, we endanger ourselves, taking our chances in the waves of this world. Although we can't cite specific verses saying "Thou shalt go to worship on Sundays," our Lord expects us to grow up spiritually and see that need in ourselves. Like I've been saying our Lord wants us to grow up spiritually and start figuring out for ourselves what He wants us to do. You might remember that only the first four of the Ten commandments were for God's benefit while the latter six commandments were issued for the Jew's benefit and eventually all of mankind. You see, God doesn't really need our worship or anything else from us. Sure God does WANT us to come Home to Him, He WANTS our worship as He is God and He craves to be worshipped. But IMO, in order for Him to be truly pleased, we should worship Him in accordance with His wishes and His guidance. You might compare this to the same kind of relationship with our own earthly parents. They love us regardless of what we do, even when we mess up and land ourselves in prison. But if we want to please them, we'll behave and develop ourselves in accordance with their wishes. I hope this makes things a little more clear. Blessings to you. Country Girl |
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244 | Superior Hope | Heb 11:40 | Country Girl | 127225 | ||
Although God wants and desire the devotion and worship of ALL His creation, He knows He's not going to get it because it's not the human tendency. We all tend to be selfish too much and some of us never even care to develop a relationship with Him as our Father. My previous post was really referring to all those who DO want and see themselves in need of this relationship. Throughout all 3 dispensations, there have been those who DO see this need and those who DON'T. That's part of the scenario that ends up being glorious to our Lord, when we as His children actually choose Him and leave the world behind. Blessings to you all. Country Girl |
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245 | Superior Hope | Heb 11:40 | Country Girl | 127227 | ||
I'm not certain or privy to all of God's details on this topic. All I can do is quote from His Word Rom 2:11 For there is no partiality with God. Rom 2:12 For all who have sinned without the Law will also perish without the Law, and all who have sinned under the Law will be judged by the Law; Rom 2:13 for it is not the hearers of the Law who are just before God, but the doers of the Law will be justified. Rom 2:14 For when Gentiles who do not have the Law do instinctively the things of the Law, these, not having the Law, are a law to themselves, Rom 2:15 in that they show the work of the Law written in their hearts, their conscience bearing witness and their thoughts alternately accusing or else defending them, God's Word is fairly straight forward, clear and simple but if you wish to discuss further, we're always willing to entertain questions as best we can. Blessings to you. Country Girl |
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246 | Superior Hope | Heb 11:40 | Country Girl | 127230 | ||
I've read over your post and most of those who responded to you. I just wanted to explain my position. I've seen this kind of discussion before and thought it would bear repeating. Basically, as I see it (and I've been taught this) God now provides for three basic kinds of commands in our NT. They are 1) Direct command or imperative statements, 2) Commands by example and 3) Implied Commands. I'll try to provide examples of these three. Imperative Command: In Mark 16:15-18, Christ charges his disciples (future Apostles) with a specific misson which all christians must heed. Command by example: Expelling a brother in unrepentant sin as cited in 1 Cor 5. Implied/Inferred Command: Collection of the saints as cited in 1 Cor 16. Let me emphasize that God no longer extracts immediate punishment at least as far as we know like he did with Uzza and the Ark of the Covenant or with Nadab and Abiuh offering strange fire. So God is (probably not going to immediately punish) a person (a christian) for NOT going to worship assembly on Sundays. But that doesn't mean that God is NOT displeased with that person. We will most emphatically "reap what we sow." Hope this helps and blessings to you. Country Girl |
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247 | Superior Hope | Heb 11:40 | Country Girl | 127267 | ||
My ultimate goal in posting my statement about these 3 kinds of commands is to motivate ALL of us on the Forum toward true and genuine respect for God's Word. We must grow up and mature spiritually so as to see our priorities line up with those of our God. When we do that, then we will realize a more fruitful prayer life with God. We'll also realize our constant life-long need to get closer and closer to our God. We can never retire from studying His Word and receiving new instructions to maintain and perfect our Godly armor. We can also never retire from our constant need for prayer to Him as our Father. I pray that you keep on studying and praying on this subject. In my mind, it all boils down to who is actually sitting on the throne of your (our) heart. Who's truly in charge of your (our)life and soul? Like I heard just a few days ago, "If God is one's co-pilot, then that person should move over and let God become the Pilot." Blessings to you. Country Girl |
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248 | Superior Hope | Heb 11:40 | Country Girl | 127306 | ||
If I may interject at this point, I'd like to think there's room for both sides of this argument to see the other and agree on some common ground. Like I've mentioned before, everyone readily agrees there is no specific verse or set of verses, in the NT, that give the impression of "Thou shalt do this" or "Thous shalt not do this." Don't you see the end result or conclusion from my previous post is that God wants us to grow up and get away from a need for this kind of specific commands...that's why there's so few of those kind of imperative statements in the NT. God wants us to figure out that most of His Word is really issued for our good so that we will find peace and salvation in His Family. We need to see ourselves as obedient children and obey ALL of His commands, regardless of their category as I cited previously. The bottom line is: it doesn't really matter what terminology we use or the system we come up with to organize the commands of God. I'm convinced we all know that we must comply with the examples and commands as best we possibly can in order to please Him and find ourselves in a favorable position when it comes to Judgment Day. I do hope this post will motivate both you and EdB to reconcile your differences and go back to being good and faithful servants of God, setting good examples for the rest of us on the Forum. It's sad and depressing to see such good friends bicker over such an elementary subject (imo). I'll be praying for blessings of peace for both of you. Country Girl. |
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249 | Superior Hope | Heb 11:40 | Country Girl | 127312 | ||
Supplement to my previous post, same subject: I should have made this clear in that previous post but there's a very vital factor to understand to prevent abuse of the third category of commands, Implied/Properly Inferred Commands. These are commands in direct support of one of the other two types of commands. For example: Although it is not specifically commanded in God's Word, it is certainly easily concluded and properly inferred that all congregations of the Lord's church should each have some kind of simple accounting of the Lord's funds within that congregation. This prevents abuse of those funds and also gives the elders and deacons the tools they need to faithfully execute their duties. The factor that was missing before and needs to be clearly understood here is: Implied/Inferred Commands are most often executed in a variety of methods but should be considered vital and necessary to the overall operation of the congregation in question. So in our example above, the accounting can be elaborate with thousands of dollars invested in computer hardware and software, as well as accountant's skills from accountants giving their time to the Lord learned in their professional careers. Or the congregation might be too small to afford such a luxury and go with simple bookkeeping, ledgers, etc. So we see that the accounting is very necessary but can be accomplished in a wide variety of methods and procedures. I hope this eliminates some confusion on this point and blessings to you all. Country Girl |
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250 | Superior Hope | Heb 11:40 | Country Girl | 127332 | ||
Yes, I see your point. IF I was literally forced to choose between the two, yours and Ancient's position, I would have to go with yours, as I think you're slightly closer to the truth as I see it. I'm just hoping both of you can keep this discussion friendly and Christ-like. I've seen all the points of your post and Ancient's counter points. I'm just convinced it all boils down to the fact that God wants very, very much our devoted and regular attendance at our local worship assemblies so that we can share fellowship, our strengths and our weaknesses at that formation. God knows us better than we can ever possibly know ourselves and He knows we need to be there. BUT God's wishes apparently are NOT going to come in any clearer language than that already cited in His Word. He's going to leave it up to us to figure out. But I would also tack on a word of caution. If one actually chooses not to go to these worship assemblies I don't really think he/she will feel comfortable in Heaven so God will oblige that person and keep them out. Again, we do reap what we sow. Blessings to you all. Country Girl |
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251 | Superior Hope | Heb 11:40 | Country Girl | 127345 | ||
True love, Agape type love, that which is described in 1 Cor 13 is the type of love we're commanded to strive for, to grow toward and mature in. Part of this true love is the DEMAND (not option) to assemble together as a family and encourage one another AND rejuvinate ourselves so that we don't think too highly of ourselves but instead get what we need from God and His family on earth set here for that purpose. Some of us need humbling whereas some others need to be built up and encouraged. Some of us have weaknesses with which we should share and deal with them, opening our hearts and repent for the sins in our life. Others of us must assemble with family members, sharing the strengths we've gained with God's help so that others may benefit. In some cases, some might share weaknesses (from one area of his life) one day and then a week later, share a strength (from another area of his life). So you see we MUST see ourselves as being compelled to be there or this function breaks down and the whole system is rendered powerless at least for those that are a "no show." If everyone were to take such a non-chalant attitude about the assembly, then eventually the church would disentagrate, at least for that particular congregation. Naturally, this means the stronger, more mature christian with a little more heritage in the Lord should be expected to be a leader in this devotion to the cohesiveness of the congregation. They should realize the debt they owe to God and be all the more anxious and willing to return the favor by spreading the enthusiasm and encourage growth among the younger and less mature christians. No, my dear friend I'm afraid I can't allow your post with this kind of disregard for God's ultimate authority go unchallenged. We as God's children MUST NOT consider the regular assembling of ourselves in worship as an option. I do hope you'll continue praying and studying on this subject. Blessings to you. Country Girl |
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252 | Superior Hope | Heb 11:40 | Country Girl | 127354 | ||
But Ancient, my dear friend, can't you see how dangerous this line of thinking would lead to? Our Lord says we're "either for Him or we're against Him." Most of the guidance from His Word lands on either side of that fence. Either we're going to comply with His Wishes, His Commands, His Examples as delegated to His Representatives, the Apostles OR we choose our own way as you're advocating. I'm just saying it's a dangerous and slippery slope you're playing with and worse of all, there are other people in the world, both on and off the Forum that are going to follow your lead and your example. Do continue to study and pray on this issue. Blessings to you. Country Girl |
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253 | What do you make of this? | Heb 11:40 | Country Girl | 127515 | ||
The debate about this subject has been going on since Martin Luther when he first put the Book of James to the very back of his Bible, because he couldn't handle its truth very well. In that book, James makes it very plain and simple that faith by itself is dead and useless without works resulting from that faith. If a person is not willing to submit himself/herself to the Lord in such a way so as to include at least some time, effort and sweat, then that kind of useless faith is no good to God. Yes, I agree with Paul, if we have all the faith in the world and don't have love, we're as useless as that musical instrument. And how can possibly have that kind of love IF we're not showing it and proving it every day of christian lives. We must do everything in our power to discover our hidden talents and adopt a ministry, pick up our cross and bear our rightful share of that burden of christian responsibility to the Lord's church. Then we can be found faithful when our Lord comes again. Blessings to you all. Country Girl |
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254 | A Superior Home | Heb 13:14 | Country Girl | 126984 | ||
As I see the Book of Hebrews, the main city emphasized throughout is that of the church and her superiority to the Judiasm and the Law of Moses. Is that what you're trying to say? This seems to be further endorsed by the fact that it's God who adds us to His church, living stones as Peter calls us in 1 Pet 2:4 Coming to Him as to a living stone, rejected indeed by men, but chosen by God and precious, 5you also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. 6Therefore it is also contained in the Scripture, "Behold, I lay in Zion A chief cornerstone, elect, precious, And he who believes on Him will by no means be put to shame." Please confirm...just curious. Blessings to you. Country Girl |
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255 | Through Cultural Eyes - or not??? | 1 Pet 3:1 | Country Girl | 124435 | ||
I must side with EdB here as his words ring true. For example, the demonstration of our Lord's washing the feet of His disciples was NOT done so that we would consider that an act of worship. Jesus did that to demonstrate the proper attitude we should have toward our brethren our sisters in the Lord's church. In the first century, particularly in the Mediterrean countries, washing of feet was a very good thing to do for one's guest but the lowliest slave was the one who did it. Thus the wonderful example of our Lord. Some of the other cultural practices are the exchange of the Holy Kiss between christians in that day and time; or the anointing of oil of sick family members. Now there's nothing wrong with doing these things, it's just not treated as acts of worship. They were aspects of that culture, time and place. Some folks treat them as acts of worship and I'd be the last person in the world to condemn them for doing that but I would caution that they can't REQUIRE someone to believe in since the Bible doesn't show it. So once again words like "speak where the Bible speaks and be silent where the Bible is silent" should prevail here. The most important item of culture we MUST learn is that of God's Culture. We should learn to "speak as the oracles of God" and practice love and forgiveness like He does. For we have received these precious treasures as gifts from our Father and should do likewise as much as we possibly can with everyone we meet. Blessings to you. Country Girl |
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256 | How literal do we go? | 1 Pet 3:1 | Country Girl | 124499 | ||
Excellent treatment of the subject in perfect support of God's Word. Blessings to you, dear friend. Country Girl | ||||||
257 | Traditional answer? | 1 Pet 4:6 | Country Girl | 131576 | ||
Since this verse from Peter seems to be talking about living people who are dead in their sins, do you have any other scriptures to support this other view about "the outer darkness or prison?" Does the website provide any such scriptures in support? Sorry, I didn't take the time to check out the site myself. Might do so later on. Blessings to you. Country Girl |
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258 | Why is the thread associated with ID# .. | 2 Pet 2:4 | Country Girl | 127393 | ||
Again, I'm not an expert on the subject; I'll let Tim Moran and the other scholars on languages speak to that. But I think the scripture you refer to in Isaiah is hinged on a word that can be interpreted a couple of different ways. Here, "create evil" really means to us that God allowed its introduction into the world because he allowed the Devil to choose that path of ungodliness. This can be compared to parent-child relationship here on earth. The parent tells the child over and over again not to do a certain thing like riding a bike without a helment or touch a hot oven but the child goes ahead and does it, insisting on having his way and finds a whole new definition for pain. From the child's young naive perspective, the parent created this situation in giving the bike or bringing the hot oven into his world. From our naive and physical, limited and finite minds, it appears the evil in the world came from God since He created the world and everything in it. But we forget the Devil was also created and God said EVERYTHING He created in the beginning was good. So again, obviously the Devil gets ALL the credit for actually bringing sin, pain, suffereing AND evil into the world. I'm afraid I can offer no specific verse to corrobarate my conclusion other than those to which I've alluded earlier. Keep studying and praying, dear friend. Blessings to you. Country Girl PS: I would invite our language scholars to chime in and contribute to the discussion. Thanks. |
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259 | Why is the thread associated with ID# .. | 2 Pet 2:4 | Country Girl | 127394 | ||
I'm hoping to share some wisdom I've learned after being on the Forum for a few weeks and seeing for myself some of the grief and heartache that is meted out to some few participants. Please understand, most of us on the Forum are quite obsessed with the idea that the Bible is the One and Only Book in all the world that is considered to be authored by God Himself. He inspired It and He has protected It during these past several thousand years so when someone introduces a particular thought or idea that is especially repulsive like "God creating evil," naturally that person is going to run into the full and unmitigated guantlet of harsh criticism and extreme prejudice. If that person wants any kind of respect or an objective (maybe loving) response to his post with that kind of unusual and repulsive statement or topic, then he needs to do himself a favor and cite book, chapter and verse or better yet, quote the whole verse as you've done here. When a person does less and simply asks a particularly repugnent question like "Did God create evil?" there's not going to be a whole lot of sympathy toward that person. When one wants to tackle these kind of controversial and usually unpopular topics, that person needs to develop the art of tact and diplomacy. That skill is something woefully lacking in lot of folks in the modern world. You've paid a terribly high price to attend this school of hard knocks. I know some little something of that price as I got my PhD there. But hopefully, we're all learning, that is until the day we die. Then we'll be subjected to the ultimate final exam. I do sincerely hope this is helpful to you. Blessings to you. Country Girl |
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260 | Why is the thread associated with ID# .. | 2 Pet 2:4 | Country Girl | 127400 | ||
You might be interested in reading my post to Ancient, Post No 127394. I really do mean for it to be offered only as a suggestion for your consideration. Hope it helps and blessings to you. Country Girl | ||||||
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