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And I shall not die, but live, and declare the works of the Lord...Whew!!! Thank You Lord For Your Word!!! Open to me the gates of righteousness; I will go through them, and I will praise the Lord!!! All of Psalm 118 is Powerful Today...My my See there I went back and listened again to Jesse Duplantis testimony on Heaven on youtube and my my...my battery is charged up!!! Hahaha...I love it when that happens... Loving you In Jesus, Kathy

Here is a good article I have in my bookmarks on the subject, it should satisfy your curiosity. You can read it in 5 min: http://www.gotquestions.org/polygamy.html (Lots of other good articles on this site as well.) God bless.

I just wanted to give a quick testimony. I've been out of work for almost 4 years, noody will hire me because of my felony. When you wrote this I just accepted it in jesus name, and here a few hours later someone handed my mom $100.00 and said They felt God had put it on there heart to give to me. To God Be the Glory. Hi firestormx first thanks for what you have to add in this forum i have been going over what you have been leaving been also reading over this thread wanted to respond yesterday but had other things to do i can understand were you are coming from and i just want to encourage you to trust in the lord as you are no longer the same person as you were in the past i have been were you are know i am also an x inmate were i am know i owe it to god the employers i approached knocked me back and after several knock backs it was starting to get to me my pastor and some of the men that god put in my path told me to just give what i was feeling to god and just trust in god in Australia we have to be open when applying for a Job as the employer has a right to do a back ground check on new employees but you also have that right to say nothing about your pass what i found by being open and honest it shows the employer who you are as a person right know i just had a government clearance on me the company that wants me payed for this government clearance i got the higher security check done on me they went right through me to the point off talking to my pastor and my friends and even my wife all i did was pray by doing this it gave me the peace i needed only last year i started working for this new company as a commercial cleaner i thanked god for giving me this job never have i been out of work other companies i had worked for did not care about my pass last company i had worked for before i moved to Canberra i had the codes and keys to two banks i also had three other buildings to my self my old boss gave me a chance because i was open and honest can not hide the tattoos i have as this makes an employer think twice god never lets us down what blew me away i was able to travel something i had wanted to do since i was young god put a good god fearing women in my path i often travel to the philippines and have had the chance to share my testimony in Bacolod jail when i applied for my visa i had to be open other wise if i lied i would have found my self being refused entry so i just stated that i had been in trouble in the past served time and i am no longer that person which helped i stated why i was wanting to visit the philippines had to get a character ref with contac num and my futur wife had to also write a letter as they rang her know i have no problems traveling as the fear i had i would be knocked back once i began to trust in god and nail the old me to the cross and not allow the enemy to remind me of who i was in the pass i began to notice god do some amazing things if i caved in and allowed the enemy to have his way i would not be were i am know i just thought i would encourage you not to give up and just trust in god 1 Corinthians 18 For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.

I just wanted to give a quick testimony. I've been out of work for almost 4 years, noody will hire me because of my felony. When you wrote this I just accepted it in jesus name, and here a few hours later someone handed my mom $100.00 and said They felt God had put it on there heart to give to me. To God Be the Glory.

Big Hugs...And of course I had to write something else...Hahaha...Something is going on you know...Hahaha Oh, Highly Recommend Hearing Jesse Duplantis' testimony about going to Heaven...He was in a hotel room...and that testimony settled many many things for me... Also just to bear witness...I've experienced a plain vision: Where it was a movie screen before my open eyes...I saw thousands upon millions of dead bones going by on a conveyor belt...and then the next scene was thousands being called in my city to be baptised in the big water...Like thousands being baptised all at once!!! Also experienced a big devil standing right before me stopping me...and another experience that I've already testified of...and out of my body in my body I do not know...but I saw a Mighty Rushing Wind beside my dresser...and I Heard The Voice of God...(didn't know where it was in The Bible at the time...found it months later) and this is what I heard: Not many days from now you will be endued with power from on high...then all of a sudden I was out of my body and I saw The Holy Spirit go through my body...after this...I have walked in 3 gifts: The Gift of Faith, The Gift of Healings and The Working of Miracles...story after story...I've been given sayings etc. to type out and give them out...at the grocery store etc. Whew!!! I had just had a baby and there was a guest stuck in a wheelchair in the elevator and I scaled a 4 foot Front Desk...don't even remember it...the next thing I knew I was at the elevator!!! My my...All I keep thinking about is...My my...Our God Is With Us...Will Not Leave Us...Heals Us...Loves Us...Whew...Stir Up Your Gifts Is All I Can Say Right Now!!! Loving ya'll In His Holy Name, Kathy

4. The Law of Navigation: C. Joshua Balances Faith and Planning Joshua 8:1-29 The Christian walk is all about balance - not leaning too heavily on legalism or grace. When does human planning get in the way of trusting God for Results? Or conversely, when does faith become presumption, expecting God to do for us what we must grab hold of ourselves? All Christian leaders and by extension Christians in general must learn the proper balance between divine faith and human preparation. I have been under Christian leaders who shoot from the hip. Nothing is really planned and the results are up to God. This can be difficult for those following to understand both the direction and vision of the ministry/organization. I have also been under leaders that way over-plan and have little flexibility. A balance is key would you agree? Joshua and the Israelites had been defeated in Joshua chapter 7. Joshua demonstrates a beautiful balance in Joshua chapter 8 as he prepares a second attack on the city of Ai. Joshua starts out his plan the right way - He begins by asking the Lord whether his army should attack, and if so, when. God ordered the attack and instructed Joshua to set an ambush, but gave no further details. Joshua planned the particulars of the campaign, each step under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. Joshua divided his troops into two divisions and told one to stage an attack on the city. The other group was to wait in ambush until the men of Ai came out. As the men of Ai chased their attackers, the ambush could close in and allow the Israelites to set the city on fire. The plan worked quite well. When the men of Ai saw the smoke rising above their homes, they lost heart and quickly fell in battle to Isreal. This shows the importance of following God and also the principle of Momentum. (One of the Laws that we will discuss eventually is that of The Big Mo – Momentum) Do you see the synthesis of the divine guidance and human strategy? Joshua placed his faith in God for the results, but did not hesitate to lay wise plans and execute them. How do we apply this story to our lives? What is the lesson learned here? God bless, GE

Paul wrote that there was no value in keeping feasts and times, yet, for some reason, there seems to be some sort of mysterious drawing power to those very things by those who are of the opinion that Christmas is pagan and the Christmas tree is a pagan symbol. One man considers one day more sacred than another; another man considers every day alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind. Rom. 14:5 Accept him whose faith is weak, without passing judgment on disputable matters. 2One man’s faith allows him to eat everything, but another man, whose faith is weak, eats only vegetables. 3The man who eats everything must not look down on him who does not, and the man who does not eat everything must not condemn the man who does, for God has accepted him. 4Who are you to judge someone else’s servant? To his own master he stands or falls. And he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand. Rom.14: 1-4 Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day. Col. 2:16 Formerly, when you did not know God, you were slaves to those who by nature are not gods. 9But now that you know God—or rather are known by God—how is it that you are turning back to those weak and miserable principles? Do you wish to be enslaved by them all over again? 10You are observing special days and months and seasons and years! 11I fear for you, that somehow I have wasted my efforts on you. Gal. 4: 8-11 Therefore let us stop passing judgment on one another. Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in your brother’s way. 14As one who is in the Lord Jesus, I am fully convinced that no foodb is unclean in itself. But if anyone regards something as unclean, then for him it is unclean. 15If your brother is distressed because of what you eat, you are no longer acting in love. Do not by your eating destroy your brother for whom Christ died. 16Do not allow what you consider good to be spoken of as evil. 17For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit, 18because anyone who serves Christ in this way is pleasing to God and approved by men Rom 14: 13-18 People have been trying to put Christ back on the cross since he rose again. Christianity is about new life and that life is in Christ. No amount of observance of any law or festival or Old Testament observance is in effect today. The law is fulfilled in Christ and the law was given in ANTICIPATION of Christ. The Jews (not all, but the religious leaders certainly) rejected Jesus as their long awaited Messiah and kept on with tradition. They felt secure in their observances of special times and seasons because they were, in effect, responsible for their own salvation in keeping the law and observing the feasts and strict dietary requirements. Christ, did away with all of that. If the law could be kept, Christ died in vain and God sacrificed His Son for nothing. As Christians, we are to follow Christ...Christ followed the law during His life and He was the only one who did not sin in so doing. BECAUSE of that, the law IS fulfilled IN HIM ALONE, and it is our faith in HIS obedience to God and HIS sacrifice of SINLESS blood that IS acceptable to God that creates our ACCEPTANCE to God. There is nothing we can do and nothing no one has ever done that will make them acceptable to God, Who IS HOLY and who loved His sinful creation (once perfect) so much He sent His only Son to die in their place. Christ's obedience is OUR obedience and that is THE ONLY OBEDIENCE that is acceptable to God. The book of Galatians was written to counter the effects of the Judaizers, Jewish Christians, who believed that certain ceremonial practices of the OT were still binding...CONTRARY to what Paul had taught. They wanted all the Gentile converts to be circumcised, among other things and it was this denial of faith in Christ that Paul addressed and he began his letter by stating that he, Paul, was astonished at how quickly they were DESERTING the one who had called them BY THE GRACE OF CHRIST. In chapter 3, Paul calls the Galatians foolish and asks them who has bewitched them. FYI, here are some interesting factoids regarding Christmas, the evergreen that we call the Christmas tree and how much, how very very much, ​people, even well intentioned ones, can mess up the truth for themself and demand that everyone else observe THEIR interpretation of obedience as something extra besides faith in Christ AND in Christ's COMPLETED work on the cross for the salvation of mankind. First off, there are no rigid and unbending facts regarding the evergreen other than that the evergreen represented life because it did not APPEAR to die during the winter. The truth of the matter, is that evergreens simply retain their needles...usually go a darker green The reason evergreens stay green all year is not simple. Evergreen trees (trees that keep their leaves year-round instead of losing them all at once) originated in cold, northern climates. In the north, the growing season (spring/summer) is very short compared to that of the south. Trees use light to make food through photosynthesis. In order to survive in the shorter growing seasons, trees needed to gather light all year long. The only way to do this was to gather light for photosynthesis in the winter. However, trees can only photosynthesize when water is available in a useful form, so when the only available water is snow or ice, even evergreen trees are dormant. They rest until conditions are right for photosynthesis to start again THE TREES GO DORMANT BECAUSE THEY NEED WATER TO CONTINUE THE CYCLE OF GROWTH Cut trees,when brought inside, are watered to keep them from dying BECAUSE the warm indoor temps wake up the tree and it finds itself wanting water. If no water is given, the tree dries up and drops its lovely scented needles all over your floor. Watering the tree simply keeps it longer as of course the roots have been severed and left in the ground where once the tree grew. SURPRISE SURPRISE SURPRISE! Pagans, those nasty little beggars, did NOT start cutting down the trees and decorating them. The reason they are not responsible for this wholesale slaughter of the innocents (the hapless and helpless trees) is because THEY BELIEVED THAT CUTTING DOWN THE GREEN TREES was destructive to nature. In other words, you don't cut down a green tree that miraculously does not loose its 'leaves' (except for the tamarack but that's a story for another day) What we, today, refer to as the Christmas Tree is actually the product of a long history of superstitions, customs and traditions with everyone from the Egyptians to the Romans to the Celts and Vikings participating and the rest of the world thrown in for good measure. Don't want to leave anyone out after all you know. Legends abound..including one about Martin Luther seeing stars in the sky at night and, wanting his family to enjoy such a scene, he promptly went and whacked down a tree, brought it into the house and adorned it with candles (dangerous) This is not a true story but some people believe it is even though it is dated AFTER Martin Luther passed away...oh well, who wants to deal with all those details anyway BLAME IT ON OAK TREE WORSHIP: Another Christmas tree legend, also from Germany and dating back to the 7th century, tells the story of St. Boniface, a monk from Devonshire who went to Germany to convert the German people to Christianity. It is said that when he found a group of Pagans worshiping an oak tree, he cut the oak down and a young evergreen began to grow from its roots. Taking this as a sign, St Boniface used the triangular shape of the fir tree to describe the Holy Trinity; God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. After that, the converts then revered the fir tree as God's tree, just as they had previously revered the oak ( cut and paste article here) True story? Probably not, but it makes for a case against the evergreen if you would like one. HOWEVER, OAK trees were usually the tree of choice for worship in jolly ole England and in most of the rest of Europe...that is when they were not worshiping the sun or moon or some other source of light. I say chop em all down and make nice flooring. As recently as the 1840s, many Americans still thought of decorated evergreens as Pagan symbols. To the New England Puritans, Christmas was sacred. They condemned many customs associated with Christmas, such as the Yule log, holly, mistletoe, Christmas carols and Christmas trees, as "heathen traditions." The Puritans believed that any joyful expression desecrated the sacred event of the birth of Christ. William Bradford, the pilgrim's second governor, tried to stamp out what he called the "Pagan mockery" of Christmas. In 1659, a law was enacted that made any observances of December 25, other than attending church services, illegal. Christmas "frivolity" was penalized and anyone, Puritan or not, caught hanging decorations or otherwise celebrating Christmas was fined 15 cents. This joyless Christmas tradition of solemnity continued into the 19th century. Until 1870, Boston schools remained open on Christmas Day and students who stayed home could be expelled. As recently as 1851, Pastor Henry Schwan of Cleveland, Ohio nearly lost his job when he decorated a Christmas tree in his church and his parishioners condemned it as a "pagan practice." (copy past again) So, Christmas was once a joyless occasion...even thought the angels appearing to the shepherds thought otherwise, but I am sure those New England clergy only had religion as their vested interest, so, everyone could put on their best dour face and look as though they had nothing to celebrate. Now, is it really the trees we worship or is it our own ideas of what we think constitutes a good Christian. By the 1890s, the popularity of Christmas trees was on the rise around America. Whereas the Europeans used small trees, the Americans preferred their Christmas trees tall enough to reach the ceiling. Well Macy's does have very high ceilings. (When Rowland Hussey Macy opened his "fancy dry goods" store in 1858 on New York's 6th Avenue, little did he know that his name would long be associated with one of the most legendary stores in retail history. During the Great Depression of the 1930s, nurseries were unable to sell evergreen trees for landscaping, so they cut them for Christmas trees. Because they were more symmetrical than trees growing in the wild, cultivated trees became preferred and the impromptu Christmas tree farms of the depression-era eventually became full-fledged businesses. (seemed like a good idea at the time I guess) Well, just a brief synopsis of the Christmas tree, but of course this history light tale would not be complete without some current affairs regarding the journey of a simple, yet lovely and fragrant, inhabitant of woods the world over. For your reading pleasure, the following: Today, decorated evergreen trees are often the subject of political controversy. In recent years, as America has progressed toward greater religious tolerance and freedom, the governments of some cities and towns have declined to put up lighted and decorated evergreens because they fear that they might be in violation of the First Amendment. Other localities simply call their decorated evergreens "Holiday Trees" in order to be inclusive and respectful of their communities' diversity. Some Christians object to the idea of calling a decorated evergreen a "Holiday Tree," believing that such a generic name is marginalizing to the Christian faith. But as their history demonstrates, decorated evergreens, which pre-date Christianity by thousands of years, were never exclusively Christian. Rather, the idea of decorating an evergreen tree in December is an ancient, multicultural notion whose meaning is as diverse as the variety of Christmas/Holiday tree styles available in stores today. So I ask, have we come full circle folks? There are Christians who actually are offended by the nomer Holiday Tree, preferring instead to invoke that most pagan of names, that most unholy folly of backslidden believers everywhere, the Christmas Tree. Yes, a bit of humor thrown in and if you have actually read my little contribution from start to finish, contact me and I will paste your name at the bottom with a star. Be warned however, there will be a quiz to assure me that your knowledge is complete and you have, indeed, actually eagerly applied yourself to a better knowledge of the issue at hand by your ability to now argue with actual facts, a brief history, some charming myths and traditions, resulting in your increased capacity to decide for yourself (oh whimsical thought) whether or not to bring into your home a dormant evergreen, resurrect it in water, only to dash its hopes in January of the following year when you toss it outside for garbage collection or, even better, retrieved from the basement your artificial evergreen done up in bright pink or with no thought whatsoever, to that process known as photosynthesis, turned out in spanking bright white and showed it off to all house guests and passersby, by displaying it in the living room in front of the large picture window, from which its lights, turned on at night, declare to all that Christmas is still celebrated in your home....unless of course it is a holiday tree in which case the entire article meant nothing whatsoever to you other than yet another proof of how Christians can disagree on just about anything. This is my longest post EVER!!! HALL OF FAME This is to certify that ENOOB has read and digested the contents of this post

Awful as this was (May the Lord be of comfort +) I feel obligated to point out that some 1.5 million Americans legally own guitars, while 65 million Americans legally own guns. On this same day, 65 million gun owners did not kill anyone. Statistical analysis indicates we should take guitars away from people, not guns!

The Lord has no misgivings about the limitation and weakness of human beings (even those of us filled with his Holy Spirit, as the choice to live by him is still ours). But IMHO the Lord gives us such high goals knowing we will never actually achieve them yet at the same time in our stiving for the high goals we avoid all sorts of evil we would otherwise encounter or devize on our own.

The topic is deeper than the ocean and wider than the sea. Single scriptures should be able to be validated by the complete context within which they fall. At a minimum one should probably present a good selection of scripture rather than a single verse when working toward understanding what is being said. Eph 5:8 ¶ For ye were sometimes darkness, but now [are ye] light in the Lord: walk as children of light: Eph 5:9 (For the fruit of the Spirit [is] in all goodness and righteousness and truth;) Eph 5:10 Proving what is acceptable unto the Lord. Eph 5:11 And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove [them]. Eph 5:12 For it is a shame even to speak of those things which are done of them in secret. Eph 5:13 But all things that are reproved are made manifest by the light: for whatsoever doth make manifest is light. Eph 5:14 Wherefore he saith, Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light. Eph 5:15 ¶ See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, Eph 5:16 Redeeming the time, because the days are evil. Eph 5:17 Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord [is]. The proof is in the doing and not in the dissecting. Follow the instructions given in the bible and see what kind of results that you come up with. When it comes to prophesying, and the bible is nothing but prophesying, we are told to prove all things. The guarentee of the Ephesians text is that light reveals darkness and that darkness needs to be reproved and not fellowshiped with. An example of this is Noah. Hbr 11:7 By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith. Noah, who was a preacher of righteousness, condemned the world simply by being the light of it through obeying the command of God. Noah spent 100 years building a boat in a place where it did not rain that was big enough to fit the animals and his family on. Of course we are not told exactly how many people asked what you building or why? We are told that '8 souls were saved by water' and that the world was 'filled with violence'. Bet he stood out like a sore thumb being not only a preacher of righteousness but a doer of the work. Had God not sealed him up in the boat in time, the darkness that his actions condemned would probably have snuffed out his little family. How many of us have went from walking in complete darkness as servants of sin without Christ unto coming to know Christ and have begun the process of sanctification and are walking in a better state with less darkness and more light than before? How many of us have been persecuted when this light we now walk in shines in the same room as those who still walk in darkness? Are we now somehow safe from persecution for living after godliness when among believers only? Even the Lord himself was betrayed the same night he took bread. There are many warnings for us to heed against evil workers and such within the church alone. So we come to the open forum and ask: Can we really be like Jesus all the time? Can we reach Entire Sanctification where Sin no more has dominion over us or gets one over on us? Please understand that due to an overwhelming range of personal definitions used for words and such the like there are going to be various views of the words we write to one another even. And trust me, this is one question that Satan does not want an answer to be given that will in any way, shape or form take away his dominion over your mind and actions. He is not stupid by any means. He wants us to bite and devour one another, nailing each other to our cross we bear. My own personal experience with walking with God is that I was one of the lowest of the low when it came to being a sinner. I not only was evil but enjoyed being such. But God, who is rich in mercy, thought it good to lead me to a place of repentance from sin to faith in him rather than sin. My transformation from darkness to light was rapid. I began to immediately shed unwanted sin in my life that was illuminated to me as I read through the bible for the first time. The first thing I achieved victory over through God was alcohol and drugs. Cigarettes followed later, for me they were sin. Over time as I became aware of the sin in my life I turned to Christ to understand how to get victory through him over them. For a long while I thought the problem was in the objects of my desire and not my desire itself but later I learned that the problem was one that was within and not without. The root of the problem we all face with this question posed is that if Christ can give us victory over a single sin, why can we not then have complete dominion over all sin though sin be in the body we now reside in? I know one thing is for sure. If I believe that I can't ever do that then it will be a self fulfilled prophecy. If I believe that I can but it isn't the truth then I will face a certain amount of disappointment though I am determined to have complete victory over sin in my life always. But if I believe I can based upon what is seen in scripture and it turns out to be true then I face the inevitable fact that those, even those in the church who believe, who are walking in darkness will have a desire to destroy that which they deem to be error. How do I know this? Jhn 9:24 Then again called they the man that was blind, and said unto him, Give God the praise: we know that this man is a sinner. So what is a man to do? Present arguments by mouth that seek to lead others to believe that we can be like Jesus everyday from the moment of waking until our head hits the pillow again? I don't think that fits the Ephesians text very well if there is truth to it. Eph 5:15 ¶ See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, If you believe that you can be as he is always without fail then I suggest: Jam 3:13 Who [is] a wise man and endued with knowledge among you? let him shew out of a good conversation his works with meekness of wisdom. I'm afraid this topic is a seeing is believing kinda thing and of those who see there will be those who believe, while others who see will not believe but know differently as they who accused our Lord. Peace be with you in your ultimate conclusion. May the Lord illuminate the understanding of those whom haven't yet understood.