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Hungering and Thirsting for God By Dave Butts Hunger and thirst are natural expressions of the basic human desire and need for food and water. One of the clear indicators that something is wrong physically is when we lose our appetite. It is the same spiritually. To hunger and thirst for God is at the very root of our being. It’s the way God made us. When there is no hunger for the presence of God, it is an indicator that something is wrong spiritually. Because that hunger is so basic to human nature, it often finds fulfillment in other areas rather than in seeking God. Much as eating unhealthy junk food can dull physical appetite, so that which is not of God can dull our spiritual appetite. This happens to non-Christians as they look for happiness and fulfillment in any area except in their relationship with God. It may be in human relationships, quest for power or money, or escape to physical pleasure. The saddest examples, however, are of Christians who allow their appetite for God to be dulled by other things . . . even religious things. Our churches are filled with believers who are so satiated by activities, programs and projects that they no longer have a hunger for God. So many Christians today snack their way through the day on "junk-food" activities and then find they have no time to "feast" with God. We complain about our "busyness" and tiredness, but that is typically a spiritual problem more than a problem of schedule. We desire everything except God. We take God in small doses throughout the day and week and somehow hope that on Sunday we can "catch up" on our time with the Lord. Let’s look at the Scriptures which speak of developing this hunger and thirst for God: "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled" (Matthew 5:6). ". . . whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life" (John 4:14). "Then Jesus declared, "I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and ho believes in me will never be thirsty" (John 6:35). "On the last and greatest day of the Feast, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, ‘If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him’" (John 7:37-38). "Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost. Why spend money on what is not bread, and your labor on what does not satisfy?" (Isaiah 55:1-2). "O God, you are my God, earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you, my body longs for you, in a dry and weary land where there is no water" (Psalm 63:1). "The Spirit and the bride say, ‘Come!’ And let him who hears say, ‘Come!’ Whoever is thirsty, let him come; and whoever wishes, let him take the free gift of the water of life" (Revelation 22:17).

C.H. Spurgeon: "No matter what level of spiritual maturity we are on, we need renewed appearances, fresh manifestations, new visitations from on high. While it is right to thank God for the past and look back with joy to His visits to you in your early days as a believer, I encourage you to seek God for special visitations of His presence. I do not mean to minimize our daily walk in the light of His countenance, but consider that though the ocean has its high tides twice every day, yet it also has its spring tides. The sun shines whether we see it or not, even through our winter’s fog, and yet it has its summer brightness. If we walk with God constantly, there are special seasons when He opens the very secret of His heart to us and manifests Himself to us – not only as He does not to the world but also as He does not at all times to His own favored ones. Not every day in a palace is a banqueting day, and not all days with God are so clear and glorious as certain special sabbaths of the soul in which the Lord unveils His glory. Happy are we if we have once beheld His face, but happier still if He comes to us again in the fullness of favor. I commend you to be seeking God’s second appearances. We should be crying to God most pleadingly that He would speak to us a second time...We do not need to be converted again, but we do need the windows of heaven to be opened again and again over our heads. We need the Holy Spirit to be given again as at Pentecost and that we should renew our youth like the eagles, to run without weariness and walk without fainting."

As I laid on my couch I started reading out of a book, a really great book I might add on compassion, called "Saving Simon" by Jon Katz. In one excerpt he questions how it seems that animals lovers can have the most utmost compassion on animals that have been abused, yet seem to have nothing but contempt for those people that abused the animals. When we are the rescuers, we feel a sense of goodness within us yet rarely do we look into the abusers world. One example he made about compassion was how he would take food to a lady with cancer that lived down the road, offering his services to her in anyway she needed, yet he asked himself what was it that prevented him from the doing the same for the mean drunk that lived down the road from him. This prompted my own views on how I go about deciding who should receive mercy and grace from me. This of course led me to put down the book, and open up my bible that's always laying right here in close proximity, but the last to be opened lately. Truth be told, I have been frustrated lately with mankind. Mainly the man-kind that calls itself "fellow christians". After many promptings from the Holy Spirit, I flipped open my bible and it landed in 2 Peter, Chapter 1. The Holy Spirit knew exactly what I needed. I needed to be reminded of God's promises that I can live in Gods great and divine nature. Peter says in verse 8, "For if these things be in you and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But, he that lacketh these things is blind and cannot see afar off and has forgotten that he was purged from his old sins. What are these things Peter is talking about? He's talking about us being called to glory and virtue, whereby has been given unto us exceeding great and precious promises:(definition of promise: a declaration or assurance that a particular thing will happen) that by these we might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge, and to knowledge temperance, and to temperance patience, and to patience godliness and to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity. Definition of : Faith: precious like faith. Faith obtained, not by efforts of man but by the righteousness of our God, that comes to us through His divine power Virtue: behavior showing high moral standards, righteousness, integrity, dignity, honor, respectability, purity, goodness, that comes to us through His divine power knowledge: this doesn't mean acquaintance, but the knowledge that comes from knowing Christ intimately, and personally and not the knowledge of the world, that comes to us through His divine power Temperance: self control, that comes to us by His divine power Patience: perseverance: steadfastness in doing something despite difficulty or delay in achieving success, single mindedness given to us through His divine power Godliness: godly, Piety, reverence motivated by the fear of God or caution, more than by love for God, given to us through His divine power Brotherly Kindness: fraternal affection, kindness, love of the brethren, given to us by His divine power Charity: love, affectionate regard, goodwill. Refers to Agape love, Gods manifested nature(bears all things,believes all things, hopes all thing.) The kind of love: perfect love that cast out fear. What a great reminder this has been to me. And as I write, so many scriptures come to mind. Example: If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that?

Over the past few days, I've been discussing the will of God and how to walk out His will daily in our lives. The Lord's general will involves the development of our character and the ways in which we relate to Him and to our fellow man. Much of this is the same for every believer. But each of us is unique, and each has a potential life vision unlike any other. God has an individual will for every soul that belongs to Him, an individually shaped destiny which varies according to our gifting and calling and purpose in His Body. The post Offer Your Body! appeared first on Worthy Christian Devotional - Daily Devotions. Read the entire devotional.

13. If thou turn away thy foot from the sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on my holy day; and call the sabbath a delight, the holy of the LORD, honourable; and shalt honour him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words: 14. Then shalt thou delight thyself in the LORD; and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth, and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it. Isaiah 58:13, 14.

YOUNG EARTH EVIDENCE Astronomical Records. Because of the rarity of solar eclipses at any given location, and because astronomers can date every solar eclipse going back thousands of years, when an ancient tablet or manuscript mentions a solar eclipse, we can accurately date that record, and other events associated with it in other countries. Before 2250 BC, we have no records of any solar eclipse being seen by man. “The earliest Chinese date which can be assigned with any probability is 2250 BC, based on an astronomical reference in the Book of History”. (Ralph Linten, The Tree of Culture (1955), p 520). Writing. The oldest writing is a Sumerian pictograph written on clay tablets dated about 3500 BC. Iron Pot in Coal. Professor W. Rusch has reported an iron pot encased in coal dated by evolutionary standards at 300 million years old. (Creation Research Quarterly (March, 1971) p.201). The pictured affidavit reads as follows: Sulphur Springs, Arkansas, November 27, 1948. While I was working in the Municipal Electric Plant in Thomas, Okla. in 1912, I came upon a solid chunk of coal which was too large to use. I broke it with a sledge hammer. This iron pot fell from the center, leaving the impression or mold of the pot in the piece of coal. Jim Stall (an employee of the company) witnessed the breaking of the coal, and saw the pot fall out. I traced the source of the coal, and found that it came from the Wilburton, Oklahoma Mines. Frank J. Kenwood Sworn to before me, in Sulphur Springs, Arkansas this 27th day of November, 1948. Julia L (?) Metal Bowl. An intricately carved metal bowl was blasted out of solid pudding stone. (Scientific American, June 5, 1852). The Nampa Image is a baked clay figure obtained from a well being bored in 1889 at Nampa, Idaho. It was pumped from rocks 300 feet deep under a “Tertiary” lava sheet (12 million years old.) The problem for evolutionists is how can a man made clay figure 12 million years old (supposedly) have been laid down before man evolved 3 million years ago (supposedly)? Source: American Geologist, F.Wright, 23 (1899), p.267. Pollen in Pre-Cambrian Strata. Pollen from Angiosperm and Gymnosperm trees (woody plants supposedly 260 million years old have been found in Pre Cambrian Hakati shale in the Grand Canyon (supposedly 570 million years old). The problem here for evolutionists is conifer pollen existing 300 million years before it appeared on earth. Some spores are stained with red oxide from surrounding rocks, thus proving that the spores are not from present day contamination. Source: Nature, R. Stainforth, 210 (1966) p.292. Turkmenia. Notice this report in the Sydney Morning Herald, 21 Nov. 1983, “A report from the Soviet news agency, Tass, says that about 1500 tracks made by dinosaurs have been found in Turkmenia – but among those prints are those resembling the footprints of a man. According to Professor Amanniyazov, director of Turkmenia’s Institute of Geology: “If further analysis proves that the prints have been left by anthropoids, the history of mankind will be extended to 150 million, not 5 millionyears.”” Why did Professor Amanniyazov assume dinosaur extinction 150 million years ago as absolutely certainty? Why did he not consider the alternative position of dinosaurs living with man recently? The fact that dinosaur and human footprints have been found in the same rock strata proves that man and dinosaurs lived at the same time. This is a great problem to evolutionists who believe that dinosaurs became extinct 70 million years ago. Evolutionists claim that dinosaurs died out 67 million years before man appeared. These footprints prove that: a) Man and dinosaur lived at the same time, and b) The evolutionary geological column is completely wrong in its dating of rocks. The evidence for these tracks being genuine are: i) The tracks of man and dinosaur are widely distributed from Turkestan to Texas. ii) The tracks are mostly exposed by bulldozers or erosion. iii) Two Palaeontologists have pronounced them genuine: - Dr. Camp of the University of California, and - Dr. G. Westcott of Ypsilanti, Michigan. iv) The associated dinosaur tracks are accepted as valid. v) Some prints have ridges of mud pushed up around them. vi) Upon sawing through the footprints, the rock particles underneath are more compressed than particles surrounding the prints. Source: “Scientific American”, A.G. Ingalls: “The Carboniferous Mystery” 162 (1940), page 14. See R.L. Wysong “The Creation-Evolution Controversy”, p.373 Polystrate Trees. Crossing several rock strata are trees preserved as well at their tops as at their bottoms. These fossil trees bridge an evolutionary imagined time span of millions of years, that would preclude their “in place” growth and fossilisation. Galaxy star clusters (spirals with billions of stars) move so rapidly that they would not stay together if the universe were very old. Large Stars. Some stars are so large that they radiate energy 10,000 to 1 million times more rapidly than our sun. They could not have contained enough hydrogen to radiate this fast for millions of years, because their initial mass would have been too big. These O and B class stars, and P Cygni stars could not continue atomic fusion longer than 50,000 to 300,000 years. Abundant Hydrogen in stars. Hydrogen in stars is continually being converted into Helium. Hydrogen cannot be made from other elements. Fred Hoyle states that, if the universe were as old as Big Bang theorists think, then there would be little hydrogen left, as it would be converted to Helium by now. Spectra from stars reveal abundant hydrogen in stars.This implies a young universe. Solar shrinking. Since 1836, over 100 different observers at the Greenwich Observatory and US Naval Observatory have measured the sun’s diameter to shrink at 0.1% per century or 5 feet per hour. At this rate, 50,000 years ago the sun would have been so large as to boil earth’s oceans, making life on earth impossible. 100,000 years ago our sun would have been twice as large. Comets elliptically orbit the sun and are thought to be as old as the sun. As comets orbit the sun, they lose some of their water and gases from the sun’s heat, gravity and tail formation. The tail consists of material driven away from its head by solar energy. Some comets regularly seen in the 19th Century have broken up and vanished, or plunged into the sun. All comets should self-destruct in a short ime, less than 10,000 years. There should be no comets left. Evolution cannot explain comets in an old solar system. Comets are young objects created in a young solar system. Meteoroids bombarding Saturn’s rings would have destroyed them in less than 10,000 years. (W T Brown, In the Beginning, p 18). Jupiter’s Moons. If they evolved, they should be physically alike, having the same amount of volcanoes and impact craters, but this is not so. Evolution claims that all planets were molten 5 billion years ago and volcanic activity stopped 4 billion years ago as they cooled. The moons Ganymede and Callisto have no volcanoes and many impact craters. Europa has no volcanoes and no impact craters. Io has 7 active volcanoes and no impact craters. Titan has volcanoes. Jupiter, Uranus and Neptune (4) have rings, which could not survive 4 billion years. Jupiter’s intense magnetic field radiation would sweep out its rings. (Bradford Smith, a Voyager Scientist). Venus’ high temperature and little erosion, imply a young age for Venus. If Venus was 4 billion years old, its dense atmosphere should have worn away its craters. Mars has little erosion and some water. Mars has many sharp edged craters and volcanoes, as well as month-long dust storms. Several thousand years of this weather would have seriously eroded these edges and its strong colour differences. Powerful solar UV radiation would have long ago broken down the small amount of water, releasing the oxygen into the atmosphere and hydrogen into space. Evolution predicts no surface water and much atmospheric oxygen, but measurements show the opposite being some surface water and very little atmospheric oxygen. Lunar Recession. Due to tidal friction, the moon is moving away from earth at about 4 cm per year (1 ½ inches). At this rate, 5 billion years ago the moon would have been 200,000km. closer. Meteorite Craters only occur on the earth’s surface, never being found in the rock strata. If earth were 5 billion years old, we would find many meteorite craters in the sedimentary rock strata, but we don’t. Thus all meteorites which have struck the earth, have hit it in the last 5000 years. Oil Well Pressure. When oil drillers first penetrate oil wells, oil gushes out because the oil and gas are under great pressure from surrounding rocks. Sedimentary rocks surrounding the oil wells are porous. Studies of these show that the oil would seep out before 100,000 years, but this has not happened. This great oil pressure argues strongly against millions of years age for oil wells, and implies an age for oil of around 10,000 years. Oil, coal and gas were formed during the Great Flood 4,400 years ago (in 2418BC). Earth’s Molten Interior. Deep within the earth, the rocks are molten. The earth is slowly cooling from the surface inwards according to Stefan’s Law of Radiation. Lord Kelvin in 1889 calculated that the earth could not be billions of years old because of earth’s known rate of cooling, the existing temperature gradient in the earth, and the assumption that the earth could not have been hotter than “white hot” initially.“Popular Lectures and Addresses”(London: MacMillan, 1889, p.415). If earth were billions of years old, it would have cooled far more than it now has, even if we assume a radioactively generated heating mechanism. (W T Brown, In the Beginning, p 17). Radiohaloes are colour rings around microscopic radioactive minerals in rock crystals. “Squashed” Polonium-210 radiohaloes indicate that Jurassic, Triassic and Eocene formations in the Colorado Plateau were deposited within months of one another, not from 225-255 million years apart, as evolution claims. “Orphan” Polonium-218 radiohaloes, having no evidence of their mother elements,imply either instant creation, or drastic changes in radioactive decay rates Ocean sediment. There is not enough sediment on the sea floors for earth to be 5 billion years old. Rivers add about 28 billion tons of sediment to the oceans each year. If this had occurred for 1 billion years, the continents would have eroded away many times. There would be a layer of sediment on the ocean floor at least 60 miles thick. However, the average depth of sediment on the ocean floor is about 800 metres, and the continents have not eroded once yet. The Tasman Sea off Australia is not part of a subduction zone of ocean floor being pushed deep into the earth. Subduction zones could not dispose of 10% of incoming sediment. Hence, sea floors seem young. Tree Rings. The oldest living things are Bristlecone pines growing in Eastern Nevada, aged about 4,600 years old (sometimes producing 2 growth rings per year, so their age would be less), and Sequoia Gigantea in the Sierra Nevada Mountains, which are never older than about 4,000 years. These giant redwoods have no known enemies, and never have any dead trees among them. Unless man cuts them down, they never seem to die. 17 Bristlecone pines are dated about 4,000 years old. Since the Flood occurred about 2,418 BC, this implies that: a) all the pre-Flood Sequoias and Bristlecones were wiped out by the Flood, and b) there is no record of any living tree older than the Flood. Man’s Recorded History.If man has lived on earth for 1 million years, why do we only find human records going back to about 3500 BC? This cuneiform tablet is the oldest human writing from Sumeria. When human records first appear, they show man to be highly developed with a sophisticated civilisation. This agrees better with a creation date of 4074 BC than with evolution’s 1 million year history of man. Why did man do nothing for 1 million years? Because he has only been here for 6,000 years. 

After many years of perusing most 'christian' doctrines, I have come to the conclusion that many/most do not know what they believe. It seems we are quick to spout the party line of our various denominations, but when pressed, there is little to support these views except second -hand dogma that at the very least is quite suspect. You might think that this is a part of the; "any man can ask a question that a wise man cannot answer" syndrome. But I would challenge that also. I would be interested to know the basis of your beliefs. This is because I have seen many, "led into the ditch" by well-meaning but poorly informed Christians. I look forward to any comments. Thanks.

"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, 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, 16 on the day when, according to my gospel, God will judge the secrets of men through Christ Jesus," (Romans 2:14-16 This is the perfect example of not reading the Letter as a whole. paul was talking about gentiles WHO HAD COME TO CHRIST and were doing the law written on their hearts. just read down a few lines . this is the perfect example of how people misteach things. Gentiles who do not know Christ cannot do the things from their heart of the law. everyone read the whole of the letter and you willl see that in the next few lines it explains this . Paul was talking about gentiles who knew the LORD. ONLY GOD< ONLY CHRIST , ONLY THE SPIRIT puts the law on our hearts. that alone. This is why so many teachers are in error today. they pick certain parts to fix THIER BELIEF, instead of reading it as a whole and letting the truth do the revealing .

Lets take a look in (Matthew 24:40-44) "Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left. Two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken, and the other left. Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come. But know this that if the Goodman of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken up. Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh." This is one of the places in the Bible people use to support the teaching of a Rapture. If such an event is to take place, why doesn't the word Rapture appear in the Bible? People have accepted this myth for a very long time. Also, the religious teachers have perpetuated this myth for just as long. Why do I refer to the Rapture as being a myth? This is a good question, and we will answer that question in the following paragraphs. All of the Prophets, even David, a man after the Lords' own heart does not speak of rapture, but instead discusses the wilderness (the place of safety during the Great Tribulation), which is right here on the earth. Exactly what does Rapture mean anyway? ("Ecstasy, Intense Spiritual or Emotional Ecstasy") Webster's Dictionary This doesn't sound anything like what the preachers preach in the churches. What does ecstasy have to do with going to heaven? Yet still, people say that they're going to be raptured off to heaven before the Great Tribulation. And they use scriptures such as (St. Matthew 24: 40-42) "Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left. Two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken, and the other left. Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come." To support their claim, if you go back and start reading this same scripture at the 15th verse and continue down to the 31st verse, skip down to the 36th verse and continue down to the 42nd verse, you will see that this happens after the tribulation and there is no mention of going to heaven said here. Jesus said with his own mouth (St. John 3:13) " And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven." Also, (St. John 7: 33-34) " Then said Jesus unto them, Yet a little while am I with you, and then I go unto him that sent me.Ye shall seek me, and shall not find me: and where I am, thither: ye cannot come." Another scripture they use is (St. John 14:1-3) " Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also." Why do they, when using this scripture, always leave out the part, or ignore, that Jesus said,” I will come again"? Come again to the earth to receive you to myself.

To rest in God is His will for us. To be still in His presence and be confident in Him and His power are what He truly wants us to be. He has counseled us about this long time ago, that when we rest in Him, He will save and strengthen us (Is. 30:15). But the world had taught us to run elsewhere to get help. We had learned to rely on tangible things to quieten our souls and momentarily bring peace to our minds, not quite grasping the truth about God and what He is able to do. For with God all things are possible. (Mark 10:27) Friend, are you looking for rest for your weary soul? Rest for your sick body or unquiet mind? The Lord Jesus is bidding you. He says, “Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” (Mat. 10:28)

The offer of the Atonement is universal. The acceptance and application of the Atonement is limited to "Faith".

ON HIS DAY then all will have passed away. TILL then its the same gospel , SAME SPIRIT , same gifts . the gifts are for the building up and edifying of the body. As well as is HOLY SOUND BIBLICAL DOCTRINE. WHEN once at HIS COMING then shall all this pass away. TILL THEN ITS NEEDFUL TO THE BODY OF CHRIST to keep the church without spot or blemish and edifying one another. However about tongues I will say this. Many have BEEN FALSELY TAUGHT IT. IF a man SHOWS YOU HOW to speak in tongues , IF he begins with chant la la la , etc...........RUN THE OPPOSITE DIRECTION FAST, and never look back. THE HOLY SPIRIT DONT NEED OUR MAN MADE INVENTIONS to create TONGUES. THIS is all wrong. AND MANY UPON MANY have been TUAGHT tongues of men, NOT GOD, rather than simply REICIEVING TRUE TONGUES from GOD. and not all will speak with tongues either. nor is it a sign that one has to have to be saved. SO many false teachings. AND ROBERTO de WILLIAM, it has a bit of a Spanish ring. THE WORST absolute false doctrine ever is the all inclusive world peace and unity interfaith religion. GIVE ME a heck yes AT LEAST on the dung pile interfaith peace and unity message as FALSE. AT the VERY LEAST I pray you see that . for many churches , NOT JUST ROME , though she leads it, many are getting infected with it, a hint if your church is preaching HUGS WITHOUT CORRECTION . this is the FIRST STEP INTO A road that leads right to perdition and it will get worse as you sit in it. far worse.

Gandalfthewise, What a beautiful testimony of God's presence and work throughout your life. I also appreciate your words of grace to me. Blessings.

This whole thing can be summed up with the words of our prescious savoir. The cares and pleasures in life , of riches and other lusts enter in and CHOKE the WORD . That is why so many fall away in time of temptation or trial. THIS IS WHY ITS SO NEEDED TODAY as it was back then. For the true grave ones to stand and come into these syanogagues of men with spiritual whips of truth , smashing every high table , thing , which exalts itself above God. ITS time to expose these false men of belial WITH THE PURE WORDS OF TRUTH. WHIPS IN HANDS AND ITS TABLE THROWING TIME. Cause the SPIRIT in those who are HIS says to the false ones..........the ZEAL of Gods house has consumed me. AWAY with the hirelings and their doctrines and in with CHRIST and HIS TEACHINGS is what I say.

My own faith is built on a relationship with God which started when He revealed Himself to me, an agnostic, a One who heard my prayers and cared about me. Then the Holy Spirit convicted me of sin and I repented. After that He continued to lead me by giving me a hunger to read the Bible. God revealed His nature to me through Scripture and through Jesus Christ. From there a relationship formed of walking with Him, fellowship and following Him. It is not so much what I believe as Who I trust in.

Romans 12:2 "And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God." God wishes to transform us through re-newness--a new birth, a new way of thinking, becoming a new creation, etc. However, the devil seeks to thwart the process by inserting a false paradigm. We see this in Matthew 4:1-11 when the devil tries to tempt Jesus in the wilderness. Indeed, Satan replaces notions of faith with doubt: "If, You are the Son of God," pushes the devil-- then, he gives the Lord a plaguing command. The devil is a master at this, and he has many willing vessels who will also take his offers of power and authority (see Mt. 4:9) and who will become pushers of his agendas. The most dangerous are the false and often cult-like "church pastors." Jesus warned us about persons such as these and stated, ... "many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many" (Mt 24:5). Often, they are like Judas Iscariot--for they take things from God's treasury (see John 12:6). Moreover, since these false teachers are always trying to stay in power, they aim at sucking the life and faith from true believers. Certainly, they do not want the faithful to trust in Christ; rather, they need the followers of Jesus to trust in them. Hence, false teachers will never give a believer assurance unless one is doing something to benefit the imposter. For example, they may say, "IF," you give to me, then God will give to you. As such, the believer no longer has direct access to God, and a new intermediary is formed. The end result is the destruction of the true believers. Indeed, they often die in these spiritual wastelands. This happens because instead of having their lives transformed, they end up with "blown transformers." Have you ever seen an electrical transformer blow after it is accosted by hurricane-force winds? These atmospheres are too toxic for Christians! Certainly, we are to avoid false teachers! Jesus and early church leaders all confronted them. Thus, when you hear words like, "touch not my anointed," RUN! Run, because God does not "anoint" persons to take His place. Instead, God bestows spiritual gifts, and He chooses leaders who will teach, protect, and guide the faithful to keep their eyes on Jesus Christ.

God preserve me from "enlightenment". From Darwin's current religion, from Sanger and Huxley. Thanks.

OH yes! Totally agree with you sir. I guess I was bringing to mind some I met recently on an Alpha course here in the UK. I was astounded at the blank looks during what was supposed to be discussion time. You see, many of these (oldies like myself) have not really got a clue as to what they believe - and more importantly WHY they believe what they purport to believe. You are correct in that in parts of Asia, they have faith that puts us to shame (alone with many miracles). I am just very tired of the people (like me I guess) with so little to show of/for their faith. If the Great Deception were to rear its ugly head, I do not see many of us even noticing. The boiled frog syndrome I suppose. I think the 'great deception' has many unwitting adherents already. Peace and thanks.

understand that not all people come to the level you are, at the same age. Be a shinning light to them and show them the way. To answer your question in the Topic Subject as to whether or not you are at the right church, I would say to look at the people within it as a whole. Do they love one another? Do they really show a love for one another? if the answer is no, then you are not in the right church.

Of course the Church is important but the one who saves you is Jesus. I go to Church, because I feel like I "need" it. But why would you attend Church if you don't believe that Jesus is your savior? Believing in Christ is the only path to salvation. Don't worry about the Church. You can change it if you want but make sure it is a Christian one.

Amen............we are too busy and distracted, and as is being said "satiated" with life in the world, to hunger and thirst for God. But as Jesus said if we love our life in this world we will lose it, but if we lose our life for His sake we will keep it until eternal life. Much needed reminder, and lovely scriptures, and I'm glad you shared this.

You are welcome. I can understand the confusion as there are many threads that get approved without correction. Just obtain your three posts and you are free to post just about everywhere on the site! Oh, and by the way, Welcome to Worthy!

I am also seeking wisdom on navigating how we are to live in the world but not be of it..... sometimes in specific situations, sometimes I just don't have the wisdom to know how the Lord would have me respond or what to say....not in my own flesh but in His Spirit. In being with people of the world, it sometimes distracts me from the Lord so I can't see or know what His leading is in those moments. It troubles me, because God says friendship with the world is enmity with Him, so it is a very important issue. We are to be separate from the world and not be unequally yoked with unbelievers in every day life and yet in a way that is not standoffish at all, since we are to love them as we love ourselves.....and yet as you are saying, not to compromise the faith one iota, and sometimes I let Him down.

Thank you for sharing this word....light for the path. I am wondering how we should seek the Holy Spirit as such, should it be more about seeking the Lord Himself and praying for what we have need of whether strength, light for our way, understanding, holiness, etc. and just in seeking Him He will give us what we need however He deems we need it. I'm leery of how certain groups are sort of fixated on the Holy Spirit and always seeking "a touch", or for Him to "come down" etc and how in spite of that they are going astray......always seeking "experiences" with God but not really following Him in other ways. But then again He says if we ask for bread He wont' give us a stone etc, so we are to ask and seek, but not seeking it in a selfish way for pleasure rather than to be able to serve and have bread or fish to give to somebody else in need. I wonder if the Lord stays away in order to make us thirsty for Him, to know our need, that without Him we can do nothing, and maybe to dry our land out making it fallow so that it will be able to drink in the rain when it comes. And also to test our faithfulness through times when we can't see or feel Him in that way.

When Christians pray they edify themselves spiritually. This can only be done by the Holy Spirit that dwells in us. Without Christ we can do nothing. It is possible that the dramatic way the Holy Ghost first fell on men in the Upper Room on Pentecost day may never happen again through history, but that does not mean that Christians are still not receiving the baptism of the Holy Ghost with some of them speaking in tongues (other languages). To say that Paul was not an apostle, leaves me speechless. My post mentioned Holy Spirit interceding with wordless groans (I did not say animal sounds and behaviour). Have you ever had a burden on your heart to pray and yet you failed to find the appropriate words to interpret the burden into prayers? Well, it happens. Couppy

It is possible for born again Christians to fall away. Paul gave a warning in Hebrews 5: 4-8 "For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted the heavenly gift, and have become partakers of the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, if they fall away, to renew them again to repentance, since they crucify again for themselves the Son of God, and put Him to an open shame. For the earth which drinks in the rain that often comes upon it, and bears herbs useful for those by whom it is cultivated, receives blessing from God; but if it bears thorns and briers, it is rejected and near to being cursed, whose end is to be burned." Another warning Paul gave in 1 Corinthians 10: 1-6 "Moreover, brethren, I do not want you to be unaware that all our fathers were under the cloud, all passed through the sea, all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, all ate the same spiritual food, and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them, and that Rock was Christ. But with most of them God was not well pleased, for their bodies were scattered in the wilderness. Now these things became our examples, to the intent that we should not lust after evil things as they also lusted." If we fail to continue abide in Christ and work on our relationship with God, there is the possibility that we could gradually turn our back on Him. "Do not be deceived: “Evil company corrupts good habits.” 1 Corinthians 15:33. Adam walked with God but sinned. He got separated from God, according to the book of Genesis in the bible. Couppy

So what are we to think then, that the Bible is wrong, the other apostles were also wrong, but we should trust your spiritual discernment on these matters instead? Sorry. I think I will stick with the Bible there. However, I do think it is true that some things people do, they do for building themselves up, not building others up. I do not think it follows though, that we need to cease building ourselves up, for example, I will continue to eat, but, I will not neglect the fact, that others need food also.

Many Catholics have a relationship with Christ. Praise God.

Hi Shiloh, What you are presenting to others is that a tree can give life forever, and that is against what scripture teaches, which is that the Lord Jesus Christ is THE ONLY ONE who gives life forever, no one, or anything else can - only the precious blood of Jesus that was slain for us sinners can give life - `..the last Adam became a LIFE-GIVING spirit.` (1 Cor. 15: 45) To say that a real tree can give life forever, is mysticism which is one step away from the occult. very dangerous teaching there, bro. Marilyn.

Idolatry is false it's wrong it is sin, Romanites hate the first and second commandments. Exo 20:1 And God spake all these words, saying, Exo 20:2 I am the LORD thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. Exo 20:3 Thou shalt have no other gods before me. Exo 20:4 Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: Exo 20:5 Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me; Exo 20:6 And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.

Baby baptism is not scriptural, scriptures clearly teach believers baptism, baby baptism is a perversion of the gospel.

If water save you then why Christ come to die on cross ?

I am a cessationist. I do not believe that tongues are for today. If prophecy has passed away so has tongues. 1 Corinthians 13:13-14 If we desire gifts we should desire to speak for the Word of God, that all may be edified.

Alcohol, nicotine and caffeine are all drugs. Would you give a person some money for a cup of coffee?

Not a penny

God requires a relationship, not a "religion". I will let God decide and leave it at that.

God's Elect is Jesus. All who abide in Christ are God's Elect.

"Who is willing to lift up his eyes and his heart and to exclaim, "I want to live according to God's standard?" Who is willing? Who is willing to cast himself into the arms of Jesus and to live a life of faith victorious over the winds and the waves, over the circumstances and difficulties? Who is willing to say this,-"Lord, bid me come to Thee upon the water?" Are you willing? Listen! Jesus says,"Come." Will you step out at this moment? Yonder is the boat, the old life that Peter had been leading; he had been familiar with the sea from his boyhood,and that boat was a very sacred place; Christ had sat beside him there; Christ had preached from that boat, from that boat of Peter's, Christ had given the wonderful draught of fishes; it was a very sacred boat; but Peter left it to come to a place more sacred still,-walking with Jesus on the water,- a new and a divine experience. Your Christian life may be a very sacred thing; you may say, "Christ saved me by His blood, He has given me many an experience of grace; God has proved His grace in my heart," but you confess "I haven't got the real life of abiding fellowship; the winds and the waves often terrify me, and I sink." Oh, come out of the boat of past experiences at once; come out of the boat of external circumstances; come out of the boat, and step out on the word of Christ, and believe, "With Jesus I can walk upon the water." -- Andrew Murray

Hi Lar Jude 1:20 But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost, Jude 1:21 Keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life. Just above those verses it was speaking of Enoch who prophesied about the ungodly in the last days, giving examples of what they do, now his message is switched to the believers; but ye (who are not of them), building up for yourselves (treasures of truth & righteousness -not wrath), on your most holy faith (faith in God with everything we got), praying in the Holy Ghost (Spirit of truth) (not spirit of error) Keep yourselves in the love of God, (put him first), looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life (that we may be accepted) It most definately is not speaking of praying in tongues, but praying in truth. Having a true heart for God, honest and open to him, hiding nothing. Hope this helps

The Bible clearly says that the creation of adam was THE BEGINNING. There was NO pre-adamic civilization. I explain Genesis 1:1-3 as being correct and iteral. In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. 2 And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. 3 And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.

If we add up the chronology in the Bible and looking at the scientific evidence, around 7,000 years

I was going to write a post asking where is dear sister wandao1. I missed you sister. I had not seen you in a bit. But today my heart was happy when I seen your name. You sing sister. LOVE THE LORD and the LORD WE LOVE amen.

Just because someone sees something differently than you do doesn't mean that they are deep in deceit. People rationalize things emotionally as well as intellectually. This is why there's such a disconnect between pretribbers and posttribbers, because we don't all process information the same way. They wind up talking past each other and wonder why the "other side" doesn't get it. Everyone, to varying degrees, is emotional and intellectual, believers and unbelievers alike. What separates believers from unbelievers is the indwelling Holy Spirit and the spiritual discernment that He gives us when we walk in the truth. Those of the world are incapable of this discernment and it is this discernment that will be the extra oil that we need to be prepared for whatever might come our way. It doesn't matter if our eschatology is derived primarily from emotion or intellect so long as we don't allow it to affect our spiritual worship of God, our obedience to His will. Emotion and intellect are human traits that will fail us if we trust in them, but the godly wisdom we obtain through obedience is the rock we need for our house to stand. Maybe its time that we focus more on what matters, on building up the body of Christ and encouraging each other since the days are evil and the time is short.

Jesus was Jew who came to Jews to proclaim that Messiah has arrived and preach Kingdom of God but they reject him so he took gospel of salvation to Gentiles through Paul and let Romans murder about 1M Jews to scatter them all over world from Jerusalem as punishment , Christians moved out of Jerusalem before 70 A.D. Now you can't lose your salvation . It's free gift - 1 Corinthians 15:1-4 Not of Works - Ephesians 2:8-9 You can't buy it clearly stated in Acts 8:20-23 20 But Peter said unto him, Thy money perish with thee, because thou hast thought that the gift of God may be purchased with money. 21 Thou hast neither part nor lot in this matter: for thy heart is not right in the sight of God. 22 Repent therefore of this thy wickedness, and pray God, if perhaps the thought of thine heart may be forgiven thee. 23 For I perceive that thou art in the gall of bitterness, and in the bond of iniquity. About Judas , Holy Spirit was given at pentecost , before that it could leave just like David prayer in OT to God that he will not take his Spirit away from him . When you get born again you get sealed with it Ephesians 1:13-14. Also if you think that you can lose your salvation then Jesus just lied about it in John 10:28-30 so he either is not God because he just sinned or you might be wrong i wonder which one is true . About these people in MAtthew 7:21-23 Saying Lord , Lord ... They think that they go to heaven because of thier works , which takes us back to Acts 8:20-23 and Ephesians 2:8-9 .These people here are the ones who preach works salvation and think that they can go to heaven based on how they live . Also you would need to enlighten me how to get unborn after i was born again in John 3:3 so i can lose my salvation . 1 John 5:13 Tells us that we know that we have eternal life . If we could lose it then it could not be eternal in first place , and also it's "have" not will have or had . I can continue more but i think that's enought .

Well missmuffet, consider it however you wish. It is one thing to say: "In my opinion . . . . " It is another thing to say: "According to verse such and such, it appears that this and that happens, because . . . " But that is not what you did, was it? Instead, you inserted some graphic of someone's interpretation of eschatological events. You did not give credit, nor name the source (I assume this is not original) . . . and then go one to declare "This is it" with more certainty that even the Bible states about a sequence of events. I am not that surprised that you took it as a negative. Or did I misunderstand, and you did not mean to imply that the graphic depicts what is going to happen, according to you? If you want me to treat you more positively (since you judge this as negative), then offer how you came to your conclusions. Explain the scripture verses and the explanations of them that lead you to know what you think you know. Develop it as though you thought this out, instead of pasting the work of others then declaring your certainty that they are right.

Blessings Brother Actually,I've read it several times myself and I must say"Glory to God"......as I was reading the comments here I Received much that had to be written out,it pours out without effort and then there are times you must pause here & there and the words don't flow quite as effortlessly,thats when we must STOP and consider many things,as mentioned...Self Control & Patience,praying,always keeping our eyes on Jesus Is this something "I want" to say or something the Lord Would have me to say"?. Now with that said I can answer your question ,"Absolutely"! There are many times I Receive a Word from God but I've not been prompted to share it....Also,there are many different experiences I would love to share,they are a Testimony to the Glory & Goodness of God and yet the time or opportunity has not yet come to share those things.I do know Gods Time is always Perfect,when the time is at hand He Will show me,I can only guess that it will be for a specific person or group of people that is will be well Received.......its like casting pearls before swine when you are following your own heart & mind and just yapping away Gods Precious Ministry Moments,that is only because the spirit of pride has gotten a foot hold..... So ,yes indeed,I think anyone who is Eternal Minded and focused on Jesus Will respond in kind.......Paul says "Pray without ceasing"..(1 Thess 5:16-18) When I was a babe in Christ that Scripture verse used to baffle me but I did not Understand it simply is the constant communication in Relationship with the Most important One in our Life I think I may be rambling a little,lol This is a wonderful Thread Brother,thank you for initiating this Discussion-Praise Jesus! With love in Christ,Your Sis Kwik

Excuse me Therese .. Sorry but that is not what we are told at all. We are only told to calculate (ADD UP) the NUMBER of his NAME not to "imagine" the meaning of it .. and as I said, the only PROCESS available to Christians (to whom this statement is DIRECTED) for to work this out with .. is plain old simple non occultist MATH. I know it is not as fancy or mysterious or "initiated" as gammatria appears to be to some, but it is the only non occultist method by which Christians are ALLOWED to count by and is available to us. 6 letters in the first name, 6 letters in the middle name, 6 letters in the last name .. what is so alien about that simple method? Is it the simplicity? Have you ever heard scripture declare, "the simplicity that is in Christ" Therese, complexity alone doesn't trump correctness, think about that please. Thanks T.

2 million times 365 = 730000000 That's 730 Million dollars a year. Peace, Dave It shocked me as well. In the US alone in 1990 the total donations to charitable causes by Freemasons was 360 million. This includes things like: Public Hospitals and Clinics Medical research Masonic Homes and Orphanages Scholarships, Youth, & Museums Community Support Remember they are responsible for things like the Shriners hospitals. I have a link to one of their information pages I will not post due to the TOS. They quote a figure of 2.6 million a day in the US alone The list of charities is staggering. It is easy to see how they could get to that number. At Shriners hospitals (there are 22 in the US alone) services are free of charge for children up to 18 with burns, orthopedic conditions, etc. They also commit a staggering amount of volunter hours to things like their VA hospital visitation program (whose goal is to have at least one volunteer at every VA hospital in the US help families. So while being unsure of many of their secretive practices, no one can deny their benevolence

Brother, Where is this fact from? 2 million times 365 = 730000000 That's 730 Million dollars a year. Peace, Dave