machew

God's Amazing Love!!!!! <3

I can't stress how important this topic is. Jesus said He will tell many who call on His Name that He never knew them(Matthew 7:21-23). The word in the greek for the word "know" in this verse is ginosko. This word means intimate, experiential knowledge. In other words if you have not opened up your heart enough to willingly allow God to enter your heart and be an integral part of life, then this is definitely reason to come before God and have Him speak to you about where you are with Him. The video below talks about this very subject. Jesus doesn't want permanent servants, He wants friends! Blessings, Machew

Are you serious? That is your opinion. It doesn't help to accuse me of judging God when you are busy judging me. You are the kind of christian that made me start this thread. "Take my word for it and stop asking pesky questions". Guest_SDGS: After skimming through a lot of this thread, I figure you are having trouble with the Bible because you are trying to comprehend it with your intellect. The Bible is not the end all place to understand everything, but it is a great place to find what God has said, is saying, what He likes, what He doesn't like, a history on man's interactions with God,etc. I think John 5:39 explains it pretty well. The Pharisees were experts in the scriptures they had in their day. In fact if you know anything about the culture and history, the Pharisees had to memorize every word of the their scriptures. Yet when God was standing right in front of them, despite all the miracles, they did not recognize Him. John 5:39 "You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; it is these that testify about Me;" The Bible is supposed to bring you into a relationship with the Author, the One who inspired the book. If it isn't, it is because the Holy Spirit is not speaking it to you as you read.(John 14:26, John 16:13) It is only going through your intellect. While the intellect is an important part of living life, it is not enough to comprehend the Bible. I believe that God intentionally allowed there to be seeming contradictions so only those who have a relationship with Him can understand it.(John 14:17, 2 Corinthians 3:6). It is impossible to understand the Bible without the Holy Spirit. If all you gain is head knowledge of what the Bible says in your readings of it, then all it will do is puff you up in arrogance(1 Cor 8:1). I write this with the hope that this will help explain to you why the Bible is difficult to wrap your head around. It wasn't meant to be read without God helping you. Whenever I read the bible and I notice I am only getting head knowledge, it is a red flag for me to stop and honestly assess myself and where I am, asking God if I am in pride of some sort(1 Peter 5:5). If I am in pride, whether I realize it or not, God actually resists me from understanding His word, and I can only get head knowledge out of my reading of the Bible. This is not necessarily to point a finger at you to say you are in pride, honestly I don't know if you are, but hopefully this helps you process some of the reasons you have so many questions. Blessings & Love, Machew

Love this song so much... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xyWkuvVAKRw

Hey everyone, I found this to be a very good overview video about what many people confuse to be their flesh or sin nature. The enemy wants you to believe that you are the problem so that you have no solution. Enjoy! God Bless! Machew