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Nebula, this was very helpful. Jesus continues to teach and amaze me.

Yod, everything is cool. I like the fact that we both sought understanding rather than resigning to be upset with each other about the posts. You don't see that in other online communities. I am convinced that Jesus makes it possible for brothers and sisters to have that kind of understanding relationship. Thank you for the welcome, and I really hope to see you around some more! By the way, I love this place!

You would pick one of the most debated chpts! lol Salt in scriptures has a lot of meaning, there is a covenant of salt in Lev. 2 and Numbers 18, it represents the eternal relationship between God and His set apart ones. When salt loses its flavor its not worth a thing you cannot use it for seasonings or anything else other than maybe putting on ice. When we as His servants lose our 'salt' or our desire to serve Him, when we no longer are walking in His ways we lose His light, we lose our flavor so to speak. When we stop proclaiming His name above all elses, when we stop seeking His will in our lives, if we stop being His light to the world what good are we? We are to always keep His ways, His words first and foremost in our hearts and minds when we do this we are shedding His light through us, we are to guard always our hearts and minds against the worlds ways and cling to Him. Ok verses 17-19 will get you once again different points of view. I can only give you what I have come to understand. Messiah did not come to do away with anything He came to rightly show us how to walk in His commandments, which had been added to and taken away from through the decades mostly done during Judahs captivity by the Babylonians and the temple was destroyed the first time. Abolish means just that He did not come to do away with anything, fulfill means exactly what Yod said as well as to correctly interpret or to fill up with meaning. Messiah did not do away with His own laws but showed us how it is possible to keep them with the help of the Holy Spirit. And as we go into the last verse we see that whoever teaches people that there is no laws to keep, no instructions for righteous behavior teaches wrongly, we are not just to walk around thinking His grace covers us and allows us to sin and theres no consequences to that. Hope that helps a bit. shalom, Mizz Thank you, Mizzdy- that does help. As I gain more knowledge about God and His holy laws, I see more and more that I am incapable of keeping them outside of my relationship with Christ (which, as I have learned, is a gift from God Himself). I see that my "saltiness" also comes from God, from me constantly seeking a deeper relationship with Jesus and the Father, and from rejecting the ways of the world, the sin that it has to offer. Jesus is the only holy one that has ever walked the face of the earth, and therefore shines brighter than the darkness of sin- which is why I am considered a light in the world- because I belong to Jesus and the people living in sin can see Jesus' love by my words and actions that are seasoned with salt (the goodness that comes from Jesus Himself). Romans 2:18-19 "and know His will and approve the things that are essential, being instructed out of the Law, and are confident that you yourself are a guide to the blind, a light to those who are in darkness". Am I getting it here? I'm so excited to be learning more!!!

I hope that you aren't referring to my attempt at helping you? If you are referring to my reply, then you've chosen to be offended for no reason. Those verses cover a lot of different issues and it would be helpful if you had explained (and you still can) what specifically you needed clarification on. If that explanation is enough, then you were asking a lot less than it appeared. Umm, no I wasn't referring to your reply at all. I don't have hidden agendas- that, I think, is disrespectful towards the recipient and to our Father as well. I hope that there is no longer any misunderstanding as to what I meant in my reply. I needed exactly what PeterH gave me- understanding as to what the verse was saying. Could I have included that in my original post? Absolutely, and this has been a learning experience for me. In no way were any of my words meant to hurt, degrade, or cause any misunderstanding at all. I meant what I said to PeterH. I am truly grateful to those who take their time to help me understand something. I thank you for your response as well, and also for seeking understanding as to what I meant in my "thank you" post. I hope that God blesses you in wonderful, great ways!

PeterH, I thank you for your explanation, I have more understanding now, and I am grateful to you for taking time out of your day to help me with this. Thank you for not ridiculing me or making me feel like I asked a stupid question. May God bless you immensely!!

I tend to use cash as much as possible, and frown at using credit cards. My wife and I started working on our debt a year ago, and we're 7 months ahead of schedule for paying off our debt.

I know that I have asked a LOT of questions, some of them simplistic for those who are more learned than I, but I have learned so much from the posts in response to my questions. I sincerely thank you for helping me to understand the things of God- I love learning about my Father, and about Jesus. My newest question is in regards to Matthew 5:13-20- 13 “You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt has become tasteless, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled under foot by men. 14 “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden; 15 nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. 16 Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven. 17 “Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill. 18 For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass from the Law until all is accomplished. 19 Whoever then annuls one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever keeps and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 20 “For I say to you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven. I have read and re-read this, but I don't quite understand it. If someone wouldn't mind, would you please help shed some light on this piece of scripture? Again, my heart-felt thanks for everyone's kindness and assistance.

Jesus never ceases to amaze me. I love him so very much! Thank you, God, that you saved Mr. Berkowitz. Thank you for providing salvation through your only begotten son Jesus. You are certainly amazing, Father, and we love you so much! In Jesus' name I pray to you, Amen.

Do you think there's a gel out there that can fix the cavities in my wallet? Like, instead of minerals, it would draw money in?

That was a very interesting story. I would love to visit there one day. Imagine walking where Jesus walked... How awesome would it be to give Jesus a hug? Thank you for posting this, nebula. I hope that God really blesses you a lot today!!!

This is really cool! My mom is a retired Dental Hygentist (spelling?), and would love to have had some of this stuff!

Welcome to the Body of Christ my Brother Please do not take anything I say as gospel, but test everything against the word of scripture. As followers of Jesus Christ, we have one head and one Lord; Jesus Christ. There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to one hope when you were called— one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. (Eph 4:4-6) We are not followers of our pastors, priests, reverends or even apostles, but if we follow Jesus we are all followers of Him; Jesus Christ. One of you says, “I follow Paul”; another, “I follow Apollos”; another, “I follow Cephas”; still another, “I follow Christ.” Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Were you baptized into the name of Paul? (1 Cor 1:12-13) We are not like the world, which follows men. We follow One Lord, and His word to us is found in scripture. This scripture requires the guidance of the Holy Spirit to understand, but as followers of Christ we are all sealed with this Holy Spirit which guides us in understanding. We are all priests of God, able to speak with Him, petition Him, and offer spiritual sacrifices to Him. As you come to him, the living Stone—rejected by men but chosen by God and precious to him— you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. (1 Peter 2:4-5) When our leaders speak God's word to us, we are to pray for them, respect their authority, and to love them. We are also to hold them (and each other) accountable to God's word though. Now we ask you, brothers, to respect those who work hard among you, who are over you in the Lord and who admonish you. Hold them in the highest regard in love because of their work. Live in peace with each other... Test everything. Hold on to the good. Avoid every kind of evil. (1 Thes 5:12-13, 21-22) Our leaders are not God. They are not perfect. Only God is. We are all priests of the New Testament, under our Great High Priest; Jesus Christ. If we honoured our leaders by holding them to the Word, then we would have fewer false teachings today... because the truth is not in men, but in God alone, and He has revealed it to us through His Word. We should test each other by that Word. We follow God. Not any man, because we know that men are not worth following. If we follow any man (other than Christ Jesus, who IS God), then we are worshipping and following another 'god'... which is idolatry. But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, and how from infancy you have known the holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. (2 Timothy 3:14-17) Please ask questions of anything I've been unclear on Brother, and please also call me to account if anything I've written is not in accordance with God's Word. That's love Brother... to call me to be true to Christ This was very helpful. Now I understand! Thank you very much for taking time from your day to answer my question. I've noticed that people call one another "brother" or "sister" accordingly. Since we are brothers and sisters, that makes God our father. (I'm going out on a limb here.) This family is WONDERFUL!!!

I apologize for re-posting what you had already said. I just wanted to help and got excited that I might be able to help someone. I'll be more careful in the future.

I hope that this suggestion helps you, I sometimes use this technique at work. I don't know if it will work for you. If not, I apologize in advance. Open Word Type your post. Run spellcheck, etc. Save as a plain text document. Open the document. Copy and paste into the area you wish to post. Like I said, I really hope that this is helpful. I'm just trying to return the favor of help after so many have responded to me. May God bless you!!!

I have much to think about. I now have more understanding, and these answers have allowed me to further appreciate the depth and amazing truths of the Bible. There's a study for new Christians starting at church tonight- I can't WAIT to get there and learn!!! I really do appreciate the help I'm getting here, and I certainly appreciate the fact that all of you take time from your day to help me understand more and more. Thank you so much!

Romans 3:5-7 NASB "But if our unrighteousness demonstrates the righteousness of God, what shall we say? The God who inflicts wrath is not unrighteous, is He? (I am speaking in human terms.) May it never be! For otherwise, how will God judge the world? But if through my lie the truth of God abounded to His glory, why am I also still being judged as a sinner?" Would anyone care to take a moment to help me understand what this means? I truly appreciate any assistance. Thank you very much!

Dragoon- since I am a new Christian, I simply don't understand some things. Would you mind to help me understand your statement about following a man and idolatry? I'm not being a smart-aleck, I honestly just don't understand, and I wish to do so.

I am learning so much already.

This is extremely helpful. Thank you! I copied this and put it in a folder to re-read at will. If that isn't okay, let me know, and I'll delete it. I am excited to do what Jesus wants me to do. I know that it will be hard at times, but isn't that why he said that he would send a helper (the pastor said that this was the Holy Spirit)? I think that, as long as I love God with all my heart, soul, and mind, and seek to do those things that he wants for me, God will help me even to do the right things. Hmmmm..... God provided the way for me to belong to him instead of sin, and also provides the help I need to do what makes him proud??? Why would anyone not confess Jesus as the lord, and repent and let God save them? What took me so long? This is the best decision I've ever made! Everybody needs to know about this!!!!

Thank you for helping me understand this. So, as I understand it, the law shows me all the things that are sin. Since God knows that sin isn't good for me, he lets me know by his law what sin is. So, Jesus, being absolutely perfect, died a horrific death, took my sin upon himself. This sacrifice is what makes it possible for people like me who don't deserve God to belong to him and go to Heaven to be with him. This also means that I can live here on earth with God as my dad... which would be impossible to do under the law since I am incapable of keeping it (obviously). If I'm over-thinking this, please let me know- I don't want to take God lightly. Since I have been re-born (this is what the pastor called it), I no longer live under the accusation of the law? Law to me means that, if I break it, I am subject to the penalties attached to that law. God's grace says that the penalty was paid by Jesus and I am therefore subject to God's grace. Do I understand this correctly? If I am mistaken, please help me understand. Sounds pretty good to me! But remember we never want to abuse "God's Grace"! Who would want to? That doesn't make sense to me. If his grace through the sacrifice of Jesus is what saves you from evil, why would someone abuse it? I only want to do what makes God proud. I tried living life like I wanted to, and it stunk.

Thank you for helping me understand this. So, as I understand it, the law shows me all the things that are sin. Since God knows that sin isn't good for me, he lets me know by his law what sin is. So, Jesus, being absolutely perfect, died a horrific death, took my sin upon himself. This sacrifice is what makes it possible for people like me who don't deserve God to belong to him and go to Heaven to be with him. This also means that I can live here on earth with God as my dad... which would be impossible to do under the law since I am incapable of keeping it (obviously). If I'm over-thinking this, please let me know- I don't want to take God lightly. Since I have been re-born (this is what the pastor called it), I no longer live under the accusation of the law? Law to me means that, if I break it, I am subject to the penalties attached to that law. God's grace says that the penalty was paid by Jesus and I am therefore subject to God's grace. Do I understand this correctly? If I am mistaken, please help me understand.

This makes sense. I understand that now. Oh, I can't wait to get home to read more!

All I know is that, even though I don't deserve it, Jesus died in a horrible way so that I could belong to God. I love Jesus and wish that I could give him a big hug. Is it weird that I want to be with him and love him so much that my heart hurts?

Okay, so I became a Christian last night, and I have to say that today has been absolutely amazing!! I feel like I don't have this dead weight inside me trying to pull me down. I talked to the pastor of the church I will be attending today for over an hour, and he both asked and answered a lot of questions. I do have one question that I hope someone here may be able to answer. I was reading Romans chapter 6. I saw that in verse 14 that I am not under law but under grace. Would someone more learned than I help explain what this means and how I should put this part of God's truth into my life? I don't want to subject myself to sin any longer and want to do the things that make God happy. Since He let Jesus die because of my sin and has forgiven me for my stupid mistakes, I think it only right that I learn as much about him and apply the words in the Bible to my life. It feels like God is my dad now and I think that God knows what is best for me. Am I being too informal with him? I don't want to insult God. Anyway, any help understanding this would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.