Trax

I went 1 1/2 yrs without work, before getting a job through a temp agency, which lasted only four months. Then I spent another 1 1/2 months without work. You have to look back and see how He brought you through other trials. That's what I did. I held onto what He did for me in the past, to keep the faith of the present. Each trial, makes faith and trust, in God, stronger

I read through this entire thread and saw valuable information left out. I was surprised at this. People who believe Jesus is God and people who don't, have access to the SAME scriptures. So, what seems to be the issue as to why some believe and others don't? THAT is the missing information! Jesus asked, "Who do people say I am" and "Who do you say I am." Like then, people had their own opinion, like today. Here is the key: Mat 16:16 Simon Peter answered, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." Mat 16:17 And Jesus said to him, "Blessed are you, Simon Barjona, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. Flesh and blood does NOT reveal who Jesus is. Flesh and blood is your brain, your ability to figure it out on your own. You can memorize ALL the scriptures and still not know who Jesus is. It is revealed by God Himself. If you try to figure out Jesus with your own ability, you will be like a dog chasing his tail and go round and round. The truth about Jesus comes directly from God, when He reveals truth, of the scriptures, to you. And that is also supported by: Co 12:3 Therefore I make known to you that no one speaking by the Spirit of God says, "Jesus is accursed"; and no one can say, "Jesus is Lord," except by the Holy Spirit. You can not see the truth about Jesus unless you have the Holy Spirit. You look at all other beliefs and their view of Jesus and they agree on one thing, "Jesus isn't God." They don't have the Holy Spirit also.

The word "mark" was translated from a word that means to "engrave" or to "stamp." The "mark" is to be seen more than just an item to be used. With today's technology, people want to think of a "chip". Now, is the "mark" used to give someone the "ability" to buy & sell, or give someone the "right" to buy & sell? "Ability" versus "right" is two seperate directions. Look back at evil people in history and see how evil played itself out. Take Hitler, for example. Those in the Nazi Party had to wear the Swastika arm band. Jews lost the right to buy and sell and their property and money were later taken. Now, the Jews had money like everyone else, but they lost their right to use it. Go back in America's past, where you had stores and resturants that had signs "Whites Only". Did non-whites have a different form of money? No, they had the very same money and had the same "ability" to buy and sell as whites. What they didn't have, at that time, was the "right" to buy and sell in those places. Using a different form of exchange, IMO, is hardly grounds for eternal condemnation. Punishment for taking the "mark" is placed on the same level as worshipping the beast, so it has to be more than just the "ability" to buy & sell. Taking the "mark" is making the anti-christ your leader, your saviour, in the difficult times on the earth, and saying he is the almighty great one who will lead mankind into the new era of mankind. Those who don't take the mark will be accused of being in opposition to this new dawning era. If you aren't part of the solution, then you are part of the problem. One of the perks for aligning oneself with the anti-christ is to have the right to buy and sell. I have studied prophecy for over 25 years. In the 1980's, I couldn't see an easy way to get people to get a tattoo on their forehead or hand. It just wouldn't fly over too well. Today, with most everyone getting tattoos, that obsticle if gone. There wont be any trouble getting people to get a tattoo mark on their forehead. They are getting tattoos on their head now. Everyone who has gotten a tattoo, in the past 10 years, have helped remove this obsticle for the atni-christ, created an atmosphere where tattoos are desirable, and helped build an expressway so people can get condemned to the lake of fire, quickly and efficiently. I would NOT want to be a believer, who got a tattoo, in the past 10 years, and made straight the ways of the anti-christ. When you do face your Lord, it wont be pretty. It is my opinion, that any believer who influenced people to take the "mark", by helping remove this obsticle, may lose a reward, for every person they influenced. Taking the "mark" is the point of no return and any believer who helped get them there, well, I'm glad I'm not in your shoes. I do wonder who those believers are truly working for or if they are truly saved.

I think they did something similer to Lebron James when he left Clev. I read where a radio station hired a witch doctor to put a hex on James. You can google Lebron James & witch(es) to see past articles.

There will be two eternal existances, one being the lake of fire, and the other with the Lord. It is my opinion, from scriptures, a person's knowledge, of who a person is, will be based on the person's "last" birth. The things Jesus said had very important meaning behind them. God used His own creations to convey an understanding of spiritiual information, (I am the vine, you are branches; I am the shepard, you are My sheep; etc..) Jesus' use of the phrase, "born again", wasn't a concept He thought up in the spur of the moment. There is meaning there. Jesus also said, "Who is My mother, broithers......those who do the will of God, are My mother, brothers...." The life you started with is temporary. Eternity starts, for the believer, when you are "born again". For the nonbeliever, imo, eternity starts when you are judged and cast into the lake of fire. For the believer, when he/she gets born again, you become a new creation, but you have to finish the temp. existance in the old body. That old body still has relationships and obligations. Families have to stay together. To forget who your wife or husband and kids are, when you got born again, would cause a break down in the family, job, and community. When you die, all those relationships and obligations come to an end. This can be a disheartening thought for believers, who are looking to see family members, in the age to come. If they were saved, and you meet them, in the age to come, you will know them from the 2nd birth (born again) relationship. Now,, there is great hope here. If a believer had parents or children die, they were extremely close to, and now miss, the relationship in the age to come will be 100 times better. There will be more love and a greater closeness to the deceased family member, in the age to come, than it ever was in the old body. Read Mark 10:29-30 to get some understanding of what kind of family God will be giving the believer. Whenever a believer gives something up, or God takes away, He always gives back or restores, to the believer better than what the believer had in the beginning. And family is part of that promise. Now, you may ask, will we forget family members who were not saved? IMO, the believer will know everyone who ever existed, in the age to come. The believer will be there when all the non-believers get judged. Its the "born again" relationships that will be different. Grandpa John Doe will probably be viewed one of two ways: 1) As John Doe, a sinner who refused Jesus and now being judged, or 2) John Doe, a very close and loved brother in Christ Jesus. I highly doubt any believer will say, "Hey, there goes grandpa into the lake of fire.." or "Hey, Peter, John, meet my grandpa." For the non-believer, one birth, his/her memory of family and people in other relationships, of this age, will stay with them, imo, based on the parable told in Luke 16:19-31

Gen 1:2 The earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the waters. Two things to consider with this verse: 1. Does God create a world that needs work? The earth was formless and void?? 2. Why is there darkness over the surface of the deep? Darkness is a sign of judgement in the Bible. The judgements God did to the Egyptians, one was darkness. When Jesus died on the cross, there was darkness. At the end times, there will be darkness. So, you got darkness at the very beginning. What is being judged? Is it satan and the host of fallen angels? An opinion may be as follows; After God created the heavens and the earth, satan wanted to be like God and rule over the creation. So he rebelled and after a time, God dished out the judgement. Maybe, opinion wise, was what happened to the dinosaurs. Whatever the case, what God created, is described as formless and void, with darkness over the deep. It just doesn't seem to be God's way of creating things.

Sorry for replying to this so late, but I may be of some help. The first thing that I noticed, from your post, is the attempt to live a Holy life. That is practicing a religion and you will have some success, but mostly failures. I've been there, and done it. A saved person is Holy because he is clothed with Jesus' Holiness. One can not become more Holy than Jesus. So, the question is, what can you do? I'm glad you asked.... When you realize that you are struggling with various temptations, don't try to beat them, you can't. What do you do then? Glad you asked. Thank God for something, anything He has done for you. I like to start each day be thanking our Heavenly Father for the day because it is a day He has made and I will be happy and thankful for it. When you start being tempted, start thanking God for something. You have to take your thoughts captive. Thank Him for the food you had to eat today, thank Him for the farmers that grew the food, thank Him for a place to sleep, etc... When you are thanking God, you have your mind on God, and not the temptation. Now, the next step is to reduce the temptations. You can do that? Glad you asked. Sure you can. You can stop putting poison in your head. You can stop giving the devil ammo to fire at you. Allow me to make this simple. A man goes to the doctor and says, "Everytime I eat rat poison, I get sick." The doctor replies, "Stop eating rat poison." Now, the shows you watch on TV and music you listen, can be poison to the mind. I don't watch the garbage on TV. I don't listen to mainstream music either. I listen to Christian radio stations. The devil will always have something to throw at you. God has promised to make a way of escape. Make God the way of escape. Thank Him for something. Thanking God and praising God goes a long way to overcoming temptation. It goes a long way to drawing you closer to God also. It will help build your relationship with the Lord. Jesus said, if you love Me, you will keep My commandments. Jesus loves you and that can not be improved upon, but your love of Him is what needs to grow and be cultivated. Where does that start? Glad you asked.......it starts by thanking Him,.....everyday,.....all during the day. I've been there and done it. It works. I've fought the battles with temptation and gotten stomped into the ground. When I decided to start thanking my Lord, I noticed a change.