crab3

I meant that he prayed for understanding, and recieved it, it was an example. trust me i very much take things as i take them, and we talk sometimes when i have a difference of opinion. i wouldn't take someone else's word, only His. crabs><> thanks for the link

Just to get into this conversation........ I havn't studied this for awhile, in the Navy i was stationed with a southern man who believed that speaking in tounges and faith healing and all that is still working in the world. that we could do the things that the men of the bible did all taht time ago if we pray and truly believe that God will allow us to, he even believed that he had done it, like a lot of you i see. I'm lacking the biblio to back all this up, but i am hitting the books to get references to what i say, though i have to say that some of this may have been a lesson recieved orally and not from a book at all, i'll do my best. Tounges are something like prophesy, in that God doesn't need them any more, there are no more prophets, everything we need is in the Book. In the times of the prophets, and even Jesus's disciples, there was no Bible, so God had to communicate things to us here on earth, and did so, through tounges and prophesy, but thats not needed today, God does not need to 'pass the word,' through us any more, its all in the book, follow the teachings of Jesus, and wait for his return. Some of us feel God compelled to preach, i prayed about it, and i feel that God is leading me to go into nursing, so i did, and i love it, i am doing it because God told me to, i do my best to listen. But he is just talking to me, not to the masses, that is a reserved priveledge of those that feel they are being led to a teaching position of His Word, He has already told us to go into the world and teach the Gospel, thats all thats left, no need for prophets or tounges, we know we need to try and save as many as possible before Christ's return, thats the last request until the end. I look foward to this debate really, and i'm glad i decided to participate in the boards again after a year of just reading......... peace crabs><>

I would consider it a warm up to the 'mark of the beast,' i agree that that 80% would drop if it came to throwing blows, 'but for me and mine, we will follow the Lord,' and that is how it is from this day on and this day since, hard. crabs><>

Don't forget, that reading the Bible is one thing, but understanding is another. My preacher truly believes that he has a gift of God for understanding what is meant to be taught from the Bible, and interprets it in a way that will convey the proper teachings to his congregation. I do read the Bible every day, along with a lot of other books on subjects contained in the Bible. What i meant by 'understanding is another thing,' the understanding of the Word of God is given to us upon baptism, along with the gift of the Holy Spirit, but before you start reading you should pray for understanding of the great text. This is how all the different 'thoughts' came up, like omillenial (sp), replacement theology and ideas of the like. Replacement theology cannot be true, due to Isreal becoming a nation in 1948!!! Maybe if they would have prayed for understanding as they read, Isiah, for instance, they would have seen that. peace crabs><>

Sorry, i should have clarified, i have no desire to join the masons, but i am coming to an age where the 'father figures' in my life are starting more conversations geared towards recruitment. i don't want to join, while i don't think it was their original intent to become 'satanic,' or to defy our christian teaching of salvation and Jesus Christ, i do believe that as the world goes on, they are becoming something of a cult. they teach their members that in order to get to the 'Grand Lodge Above,' all they have to do to be recieved by 'a god' on the 'other side,' is be a morally just and good man in this life, we all know thats crap, i hope. i think my grand pa got the John the baptist was a mason due to the growing stories that have come about in the years past. Even if he was a mason, he sucked as a Mason, i think it would be an impossible task being Jesus's disciple, teaching the Gospel to the masses, yet promote the values and teachings of the lodge, its not possible. again, my intent here was to see how others would handle such a conversation, or avoid, or even try to educate the 'good folks.' thanks for the input so far. crabs><>

I havn't posted here in about a year, but I do read the wealth of infomation, and check the worthy news daily. I feel that I am constantly lead to study the Masonic Lodge, I think about them every day. Most of the men, or 'father figures' in my life are Masons, as a boy, and even more recently I would try to ask questions, only to get that 'Mason's all knowing smile.' Recent tragedy in my life, with the loss of my 18 y/o brother has everyone in my family questioning a lot about life. Being a baptised believer, I got the opportunity to baptise my mom and dad, and watch them go to church, along with my grandparents for the first time, and they continue to go. During the time after a death, where people gather at your house for days, even weeks on end, bringing food and hugs, a friend of mine was there every day he had off from work. He is a Christian as well, and played a big role in my salvation, he is very well versed in the Bible, and has a good sized library of theology and cult studies books. We are 23 yrs old, he speaks at his church every other sunday evening. Point of all this is to set up the question, my friend (Jon) was there for me and my family, we prayed and what not. One of these days, my grandpa, a Mason was involved in a somewhat religious conversation, to which ended with him walking away claiming that John the baptist was a Mason, which I think is crap, quite frankly. My questions are these so far, how do the elder of the 'well versed' among us here deal with such confrontation? and also, in the end times it is said that the anti christ will attemp to unify the world under one religion, all of my studies have left me thinking that the masons with be all about this one religion teaching, due to their belief and practice of not wanting to offend any one mason, or anyone wanting to become a mason, they say you must believe in A god, and they refer to God as the Architect of the Universe, so as not to use words from the bible thoughts????\ thanks crabs><>

Makes ya shake to tears with happiness, and being whole, yea i love Jesus crab

good idea, i acually saw that right after i posted, of course, thanks guys. crabs

just an outsiders pov, your both right and wrong in your own ways and this really is going nowhere, i agree with both of you

how will we ever be able to join in those controversial issues if we can no longer attain 100 posts, maybe it is just me, but i can't see the number of posts under anyone's name anymore?? thanks crabs

i see, i see super jew, my bad.

Also says that Jesus won't come 'til his word is spoken 'to every ear,' we are just now getting the Word through missionaries to those obscure tribes in africa and the like, i want to be the one to tell the last person on earth who hasn't heard it, then sit down and watch the skies. crabs

Sorry, forgot, as far as secular music, the term secular music, in which you are using it is man made, i consider man made not real, or not important, bands like switchfoot don't say the name Jesus, but they are communicating His values to millions being a 'mainstream' band, they are playing the cards right. define secular music, Jesus said nothing about 'secular music,' just do not support satan's ideas by listneing to blasphemous music, its easy to tell it when you hear it. crabs (music lover)

I always took it that, the Bible translated into my terms read, not to 'hang' with people as in, do not intertain their ungodly ideas. but..., if like you are supposed to, and pay attention to the whole book, it reads in other places to play all the cards right and be on the good side of everyone, ungodly or not, i would love to 'hang' with Marilyn Manson, everyday, every freaking day, and while he was spitting his blasphemes at me i would be praying for him, and maybe one day at 'lunch' he would tell me he loved Jesus and mean it, becuase prayer works, maybe its just been a long time since he's been loved by a Christian, imagine being the person to win over Marilyn Manson, talk about a Jesus Freak, you'd have to be to tolerate it. crabs

In agreement with the above, are you feeling lonley.

I'll have to agree with all of you, but the last two mostly. The Gospels are where someone should start, although my unguidedness started me with Adam, which as we all know gets pretty rough 5 books into the Book. I agree with the original post in that, its not really a question, just random facts stated, and a couple of them from the Book, so who's to disagree, it's definatey not the place to start though. Jesus is my teacher. crabs

funny a marylander would say that, cuz i'm in the navy right now stationed just north of d.c., in gaithersburg md, thats acually where i live, i work in d.c. and the National Naval Medical Center. I'm from ohio and will one day be returning there, as for the crabs thing, my full name is Richard William Crabtree the third, my buddies call me crabs. crabs

Hi, i'm new here, not the newest but almost. I'm also a but a babe in christ, only 4 yrs old, but i study hard, and have for the last 4 years. I think it would scare me to hear someone talking in tongues, but then i guess thats where the Lord put me that day, so i would hear it right. The only thing close to this I have seen is a patient i had awhile back. He prayed constantly out loud for days, the doctors thought he was crazy, restrained him to the bed and gave him narcs to silence him but he wouldn't, i just smiled, the first person he talked to for real was me, when his dauter and wife came in they said they had been praying for him to accept Jesus into his life, then that happened, even they were scared, but when he was done, he said that he saw that i wasn't afraid of him and smiled when i heard him praying, then he told me to tell the doctors he was done praying, then sent him home the next day. i always thought that maybe i was the only one that could understand him, cuz no one else seemed to be able to connect what he was saying, . crabs

The bible says we 'must' be baptised, 'burried' to rise again in a new life, Jesus-like and cleansed, if thats what the book says, why would people believe different, or less, is this another example of man hearing what he wants, i'm only a 4 year old christian and have many great teachers, so this is my belief based on what God has shown me so far. crabs

I'm glad to see that her original question took a turn towards immersion, since that's what the bible says. I'm glad about the theif question being cleared up to, if Jesus says, 'you are coming to heaven with me,' to heaven you go, Jesus, is God, is the Spirit, his Word is His Word. crabs

"but He transforms our nature to be like Jesus." That was a good statement, my wife the other night was talking about pizza hutt, she says that she loves it so much that even though she always eats enough to make her sick, she keeps coming back, I told her she had a problem, jokingly, but this is how His Word works with me, the more I read the Bible, and pray, the more I want to do those things, the more I want to be Christ-like. I am in the Navy and away from home, and when the Spirit acts, I feel a calm, like I'm home, which I want more than anything, and as the feeling fades, I feel the want to love, which pleases Him. crabs

I always thought I was weird to, when I KNEW I was going to hell, but didn't care, then I was baptised, and I study the Book all the time now, and even though I'm pretty sure I'm doin better than most, I now know how unworthy I am of His grace, and trying to live up to that is frustrating. I read in Romans, not sure where, that its all good if you mean well, that it is sin acting through us, and its human nature to not be able to help it, as long as you realize that you are in the wrong and pray for forgiveness, you're doin good, the price is paid, but we have to humble ourselves and beg for forgiveness, and that God will harden our immunity to sin, and make it less likely to prey on our soul. Make sense. crabs

Hey, I have been looking for a foum like this for awhile, great site. I have to say that I am lucky enough to have found good 'ole country' churches, even in D.C. where I am stationed in the Navy we have been able to find a church that seems to have a majority of 'humble,' instead of 'pridefull,' members. Its so much easier for people to keep coming to church with no 'pride-bred,' my story is better competition. crabs and for explanation, my last name is Crabtree, and thats what they call my in the Navy, no offense,