nebula

Hey, Tatie! I appreciate your heart in this matter. Being more like Christ is something we all aspire to and pray to achieve. I have a friend who is a Buddhist, and we on occassion have talks about character and spirituality and stuff like that. She's always getting on me about "what makes Christianity different than any other religion?" But the focus is always on "being good." I keep trying to explain to her (note "try")that Christianity is not about making yourself a better person, it's about Jesus - what He did for us. It's about having a relationship with God. Yes, we do need to "work out our own salvation with fear and trembling (Phil. 2:12), but the mark of discipleship is that our transformation is the Lord's work in our lives. We don't achieve godliness, He works godliness into our lives. Of course, we have to allow this work, and we have to make choices, that is, we do have to choose godliness when we recognize the choice to be made. That's part of the problem; we don't always recognize the choice. We all grow up with our hurts and disfunctions, and incorrect training, and bad examples to follow. So, having a better character involves, recognizing the error, knowing the alternative, and then having the strength to carry through with the better alternative. This can be tricky, because, in my case, I may not have the strength to follow the better alternative (I still get either angry or depressed when faced with an issue in which I feel helpless to change or work around or overcome in any manner, shape, or form). So, how is "Christ-likeness" different than worldly behavior? Mark 12:29-31 - "The most important [command]," answered Jesus, "is this: 'Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.' The second is this: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no commandment greater than these." Mark 10:18-21 - "Why do you call me good?" Jesus answered. "No one is good--except God alone. You know the commandments: 'Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not give false testimony, do not defraud, honor your father and mother.'" "Teacher," he declared, "all these I have kept since I was a boy." Jesus looked at him and loved him. "One thing you lack," he said. "Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me." Being "good" is not really the issue. Character development comes along as the Holy Spirit surfaces areas in your life that need to be fixed. (I have come to learn that, for the most part, acts of sin come out of some unhealed wounding in your life.) Then you can find Scriptures that deal with these issues. Get discouraged? Rejoice always, pray constantly, give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." (I Thes. 5:16-18) . Repeat the verse to yourself and then put it into practice. It's an act of conscious will. But real Christ-likeness comes not from FRUIT. Christ-likeness comes from BEING GRAFTED INTO THE VINE. Jesus spent many hours a day alone with the Father. This is where the heart of Christ-likeness comes. It's not about how great you can be; it's about how great God is. The more you spend time in His presence, the more He works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose. (Philippians 2:13) Make sense? ::

Tough choice. Well, here's some thoughts to consider. What is the purpose of going to church? Are you capable (other than prayer) of holding a position of influence in the church? What kind of relationships do you have with the people in the congregation? If you keep going to this church, where will you go for spiritual growth, encouragement, worship, experiencing God? Do you have a family to consider? (If it's just you, that's one thing, but if you have a family to consider the spiritual needs of, will going to this church be of any good or detrimental to them?) Keep in mind, missionaries are sent to the mission field. This means they have a support-base. If you attend this church as a "mission field" will you have a support group (people behind you in prayer) and will you have a place (such as a group of Christians to fellowship with) where you can be spiritually nourished? Or would you be on your own? Hope answering these help you sort things out. The Lord bless in your pursuit of Him!

Well, I'm going out on a limb here. But both the Church and the New Jerusalem are called "the Bride of Christ." How can this be unless they are one and the same? Possible?

C'mon! He was spending his time on a ship the whale had swallowed and being ministered to by an angelic Gospel choir. How hard is that?

I saw this on Fox News this morning. Some of the troops attended an Easter service in the backyard of Saddam's palace in Bagdad. :a2: What was really cool, though, is both the reporter and one of the troops he interviewed mentioned Jesus by name, and this was to celebrate His resurrection!!! I was jumping up and down! :t3:

Seriously! (tsth's post) Well, actually, Ninevah was too far inland for that scenario. But even still, seeing this guy walking through town looking like death warmed over (bleached white skin, hair digested off, clothes probaby with holes in them, . . .) and smelling to high hoot, too, crying out, "In three days, Ninevah will be destroyed!" most definantly scared the H*ll out of them! (Pun intended

TwoBombs - Believe it or not, I am only concerned. When I read your testimony (what you have been through) and then I read your website, and the only thing I saw in there that you spoke of concerning your faith is your "prediction" - or whatever you would call it - of the End Times, to be honest, that scares me. I've experienced too many people who got more caught up in their "spiritual experiences" than in Jesus himself; in all cases, things got ugly for the person and those in the person's influence (yes, I've been burned more than once on that account; it's a hard way to learn a lesson). I had a friend in college who, according to his testimony, had been a warlock. After he became a Christian, he ended up becoming a prophet, so were his words and deeds. (I can't say what was really going on with him; I just know what he told me and others, what he was doing, and how he was acting.) He was obsessed with End Times prophecies (at least, best I could tell, that was his main concern and passion). He had his proclomations of what the Lord told him about the End Times, to include the identity of the antichrist - Soviet President Gorbechev (this was when he was still in power). He had his Sriptural back-ups to the then current events to pin-point him as such (his name added up to 666, too). But it turned out that being his friend became a dangerous experience for me, as I ended up having some dark (spiritually) experiences because of it. (And yes, I could directly link it to my involvement with him and his "ministry.") This is just one example. On the other hand, the only people that have proven themselves "safe" to me are the ones who desire God first and foremost in their lives and in the lives of those they minister to and who are more concerned about godly character in their lives than spiritual gifts or knowledge. No, I have no idea where your shoes have walked or are currently walking. I just want to know that they are in the footsteps of Jesus. That's all. That shouldn't be a threatening thing to ask, should it?

Hmm...I wonder what this dancer in the church was doing? I guess it doesn't matter. I believe part of what makes things difficult or confusing is that the world has so taken over the arts, and the Church had rejected the arts as expressions of worship, that trying to reclaim the arts is a bit tricky - for both artist and congregation. What needs to be kept in mind is that the purpose is WORSHIP. We dance and wave flags and streamers and present banners as an expression of our personal worship first and foremost. If that is not there, the person has no business in a worship arts ministry! Secondly, it should assist in the leading and inspiring of others to worship. Just as the worship music need to be pleasing to the ear, so does the dance and flags and presentation of banners need to be pleasing to the eye. So, we have to learn ballet moves, graceful form, and all that jazz. I don't know if that woman you described was trying to worship or minister a song or just entertaining, but I am sorry it made you feel disgusted, whatever she was doing. We just want to glorify God spirit, soul, and body! :music: As David did in Jehovah's sight / I will dance with all my might / Before the King of Kings . . . . :bg:

Well, I'd be careful about calling things "proof." But, this certainly is a very clever way to explain the Gospel!

At that time if anyone says to you, "Look here is the Christ!" or, "There He is!" do not believe it. For false Christs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and miracles t deceive even the elect - if that were possible. (Matt. 24:23-24) Yeah, I know this is talking about false messiah's but it sure does seem to be applying to "anti-christs" a lot, too. You know how many people have been claiming, "Look here is the anti-Christ!" and, "There is the anti-Christ!" And they all had their Scriptures and world events to back it up, too. Pre-Trib, Post-Trib, Mid-Trib; anti-Christ; dating when the end will come; . . . . I've gotten tired of the whole merry-go-round. What are you pursuing anyway? There's no life in there. This is what the Lord says: "Let not the wise man boast of his wisdom or the strong man boast of his strength or the rich man boast of his riches, but let him who boasts boast about this: that he undertands and knows me, that I am the Lord, who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness on earth, for in these I delight," declares the Lord. That's where I'm going. I'm outta here.

Well, I do't have a lot of time here, but to dig through the notes my dance team leader gave us: "The Lord is my Banner" (or ass JohnS pointed out "Jehovah Nissi!") (Ex. 17:15) "We will shout for joy when you are victorious and will lift up our banners in the name of our God." (Psalm 20:5) "His banner over me is love." (Song of Solomon 2:4) The purpose of the banner ministry, is to visually lift the name of our Lord, Jesus Christ, giving Him all the glory, honor, and praise. They also prepare the way for His presesnce, as we are commanded to do: "Go through, go through the gates, clear the way for the people, build up, build up the highway: rmove the stones, lift up a standard over the peoples." (Isaiah 62:10-12) Purposes of banners: 1. Rally the troops in war. 2. Bestow honor. 3.Tell people who you represent. 4. Signal or attract attention. 5. Herald an event. 6. Unify the company. 7. Show victories won. 8. Demonstration of God's presence lifted in our midst. 9. Can be a rallying point of healing. 10. Put the enemy to flight. 11. Minister to and celebrate the Lord. (Note: Banners are also called "ensigns" and "Standards.") Hope this answers the question! :music: "Lift high the banners of love / Hallelujah! ..."

I've been thinking about this issue. I am thinking I was too quick to respond. I was angered and responded without having thought things out. But I began to think about why I was so angered. I've listened to and read many people protesting the war, and I did not feel happy about it, but not so provoked to anger as I was yesterday. Seeking out why, I realized it was the attitude behind the presentation that got so under my skin. I have come to really hate the spirit of judgmentalism (note: their is a difference between judgement and judgmentalism). But I was so focused on the words of the message, I didn't pay attendion to the spirit behind the message I was really reacting to. But this is what had gotten me so mad. And to tell the truth, I don't even know what this "peace treaty" is that was mentioned that has anything to do with Syria. (Come to think of it, I wonder if he is claiming that Bush might be the anti-christ or something ??? like that? Maybe that is why he is accusing us of "denying the Son?" :uhh: I really hope I am misreading this guy. Really hope. :c2: )

The call is to pray for: 1) The ability of the Iraqi people to come together an re-build a unified country instead of falling into war-torn chaos because of the different factions. 2) Any weapons of mass destruction, especially any that may have been sent to other neighboring countries, will be found and turned over before they are sent to other terrorist organizations. Click here for details. (OK, I know this is a touchy issue and people here have different opinions about the war and what the US is doing, but we really need to pray for peace and stability over there and for the threat of terror, and specifically the power of the terrorists, to be neutralized.

(1) The church I grew up in had two traditions that I always enjoyed. Easter Sunday we would greet each other with, "He is risen!" And the person being greeted would reply, "He is risen indeed!" The service began with a cantor leading the congregation in singing Ezekiel's prophecy of the dry bones. The last line sung being, "And you shall live!" This led into the instuments playing, followed by the congregational singing of "Christ the Lord is Risen Today!" I always thought that was cool! (2)The church I attend now, unfortunately, does not have any consistent traditions. But this Sunday, the worship arts dance/banner ministry has been working on a big pageantry number. We will be presenting a song sung by Sandi Patti called "In Majesty." The song begins with Christ as a child ("Born of almighty God..."): a woman representing Mary holding a baby will be surrounded by two angels (their wings will be surrounding her as they stand on either side of her). The angels cover her from the audience and a man representing Christ carrying the cross (crossbeam) appears at the line: "The sins of man to atone." He carries the crossbeam down the center aisle towards the back as a dancer on stage interprets the words of the song: "In majesty, He will come . . . ." As the song continues, seven of us dancers will be representing the Bride of Christ. ("The sainst of all ages . . . To joyfuly look on His face" - we come from behind a veil.) After dancing for a while to the song, we grab flags and march in triumphant declaration. There'll be girls waving palm branches, boys bearing trumpets, and men and women bearing either crowns, flags, or banners. (Banners: Praise, Glory, Honor, and other such words; Consuming Fire; Savior, Redeemer, Jesus; three Holy banners; and a brand new Lion of Judah banner - a gold/bronze lion head on an emerald green velvet background - it looks really cool!) Do't know what the rest of the service wil be like, though.

Jesus is Risen! What an awesome time to remember our Creator!

Hi! There's something I've been thinking about saying for a while, but I haven't been sure how to word it best. OK, I still don't, but I might as well put it down before it gets too late. One thing I have learned is that there are some words which you just cannot understand with a formal definition. Knowing how to define a word cognitively and knowing the apply the word are two different things. (Hey, there's a reason Jesus spoke in parables to define the kingdom of God!) Well, I don't know any parable to define grace, but I can share an application I utilize. When in a stressful situation, I used to pray, "Lord, give me patience!" But as many of you know, praying for patience only means you will be put into situations where you are forced to choose patience so that patience will be worked into your life! OK, so I have learned that when in such a situation, praying for patience may do its work in the long run, but it will not help me endue the current trial (if anything, it may increase the intensity of the trial!). So, what do I do? I heard a sermon about speaking, "Grace!" into a situation (based on the verse another poster mentioned on the first page where Zeru-somebody was either given or gave the command - I forget which - to speak, "Grace! Grace!" over the rock). So, I tried that. I was in a stressful situation in which I needed patience, and so I asked God for the grace to be patient (or rather, I asked Him for His grace in me). It truly made a difference in my attitude! (and attitude has a lot to do with patience :: ) Hope this helps!

Two Bombs, with all due respect, you are forgetting something, something most Americans cannot forget. On Sept. 11, 2003, terrorists declared war on the U.S. They attacked us. Our president, as commander-in-chief, to protect our country, returned the declaration on them. We are in a war with terrorism. It is not the kind of war people are used to. It is not about nations. However, if a nation is in league with terrorists, we are obligated to put an end to it. Because if we do not, we have full assurance we will be attacked again with likely near equal tragedy of hijacked planes being flown into the Twin Towers and Pentegon. Pres. Bush made a promise to the American people that he would put an end to the terrorists' activity. He gave a warning back in the late summer/early fall of 2001 to any nation that was helping, harboring, or in any way associated with terrorism, "We will hunt you down." It is not our choice. It is not our desire to be empirialistic. It is not our desire to take over the world or become the world police force. It is not about nations. It is about terrorists. It is about preventing these terrorists from having the chance to re-group, re-focus, and commit another act of terror against thousands of lives. It is about protecting our country from those who desire to destroy us. We cannot afford to wimp out and let Syria off the hook. If it was your home that the terrorists attacked, would you? Would you trust the political games of the UN to protect your home? The UN failed us. They failed to do their job. We gave them the chance. They promised they would help us, but when push came to shove, they did not. Many of us feel betrayed and would be more than happy to help them pack their bags and get out of this country at this point. It grieves me that you would pity us for living in a country whose president has it in his heart to protect his country, who is firm in his resolve to rid an evil from the earth. If we let the terrorists go, do you honestly believe they'll leave the U.S. alone? That they'll leave Europe alone? That they'll leave Israel alone? (No, not mentioned in your statement, but just something to think about.) ***** "Enforcing the "peace-treaty?" That's all politics. To us, the peace treaty is just a piece of paper. Nearly 3000 lives were lost in one day for no other reason than to bring down a few buildings in an attempt to at minimum cripple this nation or at most to begin bringing it down. This is what we see when we think of the terrorists in Syria. "9-11: Never forget!" ***** BTW, if it wasn't for Sept. 11, I do not believe the president would have had the support from this country he needed to go after Saddam. Likewise, because of Sept. 11, even his best supporters are going to be sorely against him if he doesn't do something about the terrorist problem in Syria. And who knows but that the purpose for the US in the Middle East is to open doors for the Gospel to be brought in like it never could before due to the Muslim-controlled governments? Ah! That would be exciting to see!

My question is how could God create man with the ability to chose if He did not create a choice to be made? My second question is if God did not create evil, where did it come from? Is there then something on this Earth that God did not create?

This still sounds weird to me. How does an already identified planet become a new planet just because it gets bigger? Also, can a person really resolve the size of the planets with the naked eye? And did anyone back then actually know what a "planet" is? (Note, the word planet comes from the word "wanderer" because they were stars that wandered across the sky.) (Disclaimer:I notice this theory about Mars is different from what the Zeta Talk folk - the ones making the most noise about Planet X - are saying.)

I saw the press conference with Bush and Blair the other morning. Pres. Bush kept saying that they wanted the UN to play a central role in the rebuilding of Iraq, or something like that. But he never said what this "central role" was. Finally, a reporter asked him what he meant by that. He responded (my paraphrase), "The UN is really great at humanitarian aid." I've become wary of trying to tag current events with specific Biblical prophecies (case in point: the book titled 88 Reasons Why Christ Will Return in 1988. Need I say more?). But one prophecy I do feel confident in is the one that says that the Gospel will be preached to all nations before the end will come (don't remember the exact quote ). If this current event opens the door for the Gospel to be preached in the Middle East, then it will bring us closer to that glorious day Jesus returns! I pray for the children of Ishmael to return to the God of Ishmael's father Abraham!

My appologies for the sarcasm, but this is great for Christians to slap each other on the back with, but I know from personal experience that as soon as you mention the word "faith" to a scientifically-minded athiest, you've lost. And sure, I can walk away from my talks with athiest feeling superior in my faith and knowledge of God, but what good does that do anyway. I want to give them something that is meaningful to them. I want to give them something in a language they understand. "Jesus saves!" has no meaning to someone who has no reason to believe they need saving. All they see is a bunch of poor sheep being manipulated by the propoganda of the word "sin." (I'm not exadurating!) Jesus showed Himself greater. What have I got to "show?" This is what I am seeking.

Hey, two bombs - I never heard of Planet X (Nibiru) being associated with Mars. I asked the folks on the Bad Astronomy Bulletin Board if they heard of that either, and they had not. :c: The only thing about Mars I have heard was that someone claimed the moons of Mars are missing - and that happened because of Planet X passing close enough to Mars to disrupt their orbits. :roll eyes: I guess you heard reports from sources other than Nancy what's-her-name's group? (Just trying to clarify the issue.)

So, I guess nobody has any insights into these passages that can help me in being a witness to these people I am interracting with. Just, say a couple of prayers and call me in the morning, huh?