Willa

Fact: God is outside of time--it is His creation as is light, and time is relative to the speed of light. Fact: Jesus came as a man for a length of time, but when He died he received a spiritual eternal body that is no longer bound by time. 1Co 15:44 It is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body; there is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body. Fact: God called Himself "I AM" in Genesis 3, (as did Jesus in John 8:58, claiming to be God the Son).. That means He just IS. He was and is and is to come, the first and the last. Rev. 1:11 & 4:8. That is how He can be present in the past, the present and the future all at the same time. He is outside of our universe looking in and at the same time He is with us and in us. Perhaps we need to be God to really understand this. However, since God was in the present before creation, and He is present now, and is also in the present tense in the future, He knows the end from the beginning. So He knew before creation who would love Him and who would reject Him because He sees it all in the present tense. Isaiah 46:10 All who are in Christ are saved. This is in Ephesians 1 and it explains God's perspective. However, from our perspective we have free will to repent and receive Him when the Holy Spirit reveals our sin to us and reveals God to us as an all knowing personal God; He loves us and forgives us due to Christ dying in our place, purchasing us and reconciling us to God.. We also have free will to resist the call and revelation of the Holy Spirit and remain in our sin, estranged from God. But it is our own fault should we reject the light God has given us and reject His written word. We harden our own hearts when we resist Him. Since this is the world we live in, bound by time, it is hard for us to understand a spiritual world outside of time. For all I know, it might be another dimension. So I believe that both predestination and free will are correct. Predestination is from God's perspective, but free will is from our perspective. By the way, I am neither a Calvinist nor an Arminian.

The photo illustrations in this are powerful. If the words don't make me think, the pictures do.

I know a guy who fasted and prayed by going camping alone in the mountains when there was snow on the ground. He came back a changed person. I don't recommend this but he has survivalist training and was desperate for God to change him into a better husband and father as well as to have deeper commitment to God.

Love includes a strong commitment. It desires what is best for the other person, laying down one's own desires and rights for her, and desires to keep the relationship pure in God's eyes. If you are married to one woman but want the companionship of another you are falling into the tempter's hands and running head long toward the edge of the cliff. Sex includes strong desire and even lust. It is selfish when not bridled by godliness and compassion. Eph 5:25 Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, Eph 5:26 that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, Eph 5:27 so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish.

AMEN!!!

The electoral college decides who will be president, not the voters. They are supposed to be guided by the votes in their area, but are not bound to do so. It was originally designed to give greater weight to the vote of rural areas where people are apt to be more independent in their reasoning and less influenced by pressure from others or from propaganda. Today we are more mobile and have better communication. However, colleges and universities are hotbeds of stalinist professors and still have undue influence on the perspectives of those aged 18-30. Even some grade school teachers are giving lower grades to rational conservative thoughts.

The electoral college decides who will be president, not the voters.

When we come to Christ we ask for forgiveness for being a sinner. Christ redeems us from the grip of satan and we are transferred into God's Kingdom of light. However we will always have some sin or imperfection in our lives till we put on immortality. I agree with Sower's post: However, when we walk in the light and are unaware of sin, we don't need to confess that because the blood of Jesus continually cleanses us from all sin and we remain in fellowship. It is the sin that we are aware of that we need to confess. 1Jn 1:9 AMPC If we [freely] admit that we have sinned and confess our sins, He is faithful and just (true to His own nature and promises) and will forgive our sins [dismiss our lawlessness] and [continuously] cleanse us from all unrighteousness [everything not in conformity to His will in purpose, thought, and action].

In the garden Eve was tempted by satan asking "Hath God said?". His greatest temptation is to cause us to doubt God's word! We agree with him much too quickly. Jesus would snap back but quoting God's word correctly and in context. Perhaps we need to be immersed in God's word till we know the heart of God. We need to intimately know his attributes as well as His intentions toward us. Then we can fully lean on Him in trust. His perfect love casts out all fear.

It could be that some formats, such as for phones, do not show these things. I use a 21 inch screen computer that shows the foot notes or signatures and the little bio. I use it because it is harder for me to read my phone which is not as user friendly.

You are saved by the blood of Christ. He ransomed you from satan's grasp with His own blood shed on the cross of suffering. You are bought and paid for. You no longer belong to satan. It is a done deal. You simply believe that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, having accepted His sacrifice as being for you; He paid for all your sinfulness, not just past sins but for you being a sinful person. God is ALREADY pleased with you. You can do nothing to clean yourself up to make yourself more pleasing to Him. He is the One who has cleaned you and continues to clean you. Start thanking Him for all He has done and is doing to change you into the likeness of Christ. Just keep your eyes on Jesus. THE ONLY WAY TO BE SAVED IS TROUGH WHAT CHRIST HAS ALREADY DONE FOR YOU. That being said, it normal to get jittery while quitting smoking. You are withdrawing from nicotine addiction. That should last about a month after the last cigarette you smoke or patch that you use. Just tough it out. There is nothing in the Bible that says you can't smoke. However, when smoking one in more important to you than God then it has taken the place of God in your life. That is sin. It is also something that defiles your lungs so it is harmful to you. It is commendable to stop. 2Co 3:18 But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord. 1Jn 1:7 ESV But if we [really] are living and walking in the Light, as He [Himself] is in the Light, we have [true, unbroken] fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses (removes) us from all sin and guilt [keeps us cleansed from sin in all its forms and manifestations]. 1Jn 1:8 If we say we have no sin [refusing to admit that we are sinners], we delude and lead ourselves astray, and the Truth [which the Gospel presents] is not in us [does not dwell in our hearts]. 1Jn 1:9 If we [freely] admit that we have sinned and confess our sins, He is faithful and just (true to His own nature and promises) and will forgive our sins [dismiss our lawlessness] and [continuously] cleanse us from all unrighteousness [everything not in conformity to His will in purpose, thought, and action]. Eph 5:18 AMPC And do not get drunk with wine,{{{or high on nicotine in your case}}} for that is debauchery; but ever be filled and stimulated with the [Holy] Spirit. [Pro 23:20] Eph 5:19 Speak out to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, offering praise with voices [  and instruments] and making melody with all your heart to the Lord, Eph 5:20 At all times and for everything giving thanks in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God the Father. Heb 12:1 NKJV. Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, Heb 12:2 looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

2Pe 3:2 NKJV that you may be mindful of the words which were spoken before by the holy prophets, and of the commandment of us, the apostles of the Lord and Savior, 2Pe 3:3 knowing this first: that scoffers will come in the last days, walking according to their own lusts, 2Pe 3:4 and saying, "Where is the promise of His coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation." 2Pe 3:8 But, beloved, do not forget this one thing, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. 2Pe 3:9 The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance. 2Pe 3:10 But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up. 2Pe 3:11 Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, 2Pe 3:12 looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be dissolved, being on fire, and the elements will melt with fervent heat? 2Pe 3:13 Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.

the Bible teaches it is the other way around. He gives us the power of the Holy Spirit, the life of Christ within us, so that we are able to walk in obedience to Him. It is Christ in Me that is able to walk the walk.

lol. This has nothing to do with eschatology. The antichrist will come before Christians are taken and then Jesus returns. Inflation will ruin our country so that we are not a major power if natural calamities don't get us first. God will humble us as a nation and hopefully people will turn back to Him. 2Ch 7:14 “if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.

What happens to you when you continually use credit cards but only pay $5 a month on each card? Your cards get canceled, you lose your credit, and it all comes crashing down. That leads to Great Depression. Pun intended. Common sense tells us that our government can't keep spending without ending up in the shoes of Greece and other countries that are in ruin. What people can't comprehend is that leftist leadership are intending to ruin our government so they can set up a Stalinist government run by the elite, that will become the one world government of the antichrist. People don't want to work hard to support a family and to train up children in the way that they should go. They want the government to do it all for them. They will find themselves in a can of worms.

The subject has come up at least once a year, goes on forever without resolution, and usually causes division, bad feelings, wounds and personal attacks. That is why it gets closed down. People can't just debate the subject. It is satan who causes division in marriages, homes, churches and among Christians who are one in the body of Christ. My advice is to read the list of Scriptures that Omega pinned. There were scriptures both for and against eternal security. Ask God to enlighten you and help you to understand. Both have to be true since both are in the Bible. Dismiss any ideas that can't be clearly supported by Scripture. Do the same with other points of Calvinism. List Scriptures both for and against a subject, then pray and ask God to show you how they harmonize or how both can be True.

Things of this nature can be a sin for you but OK for other folks, depending on your hearts and other things. It is a sin for a diabetic to eat too many sugary things or white carbs. It may not be a sin for an athlete to do so. It is a sin for people to make football or any hobby a priority in their lives over God and family. It is a sin for people to lust after things on TV, like new cars, houses, sex. However many people watch TV and don't have any of these problems. It doesn't cause them to be tempted or fall into sin. Some are disabled and are unable to do much outside the home, and The TV is a diversion that keeps them from self pity or other kinds of sin. It is very easy to judge other people for doing the things God has told us not to do. We need to remember that each of us will stand before God someday and have to answer to Him. In the 50s people make up a list of don'ts that were held up as a standard for Christian living. Don't go to movies, play cards, dance, smoke, chew tobacco or drink alcohol. These were considered immoral. But it was OK to watch TV. The thing is, it is up to each of us to listen to God and obey Him. We are not to judge our neighbors. We don't need another list of "don'ts" to adhere to that aren't even in the Bible. So keep them to yourself, please, and continue to cease from the things God has told YOU not to do.

God's peace has a lot to do with contentent and snuggling close to Him in His arms.

In God's eyes there are two kinds of people: those who are in satan and those who are in Christ. Those who are in satan are blind, wretched and to be pitied. Those who are in Christ are set free to love those who are blind, wretched and pitied. God had pity on us when were were in satan and redeemed us, rescued us. Thank you for the cross, Jesus! We pray for the blind, that God would open their eyes and ears. We love them because there but for the grace of God go I.

Some rulers that God gives us are what we deserve. It reminds me to pray for God's mercy and grace.

I have heard that the pressure on kids in Japan can be really horrible. I hope that we never go to that. History has been rewritten in the last 10 or so years and this should be corrected. Any mention of God or missionary work in the Northwest was removed from our textbooks some 35 years ago. It is sad seeing people turn away from God due to the lack of truth that is taught our children as though this is fact.

Remember that it is not wise to bargain with God or make vows to Him. He does want us to try and sees your heart's intent. Weening yourself as you are is a good plan in coming off nicotine addiction. We aren't able to obey Him without the power of the Holy Spirit helping us.

Much of education now is by computer. That is great for visual learners but many are audio learners and need more personal interaction. Personally, I do best when I both read and hear, and take notes as well. Writing things down plays a big part of my ability to retain information. The computer learning could be improved with verbal input added. That doesn't help those of us who need to write things down. I would be lost without books to learn from. I need my Bible in hand when listening to and watching sermons.