Willa

We believe in one God: The Father, Almighty Spirit, Maker of heaven and earth, and of all things visible and invisible. And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Word, Son of God, begotten of the Father before all worlds, very God of very God, begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father; and for whom all things were made; Who, to graciously purchase our salvation with His blood, came down from heaven, and was incarnate by the Holy Spirit of the Virgin Mary, and was made man; As perfect God and perfect man, the Branch of David was sinless. He was crucified for our sins,, and was buried; the third day he rose again, ascended into heaven, and sits in power on the right hand of the Father; From thence he shall come again to judge the the living and the dead; whose kingdom shall have no end. And in the Holy Ghost, the Lord and Giver of life, the Comforter who proceedes from the Father, who with the Father and the Son together is worshiped and glorified, who spoke by the prophets and by whom men wrote the Scriptures. He indwells, seals, guides and enlightens all who rely on Him. We look for the resurrection of the dead: eternal life with Christ for those that are born again and sealed by the Holy Spirit, saved by grace through faith as a gift from God; Eternal torment awaits the wicked. The person and work of God are non negotiable, as is the work of the Holy Spirit inspiring Scripture, infallible in the original manuscripts. The modified Nicene Creed does a better job of addressing errors that have been addressed here on worthy, like people who claim that Jesus ceased to be God when He became man, Those who claim that Father had a human body or that Jesus did not, or that Jesus was created.

Hubby made a scratching post of a 4x4 by 3 feet and nailed it onto a base. Then he got carpet scraps and covered it all, leaving a slot at the top loose for stuffing in more catnip. All our cats loved it. We also attached toys from strings at the top for them to bat at. But their favorite play time was tying a catnip mouse to a fishing line on a fly rod and casting it down the hallway. Our son also had his cats declawed in front, but it was when they were younger when they were spayed/neutered.. Two eventually moved outside and did fine. He built a cat house for the last one that sits on their deck. It has two chambers, one for food and water and an inner one with a box for a bed and a lightbulb for warmth. The roof is removable so they can change the bulb and check on him.

Some churches make a public display of giving, not allowing it to be done in secret but urging people to come forward with an offering so they will be blest with increase. That does remove their reward in heaven if not the blessing. Some publicly announce large gifts and people applaud, or they put their names on a plaque. This also is against God's teaching. These things cause peoples' admiration today more than fasting, which can be seen as weird or even an eating disorder. The people that I know who have fasted definitely keep it a secret. I avoid those who reveal a person's giving. Perhaps you should find a different circle of friends as well. Perhaps the cracking and breaking is referring to the churches or denominations that have not held onto Christ and the Bible as inspired Word of God. Sometimes these old denominations would disappear except for mergers which make them appear to be gaining members. Some mega churches are replacing them by teaching what people want to hear instead of the truth and are attracting the goats. The sheep will listen to God's Word and follow Christ.

It is true that tradition can be the old wineskin. When people cling to their churches traditions instead of to Christ, they become inflexible. I remember a Lutheran church splitting over their using trumpets in the Halleluia Chorus played at Christmas. People were saying that it wasn't "Lutheran" to do so. Others pointed to the use of them in Scripture, but it still wasn't Lutheran to do so. Yes, it seems silly, but it actually happened. Some people become so enamored by the trappings of traditions that they lose hold of, or never truely had hold of, the Head which is Christ. Sola Scriptura, Sola Gratia, Sola Fide is Lutheran, so they even lost that, their foundation. The best interpretation of the Scriptures in question is definitely Shiloh's. I believe that becoming like little children refers to our being totally dependant on, relying on and trusting in Christ for salvation and living the Christian life.

It means to desire something so much that you want to steal it. A person might be jealouse of another person because they have the thing, but that is speaking of the person who owns it and not of the object itself.

Those who have truely repented will be given the power to overcome habitual sinful lifestyles. God gives us both the will and the ability to do His good pleasure. He sees us as pure because of the blood of Jesus. But we are also continually being changed into the likeness of Christ as we behold Him and are washed by the reading of His Word. This transformation will be completed when we go to be with Him. Jesus kept those of His disciples that the Father had given Him but for Judas. I believe He still does that. But He also chastens those He loves so that we will yield the peaceable fruit of righteousness. He helps us when we can't help ourselves. That is grace. Undeserved mercy and love. And he who is forgiven much, loves much. We are saved by grace through faith, and that not of ourselves. It is a GIFT from God, not of works, so no one can boast. Blessings, Willa

Jesus prayed in the garden Jesus prayed that if there were any other way, please let this cup pass from me.

I am a lot like you. But I do prioritize. God is first in my life, my husband is second, and chores are third. So I sit here typing with my bible on my lap and several Bible programs on my pad as well. I pray throughout the day and join with my hubby in prayer every evening. Usually we attend to chores, shopping and all in the afternoon. It is a rough guide and a flexible one. But it gives some order to our lives. We are retired, by the way.

Our surrender to Him should be absolute. Our trust should be absolute. But we still need to be moving in the direction of working things out under the general guidance of Scripture, but allow God to modify our behavior at any time. For instance: years ago our house and drive way were within 10 feet of our neighbor's. He was a foul mouth drunken bully who continually cussed out our young kids when they took out the garbage. We turned the other cheek and went the extra mile, and allowed them to order us around till God told us that He wasn't being glorified by this. So I knocked on the door, the wife answered, and I told her that being a good neighbor goes both ways. That her husbands threats and verbal attacks on children were not being a good neighbor. He came into the room cussing me out and the Lord filled me with authority. I pointed my finger at him saying "The Lord bless you and keep you, The Lord make His face to shine upon you and be gracious to you, the Lord lift up His Continance upon you and give you peace. He turned on his heal and left the room muttering under his breath. They moved within a few months and divorsed. I have had many times that the Lord stopped me from writing or speaking a thing. Usually I don't know why. He guides us with His eye. When I do things in my own strength and wisdom I normally just get in God's way and mess things up. So I don't ask God to just bless what I am doing. I look for His guidance first in Scripture. I have also learned to ask when and to wait till I have peace in my heart about proceding. Sometimes it is very hard to discern God's will in a matter. Case in point might be Abe and Sara. They knew God would give them a son, but it wasn't happening. So Sara gave Abe her maid to produce a son. Ooops. Nothing but trouble for the Israelites to this day since Ishmael became the father of the nations that surround Israel today. It is best to let God do things in His way and in His time.

I have not found any scripture to back Wildstar's claim that John the Baptist conferred the sin of the world on Jesus at His baptism. He did bear the sin of the world on the cross. I am sorry you were confused by false rumor. The gospel is in 1 Corinthians 15:3-5 that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He arose from the dead the third day according to the Scriptures, and that He was seen--". If you confess with you mouth that Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. No mention is ever made that you must believe in His baptism.

When my husband was bedridden in a horrible pain, the pastors suggested they pray for him. They annointed him with oil according to the scriptures and prayed for his healing. He later said he felt a warmth flowing through his body. Within a few hours the pain was gone. He stopped taking the narcotics given him by the doctors and was fine. However, God heals in different ways at different times, because He wants us to trust in Him and not in some formula. But I think that obeying the scriptures is a good idea. It is best to go to a pastor who believes in healing than one that thinks that the gifts ceased to exist at the end of the first century.

JWs worship a different Jesus than Christians. They worship a created being, not God. So their jesus cannot be God in human flesh, reconciling the world unto Himself. A person who worships a false god cannot be born again. Unless you are born again you can't enter the kingdom of heaven. John 3:3 It is very evident that the JWs do not have the Spirit of Truth, Who leads us into all truth. They do have the spirit of error. They are blinded to the understanding of scriptures and to the truth. 1 John 4:3 and every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God. v5 They are of the world. Therefore they speak as of the world, and the world hears them. We are of God. He who knows God hears us; he who is not of God does not hear us By this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error. There are many things that true Christian disagree on, such as the timing of when Jesus will return for His church; That only the Father knows. But of the things revealed in Scripture about who Jesus is, we do agree. In John 8:58 Jesus claims to be "I AM". In EXodus 3:14-15 we find that I AM is in fact the Jehovah God of your fathers. (Most translations use LORD in place of Jehovah) Since Jehovah's witnesses do not believe that Jesus is in fact Johovah, they shall die in their sin. John 8:24 The current pope is very loving, even claiming that athiests can go to heaven by their good works (for which the infallible pope was corrected). All roads don't lead to heaven as he seems to think. Jesus said "I AM the way, the truth and the life; no man can come to the Father but by Me. There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other Name under heaven that has been given among men, by which we must be saved. Acts 4:12 He is not a created being but the Creator of heaven and earth the firstBORN of all creation. Colossians 1:15-16 No one can go to heaven by good works. No one can be saved by something that is not the Living God Who gave Himself as our sacrifice for our sins, our Passover Lamb of God that takes away the sins of the world. No one can go to heaven without the Holy Spirit with Whom we are sealed as the earnest (security deposit, guarantee) of our salvation. 2 Cor.1:21-22 John 3:3 We trust in the Living God, Who is the Savior of all men, especially of those who believe. When we know the Truth, Jesus, intimately, it is easy to recognize what is false and who is false. We hope to share His loving forgiveness with all who will believe, and His coming righteous judgement with those who persist in rejecting His unmerited mercy and favor.

But don't you find it cult like how they have added their own book, written from their own profit or founder ? *shrug* In all honesty I have no room to judge them. That's Gods job. I wouldn't say they are a cult and I don't agree with what they did to the Bible either. God called us to love thy neighbor. He said LOVE thy neighbor, not judge, not love conditionally. I can see both good and bad in JW's. I think about how the world views Christians and how Christians view JW's. We aren't going to change their minds by hating them. Plus some of what they believe made sense. Like about the trinity, I was genuinely confused (thanks again for those verses, Willa). I don't see the problem in questioning Christianity as long as you do it with the right motives and the right mindset. The right motives and right mindset being, wanting to find the truth and what the Bible really says. I believe that Satan has distorted our interpretation of the Bible so that's why I like asking big questions like that, so I can know FOR SURE if the Bible really means that or something else. Does all this make sense? We don't hate JWs. We hate deception and false doctrine that costs a person his or her salvation. It saddens us and angers us. We don't hate gays/lesbians or other sinners. We do hate that they don't want us to call sin what the bible specificly names as sin and want to deny us the right to live by our beliefs. We believe what the bible states. You have every right to question any beliefs. The Bereans searched the scriptures to see if these things were so. God recommends that you do that. But be sure and read the chapter the verse is in to read it in context. Do that with the verses I speak of as well.

This is nearly as bad is being forced to abide by the koran. Christians are accused of discrimination because we agree with our Bible when defining sin. We didn't get this treatment for declairing adultry as sin or pediphilia. Why is it not illegal to discriminate against Christians for their beliefs? No court has as yet upheld our right of free practice of our religion.

Some owls are diurnal. But they will hunt any time they are hungry. When food is scarse as when it is very cold they will sometimes hunt, but now when the ground is thawing and mice are coming out, they will be out making up for the lean weeks. You may also see more hawks about. When they are nesting and have owlets to feed you will find them hunting throughout the day as well.

Perhaps it depends on how much effort --sweat--we produce. If we allow His love to fill us and overflow to others as we walk spirit, that is Jesus working in us. It is no longer I who live but Christ who lives in me. But if we are constantly working at being good enought to go to heaven, we have missed the boat. God made us legally good enough at the cross, and now we are just fulfilling the works prepared for us and walking in love in them. No effort is really required other than to die to self so that Christ may be seen in us. At one time I thought Christ died to give me a second chance to try to be good enough to go to heaven. That is purely self righteousness. With some understanding of Scripture I realized that His yoke is easy and His burden is light. So if I am working at it and struggling with it, I am doing it wrong.

Teachers have been dismissed here for teaching pro life and showing films of abortions to college nursing students in an anatomy and physiology class. Another was dismissed for mentioning that creationism was another possibility to a high school biology class. Our daughters in law certainly show their kids pictures of the fetus sucking its thumb in the womb, but not of the acid being injected in the womb or the fetus in anguish being torn limb from limb.

1 with Jady.

I remember 20 below and blowing in OR, when it hurt my lungs to breathe. But our lowest here was 10 below, which was bad enough. So far our lowest this year was 9 F, but after a week we got the pineapple express bringing 55 to 70 degree temps again. Now we are sliding down again with fog and inversions under high pressure. So our days have been gray and 40ish, nights 30. This is endurable and not so bad on the heat bill. But the inversions are bad on the lungs since they hold in the pollutants and our close neighbors burn wood. Praying for all you with flu and illness, especially NCN whose delirium is most delightful, but who is on my heart anyhow. PS Grandma's German chili is filled with home canned crushed whole tomatoes, small red beans, lots of bay leaves, not much chili spice, super lean hamburger, sweet onions and home made sweet pickle relish. Wild game is also good in chili.

Long ago I found a small medal with the image of a descending dove on one side, and the words "Come, Holy Spirit, enlighten me" engraved on the back. It is a beautiful sentiment as He sheds light on His word and creates faith in us. "The light shines in the darkness and the darkness did not overcome it (or comprehended it)." John 1:4 both translations are true. Jesus is the light of the world. Evil cannot conquer Him and evil people don't understand Him or His word. His Spirit gives light, love, and makes life worth living. Though I walk through the shadow of death, you are with me. There is no place so dark, discouraging, or evil that He cannot go. He overcomes evil with good, darkness with light, and discouragement with hope in His word.

Their translation of the Bible is not a valid translation. It was revealed in court that the person who translated it knew no greek but just changed the sections that disagree with their theology. The first chapter of John stated that the Word was in the beginning with God and the Word was God. They changed it to say the Word was A god. There is a big difference. They also believe that Jesus was just an angel. We believe that angels were created by God, not born of Him. Philippeans 2 tells how Jesus was once in the form of God but gave that up to come to us as a man. Jesus was called God with Us, Immanuel, in Matthew 1. Thomas confessed Him as my Lord and my God when he put his hands in the risen Christ's sides and palms. Jesus claimed to be I AM in John 8. In Exodus 3 When God called Himself I Am in the burning bush, a few verses later He calls Himself Jehovah. So Jesus claimed to be Jehovah God, the I Am Who always existed and has no beginning and no end. There are many references to the Father, and the Son both being God, and that the Lord our God is One God. The best reference to the Holy Spirit being God is when Annanirus and Sophria lied to the apostles, and they claimed that they had not lied to me but to God. As you become more familiar with the Holy Spirit you will recognize Him as also being God with us, the other Comfortor that Jesus asked the Father to send us. He is the same personality as Jesus, having the same values and mind as He and and the Father have. He came to reveal Jesus to us just as Jesus came to reveal the Father. He is the One Who is closer than a brother, Who is in us crying Daddy to our Father in Heaven, Who assures us we are His children. Exodus 3:6, 14,15. Remember that whenever LORD is spelled in capitals, it is YHWH which is translated Jehovah by the Jehovah's witnesses. Here the God of Abraham claims to be I AM and Jehovah LORD! John 8:58 Jesus claimed He existed as I AM (Jehovah) before Abraham was. That is why the Jews tried to stone Him for claiming to be Jehovah I AM in the next verse, claiming He had committed blasphemy. Matthew 1:23 Jesus' name is called God With Us, Immanuel. John 25:27-29 Thomas called Jesus his Lord and God Acts 5:3-4 Satan filled their heart to lie to the Holy Spirit who is God. Mark 14:36, Jesus prayed to His Father (Abba is Aramaic for Papa or Daddy) Matt. 9:6; John 17:5, Deut 6:4 4:35, 39; 32:29 We worship One God Being human beings, We can't fully understand how three persons we call God are in fact One God. While the word trinity is not found in scripture, it is taught throughout scripture. Even in Genesis the Spirit hovered over the deep in 1:2, and in 1:26 He said let US make man in OUR image. Colossians 1:15-16 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstBORN over all creation, for by Him all things were created--all things were created through Him and for Him. Father is the invisible God Creator Son is Jesus, Jehovah, Creator Holy Spirit is God, another Comfortor, Creator Hope that helps. As said, the JWs are not Christians. They twist a lot of scriptures to their own destruction. They are not allowed to post as believers on this board. Please, I beg you, avoid meeting with them for several years until you are better grounded in God's Word. Once I prayed with one that the Holy Spirit would reveal God's truth to both of us, and while I was praying he was screaming "Who gave you the authority to do that?" It was weird. Our God is One, united in 3 persons, Father Son Holy Spirit.

I don't trust politicians or earthly governments. I honor them because law and order is established by God and anarchy is of satan. So I have marched against abortion, but have never rioted or been unlawful in doing so. It is not wrong to protest evil within the limits of the law. God's authority is always preeminent. I do not pay homage to any man. I do pay my taxes. Our police force is not infallible but I support law and order. In the US public institutions are required by lawyers to not make statements to the press, so public sentiment is often contrived against them by dissidents, hate filled rebels, and neighborhood organizers before the facts are made known to the public. Even bystanders may not see everything that occurred depending on their view and lighting. So I most often believe the conclusions of police investigations and courts. That is how I honor them. The experts and world acclaimed men are not necessarily acclaimed by God. He makes foolish the wisdom of the wise. If they are endorsed by the world they are probably not godly. So should they be trusted? Trust God. If the dissidents are working in an orderly, lawful fashion, we can at least admire them for standing up for what they believe, even if what they believe is totally wrong and they are making fools of themselves.

That had also been by experience, Blue Gem. When I give while not expecting anything in return, God has always met my need and even sometimes replaced the same amoung of cash I had given but from a stranger! Sometimes we gave annonamously to disaster victims we knew, sometimes to missions where there was no tax write off, and always to wherever the Lord led us. As my friend used to say, I may be poor but I sure am rich!

Some pastors turn tithing into bondage, as though our prosperity were tied to it. That was true in the old testament. But we are to give out of the abundance of our hearts from our INCREASE. That means if we have had problems and don't have money to give, we aren't bound to give. People who lose their jobs are not bound to give. In fact, none of us is bound to give anything. We are not under the law. We give out of the abundance of our hearts. We are taught otherwise by greedy pastors. One church called and demanded money, even when I explained that we had no savings and no money to give. God's servents should never beg for money or demand money. We don't attend that church any longer. The one that we attend now never asks for money for itself or its buildings but trusts God to supply its needs. It took a year or two for God to heal us from the bondage other churches had put us under. Even so, I have had a desire to give to His work from the time God filled me with His Spirit. So it is hard for me not to do so. But God does not want my money, He wants my heart. I had to learn that it is man and his greed that made it a law these days. And we are not under the law but are under grace. I never trust a pastor who tells us if we give $1000 now, God will give us $10,000 later. God does bless us but sometimes the blessings are heavenly blessings and not money. If we give in hopes of getting rich, we give with a bad attitude and God usually does not bless that. We should never give in order to get more money. Pastors who tell us these things may have been taught wrongly, but usually they are greedy and are themselves not trusting God. I have seen some make a circus of it, having people come forward and put money on the pulpit for God to multiply it, and come again to give more if they want a larger increase. Giving should not be a public display. We should give in secret. It makes me want to chase the money changers out of God's house. So I am telling you that if you fell for one of these worthless promises to get rich, you probably will lose your money.

The Cheribim seemed to be very awesome creatures in Ezekiel 1 and 10. There eyes were all around the wheels and their spirits were in the wheels, which were within wheels. The glory of God hovers over them. They moved like lightening. I suspect that the images are a much smaller size than those in heaven. And I suspect that the glory of the Lord could become smaller to fit in the holy of holies, or larger to guide the people as a cloud by day or a piller of fire by night. I don't think that the Creator of the Universe and his cherubim are things our mortal minds can really comprehend, and that only His glory or shining could be seen--not His substance. We are told that no man can see God and live. But these wonders we will see when we see Jesus face to face in heaven.