Willa

Paradice is wherever Jesus is. When He went to Abrahams's bosem it was there. Now it is at the right hand of the Father where Jesus sits.... Our souls will be with the Lord whenever our eyes shut in "death" or sleep as the Bible calls it, because since His life is in us now we will always be with him and will never completely die. Only our present bodies will die. But that is not the real us. The real us is our soul and spirit. Someday Jesus will come get out bodies, too, and make them like His. I never considered my parents to be decaying in a grave so I never go and put flowers on them. Those are just their remains and not the real them. I have always thought of them being with Jesus. So I don't really care if I ever get a glorified body as long as the real me can be with the Lord. I don't have much need of one now. But when He comes back to rule for a 1000 years I may have need for one and if so He will give one to me. Meanwhile I am quite content to be with Jesus, whether on earth or in heaven, or back on earth again. I want to always be with Him. He is my family now and I am in His family since we have the same Daddy God, only I am adopted.

These seem to be good messages, but teaching is something that only the moderators are allowed to do. Should you wish to post something of this nature, please do it in a more appropriate portion of the forum such as general discussion,and ask our opinion of the message.

Since the context was that they came from the bottomless pit, I have to agree that they are demonic beings, but they also sound like they might be some kind of armored vehicle that are under the power of demonic individuals. It does sound like a science fiction horrer movie. I have no intention of being there to find out.

Our pastors always say they are attacked on Sunday morning. They are up all night counseling, or their family is arguing, or coffee is spilled on the sermon outline, or they are held up in traffic, you name it. They always come early and spend time in prayer and usually the elders are asked to join because they can depend on a spiritual attack. On the other hand, I had just been asked to join a leadership meeting in our womens group when I came down with a malady that limits my ability to participate. I do think that God stopped that one, even though it only meant 1 hour a month and God gave me peace about doing it.

Autism is definitely linked to vaccines.. There is plenty of evidence This article from the Huffington Post proves it, and this is only one of a host of others. Government 'silently' admits autism due to MMR (measles, mumps, reubella) vaccine millions of dollars settlement The federal Vaccine Injury Compensation Program, better known as "vaccine court," has just awarded millions of dollars to two children with autism for "pain and suffering" and lifelong care of their injuries, which together could cost tens of millions of dollars. (From what I read here is that the vaccine might have been faulty. Perhaps a measels virus that was not dead gave them the measels which in turn caused encephalitis, which can upon occasion develop as a super infection with measels. A neighbor of mine in the 60s had a child die from encphalitis that resulted from measels. Obviously not every child who gets measels develops encephalitis, and I doubt that having the virus introduced by a shot would be any worse that getting the virus the old fashioned way except that it is given with other virus also which might weaken the system. Anyway, that is the way I read it, having a little bit of medical back ground gives me another perspective of what might have gone one. But it is just my opinion..) The government did not admit that vaccines caused autism, at least in one of the children. Both cases were "unpublished," meaning information is limited, and access to medical records and other exhibits is blocked. Much of the information presented here comes from documents found at the vaccine court website. Some observers will say the vaccine-induced encephalopathy (brain disease) documented in both children is unrelated to their autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Others will say there is plenty of evidence to suggest otherwise. What's more, these cases fit the pattern of other petitions, (i.e., Poling and Banks) in which the court ruled (or the government conceded) that vaccines had caused encephalopathy, which in turn produced permanent injury, including symptoms of autism and ultimately an ASD diagnosis. More at Huffington Post link above

Only the vaccinations have been completely disproven as being linked to autism.

It can be seen in a mirror in a person's demeanor, face and eyes. There is a smile and a warmth in peoples' faces who know Christ. I think that is where they came up with the halo idea. In a land of unbelievers you see darkness in peoples faces--fear, averting their eyes, anger, hatred, distrust, threatening, disgust or sadness. Believers are more apt to have an "inner glow", being smiling, looking people in the eye, compassionate, showing warmth, peace, kindness or friendliness. Someone told me I was always smiling. I didn't know that but thought I frowned a lot as when I am puzzled or am concentrating and am in deep thought. Perhaps Mona Lisa was a Christian. Some people have a cold, judgemental look on their faces. I hate to walk into a church that is full of people looking very pious and solomn, who seem to be looking down their noses at everyone, and seem to be disapproving. They are tight lipped and hold their heads high, looking like they are in charge. I don't go back.

I sort of like the sticker that says "turn or burn", too . It might cause people to ask questions. My boss is a Jewish Carpenter, is another I like. The one I bought was "Those who think they know it all upset those of us who do".

I have not heard that one, but Wikipedia has a good outline of their teaching. I cannot believe that any person can speak anything into being like God did in creation. We are not little gods. Fourty years ago I asked for prayer for healing of a whiplash. It was explained to me in a small group that I was to confess it was done because in God's time the healing had already been done. It made sense so I did. But on the way home God convicted me of having told a lie. He told me I can only testify to the things I have seen, heard, experienced or done. I had not seen or experienced my healing. I confessed my sin and again asked for God to heal me. That night the whiplash was gone. But I know in my own heart that the Word of Faith doctrine and prosperity doctrine are false. I have very good friends who attend there, but I cannot endorse their teaching and I warn people against such teaching. I have no doubt that many people there are true believers. God does manage to shield His own from error that is taught in churches.

Since this is a relationship, would it be possible for you to lead the other person to the Lord? Perhaps tell the other person that you have asked God to forgive you and you want the person to also forgive you. Then ask them if they also would like God's forgiveness.

I remember reading a book in the 50s that was by Dr. Rhine of Duke University who did studies on ESP. He found that the only kind of occult practice that "worked" was voodoo. All other fortune tellers, and those with psychic powers that they tested with double blind tests were hoaxes. I know one lady who came from a family of fortune tellers who claimed that she could even tell how much you had in your purse, and she was supposed to be converted to Christ. She is back in business so I doubt if her conversion was genuine. I have to surmise that voodoo is satanic. We know that the people in Pharohs court could immitate God's miracles, and that we are told that practice of communicating with the dead and witch craft, sorcerors with potions etc are evil in God's eyes and not to be practiced by the Jews. However, I agree with the above post that true Christians who walk in the Spirit are not affected by spells. I have not tried God's word in this respect because I don't know of any spell cast on me. However, I do believe that Jesus became a curse for me and that I would not be affected by a curse or a spell.

There is appointed to men once to die, and after that, the judgement. It is wishful thinking that there will be a second chance. None of us want to see a loved one perish for eternity in a lake of fire. Nevertheless, this is what people have chosen for themselves by refusing the free gift of salvation by the blood of Jesus Christ. A second chance is good Mormon doctrine as well. Origen was a heritic from the get go. The Coptic church still bears his influence. Reading the Bible and not looking for texts to support universalism, you cannot come to this concusion. It plainly does not say that. There would be no need to go out and preach the Gospel if everyone got second chances after some kind of purgatory. At least I would not feel compelled to do so. Universalism would catch on really fast if it were plainly taught by scripture. But it is not. Just because some early church leaders felt it was true does not mean it is biblical, especially in the case of Origen who was heavily influence by gnosticism and mysticism. One good reason for staying plugged into a local church is this kind of stuff. It is very easy to get off track doctrinally by choosing the internet for fellowship. When I pray about doctrines like this I always get very troubled in my spirit, as the Holy Spirit warns me I am on dangerous ground. That is why I didn't even finish reading the post on government leaders in the occult and a conspiracy of some nature. I didn't even finish reading it because God was showing me that it contained grave error and I should think on those things that are lovely and of good report. This OP is also one that I don't have the peace of God in my heart about. It simply contains grave error. I loose fellowship with God when I contemplate these posts so I don't even want to go there. So far God has guided me through a maze of many doctrines of 5 different denomination, some of which are certainly less harmful than this one. But I keep what is good and leave the rest behind. The church I am in now teaches the Bible in a way that most fits the Bible as I read it and the Holy Spirit gives me great peace in its teaching. It is one that I am comfortable taking other people to. I can't say that about any other denomination I attended. There was always an "I cannot believe-----this doctrine, though". Or the majority of the people were unloving and very judgemental or cold. So I ask the Lord to protect people who read these posts and lead them to pure truth in the simplicity of the Gospel. We are told not to believe gospels that are not the same as we were first taught. I feel that this falls into the category of "another gospel" and not the one that Paul preached. Blessings Willa

Mark, after the destruction of Jeruselem all the surviving apostles were scattered to other lands. Some went to the Jews who also lived in those lands, but by that time some gentiles were meeting with the Jewish Christians. Sometimes they remained seperate due to different culture. Eventually other apostles went to the gentiles. Tradition says that Thomas went to preach in India, which is believable because in northern India there is a cult with some Christian beliefs mixed with paganism. It has been there for many centuries. But at the time of the writing of the Bible Paul and Barnabus were sent to the Gentiles. Even Paul was in the habit of preaching first to the Jews in the Synagogs before preaching to the gentiles. There were other historians at the time, such as Josephus,, who told about the crucifixion of Jesus and about the early church. They did not make Scripture but they do say that what the Bible says is true, like a second witness, which helps many unbelievers to accept that the Bible is true. They are not all bad. Only the Bible is God's Word. Everything it says is true. But it does not contain everything that happened. It doesn't tell what every apostle did, mostly just Matthew, Mark, Peter, James, John and Paul, and the people to whom Paul wrote. We don't hear much about Andrew or the rest of the apostles. Much is silent after the end of the book of Acts but for the other written books and the sources outside of the Bible that give us an idea. But there is still an ancient Christian church in Etheopia as well as one in Egypt that were founded by someone in the early church other than Paul and Barnabus, so other apostles may have gone to them after the destruction of Jeruselem.

It was based on works in the Old Testament for the Jews. The problem was it was impossible to be perfect, and God demands that we be perfect just as God is perfect. So He sent His Son, the Word, to take on human flesh as Jesus, and Jesus was perfect in every way so He fulled God the Father's demand for perfection. Then Jesus took the rap or the punishment that we deserve in our place. We deserve death because the punishment for any imperfection is death, and He died on the cross in our place. Then He gives His righteousness to anyone who wants it. All you have to do is tell God you don't want your sinful life anymore, and you want to be like Jesus.

Hubby wisely refused to put a bumper sticker on our cars. Before he was saved he would shout things at drivers in Japanese. Now he just squirts his windshield wipers at cars that tailgate, or honks at drivers that are driving recklessly. Me? I still yell at people who cut me off, nearly causing a wreck, but I am trying to yell something beside you stupid idiot because I don't want to be guilty of hell fire. Would "take driving lessons" be better?

I think that Mark explained just Who the Messiah is and what this means. The Son of God is God in human flesh. I know people who do not believe that He is fully God but just a good man, a prophet, or a lesser God. They do not believe that He pre existed with the Father as the Word, Who became flesh and dwelt among us. They often believe that He is a created Son Who did not pre exist with the Father.

Amen and amen!. But I do also agree that saving faith produces works as we walk in the Spirit. We were created for good works that we should walk therein. Eph. 2:10 The just shall also live by faith. Romans 1:17. Usually the first works we are led to do are to confess that we have received Christ, and the second is to be baptized. That is why verses to this effect are so often associated with salvation. Even the thief on the cross acknowledged Jesus for Who He is, calling Him Lord and that He will come into His Kingdom, meaning that he believed Jesus is the Messiah.

All I can say to the OP is, Bah, humbug! Keep studying. Sometimes we believe what we want to believe, instead of the truth.

Apostle means one who is sent out. An ambassador or messenger. If a person is called by God to be an evangelist he will be doing that at home. We have a person or two who are doing this in our church. They have a drive in them to share the gospel that compels them to do so much like that which Paul discribes. When the church recognizes this gift they may send the person out to another country with its blessings. This would technically be an apostle but few would call themselves that. We might call them missionaries today. We used to have a family in another church that called themselves apostles because they went around to churches singing and preaching. I don't think so. They were self appointed and they considered themselves over the pastors in rank. Not good. God disciplined them by a terrible accident by which he lost his ability to speak fluently. But he could still sing and God used his singing to glorify Himself. While unconscience the guy had seen himself in hell. There are many false apostles today And no one is comprable to the original Apostles. I especially am warey of those who have appointed themselves as authorities or as ones with special knowledge or insight. That is something that the church must first recognize and evaluate or appoint. People cannot just go around declaring themselves such. And some lead many astray because they tell people what they want to hear (as in the prosperity gospel). That is also how bad leaders deceive and get elected and honost ones get rejected.

You will find that the Son came to glorify the Father. On earth He did and said nothing but what the Father told Him to say and do. This is repeated throughout the book of John. The Son is/was in perfect submission to the Father, not one to another. The Father was in the Son just as the Holy Spirit is in us. They are one God. So we are to be in submission to our husbands and to be of one accord. We are to give input soas to be a helpmeet, but the final call is theirs. Or the husband can delligate responsibilities to us or freedoms, but he is in charge. He is also to lay his life down for us and love us as Christ does the church, His Bride. This is coming from a person who was raised to be extremely independant and was more interested in conversing with men than with women talking about fashions or who's got talent. I still have to check my attitude about this occasionally. I can tell how submitted I am to God by my admiration for my husband and my submission to my husband's will, or sometimes by my willingness to go the speed limit. Perhaps this is part of the reason that my husband chooses to humble himself and serve me as Christ serves the Church. He spoils me rotten. It hasn't always been this way. I had to learn to submit to an unrighteous unbeliever who physically prevented me from going to church, and somehow God has modified me to be more like the woman of 1Peter 3. When I was first told about that verse I said: "Who me? Gentle and quiet? You've got to be kidding!!" I can't say that I've been perfected in this, just modified. 1 Peter 5 sums up the book. There are times that my hubby does submit to my instinct, especially when it is the leading of the Holy Spirit, but normally we discuss things and find we are in agreement because we are both seeking to do God's will. We both want what is best for each other. That is love. We just celebrated our 50th wedding anniversary. Back to the divisions of 1Peter. I believe the Bible to be inspired by the Holy Spirit and the summing of 1Peter by putting the verse to submit to each other at the back had the purpose that you elaborated upon in the way you discribed litterary construction. It is in the place it was meant to be..."and be clothed with humility, for God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble. Therefore humble yourselves then under the mighty hand of God that He my exalt you in due time," 1 Peter 5:5b-6. When there is a therefore you must look back to see what it is there for. The whole purpose of submission is to humble ourselves. We submit to our husbands as unto the Lord. We all need to regard one another in lowliness with genuine respect. Blessings, Willa

I believe it is made available thereby. In Matthew 8:17 quotes Isaiah 53:4 He Himself took our infirmities and bore our sicknesses." NKJV It does not obviously guaranee anyone's healing anymore than did His death and resurrection guarentee the salvation of all.

Abraham was willing to sacrefice Isaac because He believed that God would even raise him from the dead if need be to fulfill his promise of many decendants through Isaac. God did provide a sacrefice in the goat with its horns caught in a thicket. As to your other question, for the last 50 years the secular unbelievers have been asking a similar question about who would you force out of a lifeboat if there was not enough space in it for everyone. It makes me angry that they are even asking people this question because as Christians we value all human life and we value life differently than unbelievers. 50 years ago our culture was even protective of the disabled and elderly. Today that is changing because we have so many selfish unbelievers in government. Believers might even choose to get out of the boat voluntarily so the unbelievers would have more time to repent and and give their lives to Christ. We don't know. But the children used to ask "What would Jesus do?" We never know till the time comes what we would do. During fires and earthquakes people have been known to rescue an alarm clock or some other thing that was close to grab because we are in a state of shock and panic.

1 Tim 4:12b-13 --but be an example to the believers in word, in conduct, in love, in spirit, in faith, in purity. Till I come, give attention to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine. I don't remember leading anyone to the Lord but my husband and our son. But 2 of my best friends say I also was instrumental in their becoming Christians, and it was years ago and I wasn't aware of doing it. Many other people played a big part in my husband coming to the Lord, wareing him down and influencing him. So in the end God had to change me to come under submission to my husband and to honor him and admire him even while he was an unbeliever (and his salvation was good motive for me to change.) After that I realized that God could save him whenever He wanted, I just needed to get out of the way. So it was all God's doing and I didn't do much at all. The other thing I might be able to do is to encourage believers through prayer and informal support. And usually that is not done purposefully but just happens. So my style of bringing God glory ìs to decrease so that God might increase. Getting self out of God's way is the biggest challange. So I sow seeds, pray a lot and hope to live the life before others by genuinely loving them and caring. If the person is receptive maybe fruit will come of it. The most fun is when I get to witness to cult memebers who come to witness to me. I then have an idea where they are coming from or what they believe. I can explain what I have that they don't, and testify to them about it. In this case the ice is already broken and it is a lot easier. I am just not good at landing the fish or closing the sale, so to speak, even though I pray for the right words that they need to hear. So maybe that part ìs not what God is asking me to do; but seeds have been planted.

Our pastor's preaching is very kind, but no holds barred. He preaches straight through books of the Bible. Once he commented that the people he is concerned about are the ones that come every sunday but have never given their lives to Christ. If their ears are not open to hear the Gospel, their hearts must be very hard. So why are they here? It would be better if they not come than to continue hardening their hearts. There are many who want to receive Jesus as Savior but don't want to give their lives to God. It becomes apparent when they repeat the sinners prayer. and don't say the last phrase "I give my whole life to you now." Perhaps it takes time for some to make that step. Surrender is the hardest thing for some people because they want to do it their way instead of entering by the narrow door. But after we learn it is safer to let God lead us and trust Him to know what is best, then the rest is easy. The just shall live by their faith. Your would not and could not reminds me of Pharoah. He hardened his own heart Ex 8:32 then God hardened his heart. Ex 10:37

I just saw a bumper sticker that said: To err is human To arrh is pirate