Willa

When I first asked God to forgive me, the enemy whisper in my ear: How do you know He will forgive you? Immediately that hymn came to my mind, Yes Jesus love me, the Bible tells me so. So I knew Jesus forgave me, and the Father forgives me because Jesus loves me. The theology wasn't deep, it was a child's faith.

A lot depends on how they define Christian, by what parameters they use, and how they word their questions.

Churches often have softball teams, picnics, camps with zip lines and plays, pranks on other cabins, play spoons or basketball, volley ball, flag football, movies or anything that is moral and tasteful. "A merry heart does good like a medicine."

I personally believe we should say nothing. God is more concerned about our inward life. Of first importance is our inward relationship with Christ, and that His love, joy and peace be expressed through us. The outward things will follow in due time. God appointed us to catch the fish and it is up to Him to clean them. So it is best to say nothing and love them as they are. I used to attend a church where women didn't wear slacks at all. One day a woman walked into the church wearing flip flops and capris. She came to the alter for salvation. The next week the little old lady's Sunday school class all came wearing pants suits. That so impressed me as an act of love to welcome her in this way. She was a single mom with 5 teenagers so she had no money left over for herself.

I do appreciate your heart of desiring peace. I had not read through the whole thread but only attempted to answer the OP. However the bad teaching I received after the Holy Spirit first convicted me and led me was exactly this. It was a works based salvation like the song says: Making a list, checking it twice, gonna find out who's naughty and nice". So I tried to establish my own righteousness which was the root cause of my lack of growth, lack of love, and subsequent backsliding. So I know the truth in the book of Galatians because I lived it. Rom 10:2 For I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge. Rom 10:3 For they being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and seeking to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted to the righteousness of God. You claim that the verses I previously quoted are out of context. They are in perfect context historically for many Jews who had converted to Christ were returning to Judaism. I had not grown in my understanding of Scripture to fully comprehend that Christ was my sin sacrifice. He had taken my sin upon Himself, and my salvation rested solely on faith in Him. Christ in me fulfilled the law and in 1970 gave me the new heart with the law written on it. It was then that I submitted and surrendered to Christ as my Lord and Master, was then filled with the Holy Spirit and again started walking in the Spirit. Gal 5:18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under Law. I was not under bondage to the law but as a born again child of God the law was fulfilled as Christ in me reached out to others with His love. I am sorry if this confuses anyone or offends them.

1Ti 1:8 But we know that the law is good if one uses it lawfully, 1Ti 1:9 knowing this: that the law is not made for a righteous person, but for the lawless and insubordinate, for the ungodly and for sinners, for the unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for man slayers, 1Ti 1:10 for fornicators, for sodomites, for kidnappers, for liars, for perjurers, and if there is any other thing that is contrary to sound doctrine, 1Ti 1:11 according to the glorious gospel of the blessed God which was committed to my trust. Gal 5:4 You have become estranged from Christ, you who attempt to be justified by law; you have fallen from grace. God writes the law on our hearts when we are born again. So no, we don't have to obey the law. We just want to obey it. Christ was the fulfillment of the law on our behalf so we are not in bondage to it.

Jesus said we should bless those who curse us and pray for those who spitefully use us. That is going a step or two farther that David. I have always followed Jesus in this. Mat 5:43 "You have heard that it was said, 'YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR and hate your enemy.' Mat 5:44 But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, Mat 5:45 that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. Mat 5:46 For if you love those who love you, what reward have you? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? Mat 5:47 And if you greet your brethren only, what do you do more than others? Do not even the tax collectors do so? Mat 5:48 Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.

Often the words "I did it my way" seem the most tragic to me. It by default means that they didn't live their lives God's way, or they tried go to heaven their own way instead of God's way. Whenever I here Sinatra sing that song it brings tears to my eyes thinking of so many others who stubbornly did it their way and refuse to humble themselves before their Creator.

I occasionally like to wear a plain cross. It represents the risen Christ to me. I don't bow down to it or pray to it.

We have all been in your place at some time. I like to keep "short lists" so that nothing stands between me and someone else and nothing stands between me and God. Mat 6:14 "For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. Mat 6:15 But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses. Mat 5:23 “Therefore if you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, Mat 5:24 “leave your gift there before the altar, and go your way. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.

Loved it. Not familiar with this hymn but it sounds like it has an Irish touch.

" In general, members of this movement do not ascribe to the biblical doctrine of the inerrancy of Scripture, and, again, in general, do not believe that the Bible is the literal Word of God. Progressive Christianity also tends to emphasize what is known as “collective salvation” over the biblical concept of personal salvation. The Bible is clear that God redeems those individuals who believe in Jesus Christ as Savior and rescues them from an eternity of being separated from Him in torment. Collective salvation, by contrast, emphasizes the restoration of whole cultures and societies to what progressive Christians believe is the correct socioeconomic structure, namely, Marxism. Marxism, in turn, is a theory of economics and politics developed by an atheist (Karl Marx) from unbiblical assumptions." This is what GOT QUESTIONS says about progressive Christianity. And this is what I understood Pres. Obama also believed. They believe that to elevate the economics of the poor is bringing them salvation, and they do trend toward Marxism.

Many people try to make God in their own image. But we are not all knowing, though some people think they are. We don't know the end from the beginning. We don't know the right thing to do in every situation. God does because He is also a righteous God Who is pure, giving, forgiving, all knowing and loving.

Amplified Bible: Heb 1:13 Besides, to which of the angels has He ever said, Sit at My right hand [associated with Me in My royal dignity] till I make your enemies a stool for your feet? [Psa 110:1] Heb 1:14 Are not the angels all ministering spirits (servants) sent out in the service [of God for the assistance] of those who are to inherit salvation? Psa 110:1 A Psalm of David. THE LORD (God) says to my Lord (the Messiah), Sit at My right hand, until I make Your adversaries Your footstool. [Mat 26:64; Act 2:34; 1Co 15:25; Col 3:1; Heb 12:2] Heb 12:2 Looking away [from all that will distract] to Jesus, Who is the Leader and the Source of our faith [giving the first incentive for our belief] and is also its Finisher [bringing it to maturity and perfection]. He, for the joy [of obtaining the prize] that was set before Him, endured the cross, despising and ignoring the shame, and is now seated at the right hand of the throne of God. [Psa 110:1] Heb 10:12 Whereas this One [Christ], after He had offered a single sacrifice for our sins [that shall avail] for all time, sat down at the right hand of God, Heb 10:13 Then to wait until His enemies should be made a stool beneath His feet. [Psa 110:1]

G4434 (Word Study) πτωχός ptōchós, fem. ptōchḗ, neut. ptōchón, adj. from ptōssō (n.f.), to crouch, cower like a beggar. Poor and helpless. As a subst., someone in abject poverty, utter helplessness, complete destitution. Mat 6:25 ESV "Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Mat 6:26 Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? Mat 6:27 And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? Mat 6:28 And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, Mat 6:29 yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Mat 6:30 But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? Mat 6:31 Therefore do not be anxious, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' Mat 6:32 For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. Mat 6:33 But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. Mat 6:34 "Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble. An old gospel song said "Your heavenly Father knows your needs before you pray, so rest assured the answer's on the way." Eventually I learned that God wants us to depend on Him for all things. This is a reformed worrier speaking.

Usually they are attacks of satan against us to cause us to doubt God's word. However, we are told to pray according to His will, and the best way to do that is to pray the promises. Sometimes we pray with selfish or greedy motives and God won't provide those things because we pray wrongly or amiss. We know he can do the things we pray for but often we doubt that he will. God reserves the right to try our faith and answer out prayers in His own time, like when we pray for the salvation of a family member. That one is a sticky wicket because God allows people free will to resist His grace. So I kept praying day and night with groaning too deep for words, tears and persistence. This is travailing prayer, like when we give birth. There are times that we doubt, but normally God will give us a scripture to cling to during those times that give us hope.

Job was found righteous by God yet satan was allowed to give him tumors or boils all over his body as well as the loss of family and all his possessions. God was allowing him to be tested. God is the one Who heals. One of His names is the God Who Heals. We only need mustard seed size of faith in a great faithful and compassionate God to be healed. We don't need faith in our faith, or to work up faith. Faith also is a gift. The man born blind was that way so the power of God might be demonstrated. We just need to rely on God with what little faith we have and to be thankful for all His blessings and answered prayers. If God answers prayers because of our great faith, then we can take the credit for what He has done. God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.

Mat 8:16 LIT And evening having come on, they brought to Him many having been possessed by demons. And He cast out the spirits by a word, and He healed all those having illness, Mat 8:17 so that it might be fulfilled that spoken through Isaiah the prophet, saying, "He took upon Himself our weaknesses, and bore our sicknesses." Isa. 53:4 So the New Testament also claims the Jesus bore our sicknesses and infirmities on the cross as well as our sins.

Righteousness by faith is conferred on us by God when we are born again and Christ lives in us. It is imputed on our accounts by faith and conferred on us. By the same token our righteousness is worked out in us as we yield ourself to God and identify with Him. It is recognizing that our old self has died with Christ and we were raised up to walk in His righteousness. It is saying that our new righteous nature produces new righteous actions. This is not double talk; it is truth.

This would help people who had not resisted the Lordship of Christ, but I had Received Christ as Lord on my terms so that I still had the final say about my decisions to obey or not obey. It was a trust issue. I had to surrender, to give up my resisting His authority and receive Christ totally as my Lord because He is wiser than me and He loves and cares for me. So I hadn't fully presented or offered myself to Him because I didn't trust Him enough. It was a lack of faith.

Most "goody goody" Christian girls are incredibly naive. Others hope to change the bad guy. That is also being naive. Only God can change them. Most pity the bad guys, as God pities us all who are lost and need salvation. They don't understand yet that pitying love comes from God and they should let guys minister to guys; in other words, they don't understand how dangerous guys can be and how gullible they themselves are. Nor do they understand how strong a guys sex drive is because women think in terms of marriage, a home and family; even when girls like that are flirtatious they don't necessarily think in terms of sex. They want a guy's friendship. Most don't even understand yet that just because a guy comes from a Christian family, it doesn't mean they are born again. I have listened to many girls who were raped by someone they met at church. Some feel very fallen, that no one would want them afterwards, or even that God would never forgive them. They can't forgive themselves. This is not only true of church girls who are baby Christians. I have talked to women that were not Christians and not raised in Christian homes that felt the same way as far as feeling fallen and had a very low opinion of themselves after sex outside of marriage. They often feel totally worthless so they sleep around afterwards. That is their words.

Jesus claimed to be the I AM of Exodus 3. So He is claiming to be YHVH Joh 8:58 Jesus said to them, "Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM. ."Exo 3:14 God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM,” and he said, “You shall tell the children of Israel this: ‘I AM has sent me to you.’” Exo 3:15 God said moreover to Moses, “You shall tell the children of Israel this, ‘Yahweh, (YHWH) the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.’ This is my name forever, and this is my memorial to all generations. We believe that this same God is Jesus. He is not the Father, He is the only begotten son of the Father before all worlds. He is the Word of John 1:1-3. He is not one of 3 gods, which is what they think we believe. He is one person of One God. Muslims believe He is just a prophet, as was said. They don't think God had a Son. Muslims don't believe that Father God is a God of love. This is one thing that we need to demonstrate to them. Many are turned off by the bloodthirsty aspects of their religion and are attracted to the Gospel of God's love.

Forgiving is for our own sake. If we do not forgive we become bitter and that is very destructive to ourselves and the people we love around us. The Bible calls it a root of bitterness that defiles us. Very sorry if I came across harshly. Did not meant to be at all because I have been hurt that way many times and had to determine myself to forgive. In fact, if I had become a little self righteous it became a lot harder to forgive. When I realize that there but for the grace of God go I, and I am not without sin, it becomes much easier whether or not if they want to be forgiven or even know I have forgiven them. I learn to have pity on them. Praying for you sis in your anguish and grief. Heb 12:14 Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord: Heb 12:15 looking carefully lest anyone fall short of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up cause trouble, and by this many become defiled;

Some people trust in their money but claim they trust in Christ. These people may find Jesus saying "I never knew you,"

Nothing hurts more than harsh critical words from a friend or loved one. God uses these to teach us to forgive quickly and to love the person anyhow. Jesus prayed "forgive them, they know not what they do" while he was hanging on the cross. His Spirit lives in us and tells us to treat others that same way. We are to love them anyhow, because God in Christ loves and forgives them. I always think of Job whose 3 friends kept telling him that things were going from bad to worse because he had sinned. This wasn't true--God had said that Job was righteous. But worn down by his trials and deep loss, he started justifying himself saying he didn't deserve these trials instead of justifying God. In the end after Job had repented, God told Job to pray for his 3 friends. Going through these trials is very hard. I once told God that I didn't want to be on a mountain top of blessings or in the lush valley of trials and temptations. I just wanted to stay in the cleft of the Rock, close to Jesus. You see, sometimes the only time we draw near to God is when we are going through trials. Often those trials are there to keep us humble as well. I just want to stay close to God, not needing experiences and not needing trials to keep me close. 2Co 12:7 And lest I should be exalted above measure by the abundance of the revelations, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I be exalted above measure. 2Co 12:8 Concerning this thing I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart from me. 2Co 12:9 And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 2Co 12:10 Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong. Mat 5:10 "Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Mat 5:11 "Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Mat 5:12 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.