Willa

Thank you, Slim.

It seems to me that someone like Ben Franklin wrote something like these musings one time. I read it and laughed at least 40 years ago.

Ou knowledge is imperfect. Seeming contradictions in the Bible have been elaborated on by great Bible scholars, but sometimes we have to forget everything else and just take the Scriptures for what they plainly say. If they contradict according to our understanding, we just accept them by faith. Some things are written to give God's perspective, yet others give mans perspective. We cannot reconcile them entirely because we are not God.

For instance, I have found that truth opens up greater understanding of all of the Bible. That is true of the Trinity. I believe it also occurs when we accept that both predestination and free will are true. The problem arises in that most of us dig in our heals.

Other things are preferences, prejudices, fears and tradition. So there are those who hate the band and loud music in some churches. They can't accept that there may be people who prefer an updated version of the Bible who are not cult members. So we are told to bear with the weaker brethern and not to let our freedom to cause them to stumble. They are good people who mean well. We forbear one another in love.

Israelite, I envy you your heritage. You will have so much better understanding of our Scripture with your background. Much of Revelations is especially more meaningful to those who are familiar with the Temple, the feasts and all things Jewish. While we are all equal in God's eyes and He had torn down the walls that seperate us, I sometimes feel like an outsider looking in.

And all heaven rejoices over one sinner who repents.

Absolutly! Accepting the Trinity, which is contained in Scripture even though the word is not used, was what opened my eyes to understand much of the Bible.

I go to church to hear a good Bible teacher expounding on God's Word. The only one I would watch on TV is Dr. Charles Stanley, and on radio I enjoy . But none can teach like my own pastor. We find more fellowship in work parties, short term mission projects, womens ministries, mens prayer groups etc. And I do enjoy and need fellowship. But I go to church to worship God. It is God centered, not people centered. Sure, I read, study and pray at home, but it is not the same as corporate worship. People always let us down. They are as human and imperfect as we are.

If you are unable to go to church, perhaps you should start a neighborhood Bible study, or ask people at your church to attend.

Our church just put on a creation seminar. It was mentioned that every evolution model for the fomation of the planets has been shown not to be workable by space exploration in the last 50 years. And every excuse for them not working the way evolutionists predicted was that something large collided with it. That was why an evolutionist athiest engineer for NASA became a creationist Bible believing Christian. All the unforseen, illogical wonders being discovered have created a real problem. If evolution doesn't work in the real world, then there must be an intelligent Creator. If there is a Creator, then we will be held accountable to Him. That means we had better repent and believe the Bible, which does contain verses that are born out by those discoveries by space exploration.

They must have been dropped from a plane. WKRP in Cincinatti tried it first with live turkeys on Thanksgiving---remember? It was not a good day for the news station personal who did not know that domestic turkeys were incapable of flying when dropped from great heights. So now it has been tried by someone who didn't know that apples can't fly?

pour in lots of coffee grounds, turn on coffee pot, and voila, perfect cup. no need for a 5 figure coffe maker.

Uh, I hope you remembered to put the lid on the basket................

A distant relative had a bear raid her tent while she was camping. It consumed a 50 pound sack of instant mashed potatoes, and then its tracks lead down to a lake for a long drink. I don't think either bear enjoyed the day after.

Hi! I have to agree that you have been buying the lies of the enemy, as you also are learning. He came to lie, steal and destroy, but Jesus came that you may have life and have it more abundantly. Don't let the enemy steal your joy. And don't let him beat you up over what you did or didn't do. God does not condemn you, as was quoted from Romans, and Jesus is praying for you. If God is for you, who can be against you?

You are going through grief, and a lot of it. Sometimes a grief support group helps with some of this. I used to be a member of a local chaplaincy that offered support groups where people going through loss of loved ones could share their feelings. I have also lost a lot of family. But I look forward to seeing them in heaven.

One thing that you have to be aware of is that saten doesn't fight fair. He hits you when you are down. But Christ gave him his death blow at the cross. Satan bruised His heal but Christ bruised his head--that means a slow but fatal concussion. In Revelations we are told that he was overcome by the Blood of Jesus and the testamony of the saints (believers). You simply don't have to listen to Satan's lies.

Messages from God will fill you with the fruit of the Spirit, especially love, joy and peace. If he corrects us, even though we don't like it at the time, it is worth it all afterwards. Heb.12:5-6 But a bruised reed He will not break, and a smoking flax He will not quench--Matt 12 :20 NASV I have never known God to chasten anyone when they are going through what you are going through. God never said that bad stuff won't happen. He just said that He would walk through it with you and give you the strength you need. And He said He would send another Comforter, the Holy Spirit. God wants to comfort you.

John 1:12 But as many as receive Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: who were born not of blood nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. Other promises mention confessing the Lord Jesus and believing in your heart that God raised Him from the dead. Romans 10:9. I believe it is possible to ask Got to forgive us for being a sinner and to receive Jesus' forgiveness while driving down the road or where ever you feel like praying. It is possible to confess Him to your family or to friends. But I also believe that Baptism is a public testamony as to what has already been done in your life. Baptism can be a time of confessing Him before men.

Many churches disagree on this doctrine, especially those that practice infant baptism. The biggest problem is that we all try to put God in a box, or in a doctrine. I am sure that the Spirit comes to indwell us in slightly different ways because God looks at our hearts and not as to whether we did a ritual. (Some people repeat a prayer or are baptized as a means of joining a church, which they think of like joining a lodge or the country club. That is why Jesus gave us verses like John 3:8.) The way we know that we have been born again is that there is a growing change in our lives. Sometimes we start feeling guilty about things that hadn't bothered us before. But there is some kind of change in our way of thinking. Most people find peace. We also are to cling to scriptures that promise salvation because the first thing satan does is accuse us of not being a christian because we blew it again. Not so. For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; It is the gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast. Ephesians 2:8-9 using NKJV

I needed that just now.

Father God called Isreal His wife just as the church is betrothed to Jesus Christ. We are told that our Father's wife left him and committed adultry, but He always took Her back. At one point he divorced her but He will again restore her to her land.

The Koran teaches muslims to kill unbelievers in their land. Not all Muslims embrace this, but many do. This includes killing Americans as well as Isrealis. Those who are not converted are executed. So there is no chance of peace in the middle east as long as non Muslims live there. This applies to all far eastern hations that are mostly Muslim as well.

In no way are we to hate people of other religions. We are to pray for them, and, one on one, we are to overcome evil with good. We are to extend the love of Christ to individuals. How else will they ever know there is a difference between our 2 faiths. "Love your enemies and do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, and pray for those who spitefully use you. Luke 6:27-28 NKJV

I do not believe this applies to millitary intervenion, but only to those whom we encounter in our daily civillian lives.

Last night I heard Spike Psarris, formally an engineer in the US millitary space program, speak on "What You Aren't Being Told About ASTRONOMY ". He spoke on "Our Created Solar System", including a lot on Mars. You might be able to purchase it on WWW.CREATIONASTRONOMY.COM . He explained in detail why Mars cannot support life of any kind. If you really want to know, I urge you to buy the DVD. He entered the space program as an atheistic evolutionist and left it a Bible believeing Christian soley due to all the discoveries that totally contradicted eveolution but supported the Bible. He is a great speaker and funny as well.

enoob57, Your advice is very good. Listening to the Holy Spirit has kept me out of trouble for many years. I learned to hold fast to that which is good and leave the rest. (1 Thess. 5:21) We have stayed in 4 different churches of different denominations for about 15 years each, plus this last one for 9. There were always some doctrines I could not accept till we arrived at this last church. There was very little that I could agree with in the church I was raised in which was ultra liberal. It no longer requires members to believe that Jesus arose from the dead or was God in the flesh. Nor does it believe the Bible is the inspired Word of God and is to believed as litteraly as possible. I hesitate to even call it Christian.

I found that the more Scripture I applied to my life, the more the Holy Spirit enabled me to understand. People who try to understand the Bible with their logic and intellect often get into more trouble. I don't mean that we should completely ignore those things. But the things of the Spirit are understood by the Spirit of God.1Cor. 2 10-12

Again, this is why I look for a good Bible teacher when I look for a church. And we also depend on the Holy Spirit to lead us to a good church.

I was born again over 53 years ago and have walked in the Spirit for 42. Yet I am sure when I get to heaven I will have questions for the Lord, and will find out that my understanding was imperfect.

You must be an awesome lady Love, Steven

Although I am periodicly compelled to remind my husband that I am his sweet innocent little ol' wifey, He will only agree to the old wife part. So I doubt that he would agree with you that I am as awesome as we all wish I were. But we can agree that we serve an awesome God!

enoob57, Your advice is very good. Listening to the Holy Spirit has kept me out of trouble for many years. I learned to hold fast to that which is good and leave the rest. (1 Thess. 5:21) We have stayed in 4 different churches of different denominations for about 15 years each, plus this last one for 9. There were always some doctrines I could not accept till we arrived at this last church. There was very little that I could agree with in the church I was raised in which was ultra liberal. It no longer requires members to believe that Jesus arose from the dead or was God in the flesh. Nor does it believe the Bible is the inspired Word of God and is to believed as litteraly as possible. I hesitate to even call it Christian.

I found that the more Scripture I applied to my life, the more the Holy Spirit enabled me to understand. People who try to understand the Bible with their logic and intellect often get into more trouble. I don't mean that we should completely ignore those things. But the things of the Spirit are understood by the Spirit of God.1Cor. 2 10-12

Again, this is why I look for a good Bible teacher when I look for a church. And we also depend on the Holy Spirit to lead us to a good church.

I was born again over 53 years ago and have walked in the Spirit for 42. Yet I am sure when I get to heaven I will have questions for the Lord, and will find out that my understanding was imperfect.

I could not be a Catholic becuse I could not bow down to images or pray to dead people. I could not pray to Mary whose tomb is in Jeruselum but its church has been boarded up for a century because of the heresy that she did not die but ascended into heaven like Jesus. We have one intercessor between God and man--Jesus Christ. Nor do I believe that the pope is without error, etc.

But there are many Catholics who are born again, genuine believers who love the Lord. And we owe much to the early Catholic church for defending our faith against many gross errors about Who Jesus is and what He has done, and the Trinity, not to mention preserving the Bible. Not all Catholics, or even priests, are hippocrits. Bigotry is ugly in any form. My grandfather was in the KKK and burned crosses in the yards of Catholics. He did not claim to be a Christian. But hatred and bigotry are even worse when found in the hearts of those who claim to be Christians.

Back to the original topic. Yes, I believe there is a growing blindness coming over America. It is a judgement because American law has forsaken God's Word, enabling the proliferation of sin rather than curbing it as the law of this land was created to do by our founding fathers. Hollywood has made the public think that "everyone is doing it" and changed our mores. We have been taught by Harvard and other "higher education" that there is no black and white as Christ taught, but only shades of gray. We evangelical Christians are truly a minority in just 50 years.

But this is not true of the whole world. In many nations where Christiaity is forbidden people are turning to Christ in great numbers. Campus Crusade has stated that the majority of those asking for literature, asking questions and making commitments are from Arab nations. Dalits in India are desperat for hope and are turning to Christ litterally by the thousands. One person who spoke there saw 7000 people receive Christ in one night!. So many people asked for prayer, and he had no idea what they were saying, that he just ask God to meet their need. People were physically healed, delivered from alcohol, marriages were healed and reported by those who drove them to the meeting and by local pastors. There is a great need for Bibles and teaching materials in these lands. There is also great persecution. Many of them may be first as we may be last in God's kingdom, since we who know more will be held accountable for more.

When you see these things begin to happen, look up and lift up you heads, for your redemption draws near. Luke 21:28 NKJV We are not supposed to be watching all these things. We are supposed to be keeping our eyes on Jesus and watching for His appearing.

If we never saw them or watched them how would we know they are happening?

That verse does NOT say don't watch or look. It actually means keep our eyes on Jesus and not on the 'things' in the sense that we

do not have to become paranoid or overcome with fear

We are told what will happen. We are not told to ignore it or pay no attention.

How many people do you know who have read Revelation and not noticed that it is revealing the Person of Jesus Christ? Most people seem to focus on the horrifying things. That is why horrer movies sell so well. I agree that we are to be aware of the things that are going on around us as though in our peripheral vision, but our focus should be on Jesus Christ.

One of my best friends lived your life, but I am so thankful for her because she helped me to understand my husband. While he was not sexually abused he was abandoned by his mother at a young age, beaten severely by his father, and rejected by his step mother. So when I couldn't understand why he reacted to things the way he did, she would understand and help me to understand. It has taken him a long time to start to trust people. Deep scars. But he is finally making good friends, healthy friendships.

2 Corinthians 1: 3-4 talks about how we will be able to comfort others during their trouble with the same comfort we received from the Father of mercies and the God of all comfort. But you must open this area of your life up to Him so He can pour soothing oil onto your wounds and comfort you. He has promised to make all things work together for good for them that love the Lord and are called according to His purpose.. Romans 8. That means He can even use the ugliness in our lives for His glory.

I surrendered my life to God by giving Him the areas of my life I was having trouble with so He could fix them.

I knew He always made it better so I wanted to give Him all, but that is where I started. I gave him what was most messed up.

I understand that keeping the sabboth is the only commandment not repeated in the New Testament. On the other hand, probably that is one that was meant only for Judism, as it is one of the things connected with the Mosaic covenant along with circumcision. But we are Christians and under the new covenant. Galatians 2:16, 3:1-3 & 10-13, 5:4-6 are all very hard on those who would return to trying to keep the law , even saying they are cursed and fallen from grace! So I really don't think it matters what day that you worship on but that you not become entanged in legalism. Jesus is the fulfillment of the Sabboth. When we enter into His rest we cease from our own good works and stuggles to keep the law and rest in Christ's completed work. He kept the law perfectly and shed His blood so that we can enter heaven.

Some peoples jobs keep them from worshipping on Sunday so they worship on Saturday night or Wednesday night. I celebrate the resurrection on Sunday, the first day of the week, as well as Wednesday, and less formally all week . That does not make me any more or less spiritual.

When you see these things begin to happen, look up and lift up you heads, for your redemption draws near. Luke 21:28 NKJV We are not supposed to be watching all these things. We are supposed to be keeping our eyes on Jesus and watching for His appearing.

When we return to living in sin we resist the reproof of the Holy Spirit. In doing so we harden our hearts, and we are in danger of continuing to harden our hearts the longer we resist God. He will continue to pursue us until we repent or die. It is never too late to repent. But it often gets harder as time goes on. The only thing that stands in our way is our pride. People who do repent late in life usually regret the "lost" years when they didn't live for the Lord. Those works will be burned but they will be saved.