On 3/31/2024 at 8:07 AM, Figure of eighty said:

Aside from losing my job, losing daycare,being robbed,mental health health failing, behind on bills, tax refund delayed, there was a fire situation at my apt. I wanted to go to church today but couldnt..

I need so much help and I feel God is not doing anything. I'm losing faith in him and am ready to just turn away and live my own life if I don't get help soon. 

Im not asking for riches qnd fortune I just need help. 

Have you read the book of Job lately??  I have lived in his shoes and in the book.  Perhaps it was pure stubbornness coupled with God's grace that enabled me to hang tough.  It is really hard when we feel like God doesn't hear us or isn't there.  Remember that feelings are unreliable and that satan fills our minds with lies to discourage us.  You don't have to listen to his lies!  Our God is faithful!  Worship God for Who He is and for sending His Son to die for us.   God does love you.  He didn't promise that the Christian life would be easy or free of hardship.

1Pe 4:12  Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you.

I also had a total knee replacement in 2012.  Have handicap railings and bars in place for toilet, shower and for any stairs.  Use a back pack to carry items while using crutches, place food in plastic bags into pack.  Praying that God give you wisdom, that you do not become discouraged, and that you are diligent doing home exercises.

Love you, sis.

On 12/9/2023 at 10:48 PM, Thewhitedove said:

As some of you may have read, I have a colleague who I work very closely with. She has a lot of mental health problems and is terrible at her job. The more I get to know her, the more I see that she is manipulative and unpredictable. Because of her mental health problems, management are restricted on how they can legally deal with her. Her presence negatively impacts our entire department and she wreaks havoc wherever she goes. 

She cannot be trusted with the simplest of tasks and is bringing me down so much. I now cannot bear that sight of her and being in her company so much is making me physically unwell. The Lord Jesua said that if your hand causes you to sin, then cut it off. Being in this woman's presence is turning me into a bitter, horrible, miserable person and I'm losing my grip on who I am. 

If she stays in our department, she will go from coworker to coworker, dragging them down and continuing her toxic influence. Everyone wants her to leave. 

I have been praying so hard about this situation, for me to change, but I believe that God has revealed to be that she needs to be taken out of our team to protect everyone in it. 

Please, please pray with me that this person will leave our team as soon as possible. I have to work with her for another 6 months and don't think I can do it. I am going to end up very unwell or else leave the job, and I am good at what I do and take pride in my work.

This woman should not be doing the job and needs to go ASAP. 

Please God, hear me. 

God often puts the hardest person for us to love in our lives to teach us about His love.  First we must admit to God that we can't love the person.  In 1 John God said if we say we love God but hate our brother we are a liar!  Next we ask God to fill you with His love and to love this person (that Christ died for) through you.  Jesus dwells in you by His Spirit.  He can do what you in your own strength cannot do.

Meanwhile I will pray that God fill you with His peace as you commit the problem into His hands, and that He fill your heart with thanksgiving for her.   Lastly I will pray that management discover a way to legally remove her without repercussions. AMEN!

5 hours ago, FreeGrace said:

Then, different from believing/trusting.  OK.  Yes, all believers should definitely "stick with Jesus".

yeh, we were talking about cats and as usual far0uk is talking about tats.  

11 minutes ago, farouk said:

@Willa I guess this presupposes that ppl want their tattoos removed; I think you indicated that some of your family is quite well inked up and seem quite happy to be so, right?

One unsaved granddaughter and one grandson in-law have several.  The other 3 have one and are happy with them.

9 hours ago, RdJ said:

Why is it the task of the mom to not allow it? Is the dad not the boss?

Dad didn't go to church when my kids were toddlers.  Thinking of 18 month old babies.  

8 hours ago, FreeGrace said:

Yes, 'believe' means all these.  Not sure what "adhere to" means or implies.

Believing and trusting are synonymous.  

It means to stick to Jesus, to stay with Him.

On 7/9/2023 at 1:39 PM, Anne2 said:

How about this aspect. What was changed? From old covenant to new covenant.

Carnal vs spiritual

Circumcision

Ex 12:48  And when a stranger shall sojourn with thee, and will keep the passover to the LORD, let all his males be circumcised, and then let him come near and keep it; and he shall be as one that is born in the land: for no uncircumcised person shall eat thereof.

Ro 2:29  But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God.
 

The Lord's supper, eating from the table of the high priest.

Le 6:18  All the males among the children of Aaron shall eat of it. It shall be a statute for ever in your generations concerning the offerings of the LORD made by fire: every one that toucheth them shall be holy.

Le 6:29  All the males among the priests shall eat thereof: it is most holy.

1Co 10:21  Ye cannot drink the cup of the Lord, and the cup of devils: ye cannot be partakers of the Lord’s table, and of the table of devils.

 Even the requirement of males for warfare, ours is spiritual? Not carnal

The Lord's Supper is a celebration of part of the Seder, the Passover meal that Jesus was celebrating with His disciples.

I think James said we are to count it all joy when we endure trials, but I still don't enjoy them.  In fact, I am inclined to grumble like the children of Israel in the wilderness with whom God was displeased.

On 7/5/2023 at 1:29 PM, JimmyB said:

So, according to you, women should keep silent in church.  Of course, that applies only to Corinthian society of the first century, when women were apparently making too much noise in church.

Do you really think that a woman who has earned a PhD in theology and is called to be a minister should be prohibited from fulfilling her calling because of a local 1st Century rule?

And then you contradict your argument by posting this truth...

"For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is NEITHER MALE NOR FEMALE: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus."

How are our men to understand that God's calling is pure, true, and not subject to ancient society customs?

I can accept a woman being a pastor over women's and children's ministries when she  is under the authority of a male head pastor.  I cannot accept female head pastors except in very rare circumstances.  In fact, I know of a male president of a seminary whom my pastor led to saving faith in Christ.  I know many pastors who admitted they had not been called by God to the ministry and one graduated summa cum laude from his seminary.  Another also had a doctorate.   Others had no degrees but were clearly called and gifted in preaching and teaching the word.

Two women were called by their congregations following the death of their husbands.  One, a missionary in Africa, stayed on permanently; the other stayed on as an interim pastor in their church.  One was under the authority of the head pastor as well as her husband.

However, I would not choose to attend a church with a female head pastor.  The ones that I have seen are mostly attended by women.

Women are allowed in Scripture to pray aloud in church when they are under authority.  We may prophecy, praise, or exhort when in order and inspired by the Holy Spirit.  We may not disrupt by visiting, whispering to our husbands, showing him a message or joke on a cell phone, or otherwise distracting others, or by allowing small children to do the same.    

I do believe that these Scriptures that establish the chains of command in churches are for today.  Yes we are equal in worth, but that doesn't mean we can ignore God's chain of command.  Nor can we toss out portions just because we disagree with them.                   

5 hours ago, believeinHim said:

I find it unwise to pray for an atheist man. I prayed for an atheist man for a long time, and it did not bode well for me. Even a Christian man can break your heart. But, at least he's a Christian man.

Women don't think clearly when they like someone. Even less so when they fall for them in love. It is not wise to have most women praying for a man. Let the men do that.

When I used to pray for my unsaved husband that God would save him and change him, God used trials to change me so that I could accept and love him as he was, as God did.   That included removing my self righteousness in thinking I was any better than he was.  Ouch!  Those trials are painful as they also touched my pride.

3 hours ago, FreeGrace said:

John 6:47 - Very truly I tell you, the one who believes has eternal life.

 

The Amplified version adds trust in, rely upon, adhere to.

G4100   (Word Study)

πιστεύω.  pisteúō; fut. pisteúsō, from pístis (G4102), faith. To believe, have faith in, trust. NT meanings:

17 hours ago, luigi said:

I think everyone hears Gods voice; it is the one that is not proud.

It is therefore rejected by most people, in favor for the proud loud voice from the other side.

Yet it is gentle and kind but very strong and has great authority.

He is speaking of our eternal inheritance such as rewards, being seated with Him in heavenly places, ruling and reigning with Christ on earth;  these saints walk in the light even as He is in the light.  

6 hours ago, farouk said:

Hi @Willa Patience seems to be a key word in the NT, right? and you have proved it.............

In Greek patience means patient endurance.  I am not sure I endured cheerfully without complaining and all that the word means.  Probably not.  God may have been trying to move me in that direction but I didn't get very far.  Wasn't waiting cheerfully but I didn't fall away.  I stubbornly trusted in God's promises and somehow endured due to God's grace.

G5281   (Strong) ὑπομονή

hupomonē hoop-om-on-ay'

From G5278; cheerful (or hopeful) endurance, constancy: - enduring, patience, patient continuance (waiting).

G5281   (Word Study)  ὑπομονή

hupomonḗ; gen. hupomonḗs, fem. noun from hupoménō (G5278), to persevere, remain under. A bearing up under, patience, endurance as to things or circumstances.

VINE  Patience, Patient, Patiently

A. Nouns.

1. hupomone (G5281), lit., "an abiding under" (hupo, "under," meno, "to abide"), is almost invariably rendered "patience." "Patience, which grows only in trial, Jas 1:3 may be passive, i.e., = "endurance," as, (a) in trials, generally, Luk 21:19 (which is to be understood by Mat 24:13), cf. Rom 12:12; Jas 1:12; (b) in trials incident to service in the gospel, 2Co 6:4; 2Co 12:12; 2Ti 3:10; (c) under chastisement, which is trial viewed as coming from the hand of God our Father, Heb 12:7; (d) under undeserved affliction, 1Pe 2:20; or active, i.e. = "persistence, perseverance," as (e) in well doing, Rom 2:7 (KJV, "patient continuance"); (f) in fruit bearing, Luk 8:15; (g) in running the appointed race, Heb 12:1.

"Patience perfects Christian character, Jas 1:4, and fellowship in the patience of Christ is therefore the condition upon which believers are to be admitted to reign with Him, 2Ti 2:12; Rev 1:9. For this patience believers are 'strengthened with all power,' Col 1:11, 'through His Spirit in the inward man,' Eph 3:16.

"In 2Th 3:5, the phrase 'the patience of Christ,' RV, is possible of three interpretations, (a) the patient waiting for Christ, so KJV paraphrases the words, (b) that they might be patient in their sufferings as Christ was in His, see Heb 12:2, (c) that since Christ is 'expecting till His enemies be made the footstool of His feet,' Heb 10:13, so they might be patient also in their hopes of His triumph and their deliverance. While a too rigid exegesis is to be avoided it may, perhaps, be permissible to paraphrase: 'the Lord teach and enable you to love as God loves, and to be patient as Christ is patient.'"** From Notes on Thessalonians by Hogg and Vine pp. 222, 285.

In Rev 3:10, "the word of My patience" is the word which tells of Christ's patience, and its effects in producing "patience" on the part of those who are His (see above on 2Th 3:5).

B. Verbs.

1. hupomeno (G5278), akin to A, No. 1, (a) used intransitively, means "to tarry behind, still abide," Luk 2:43; Act 17:14; (b) transitively, "to wait for," Rom 8:24 (in some mss.), "to bear patiently, endure," translated "patient" (present participle) in Rom 12:12; "ye take it patiently," 1Pe 2:20 (twice). See also under A, No. 1.

Do to my spiritual immaturity I married a non believer in 1963.  It was 11 years before he received Christ.  During at least 6 of those years I compromised my values and beliefs and backslid.  Then I realized that my kids would follow my example so I needed to come back to the Lord.  So I adopted an attitude that even if I were the only one in the family to go to heaven, then I would do it alone.  That is the attitude a secret disciple has.

Early in my marriage I had suffered abuse for attending church and he had often taken my keys away from me so I couldn't drive the 7 miles to church.  Now in 1969 his abuse was mostly verbal.  He was saved in 1974.  During that time God arranged circumstances and brought people into his life at work that he was forced to listen to.  It wore down his resistance.  However, the more I prayed that God change him, the more God changed me and enabled me to love and accept him just as he was.

I always think of Jesus restoring Peter after the resurrection. " Peter, do you AGAPE-love me."  God's love.  Peter replied twice that he PHILEO-loved Jesus.  Brotherly love.  So often my human love falls so short of God's perfect love.   So often I fall on my face before God and ask Him to refill me with His perfect love for the lost, the obnoxious, the ugly, the repulsive.  He died for them too and loves them.

The extent that I love others shows me the extent that I love God. 

13 hours ago, RdJ said:

Yeah the man's part is a lot harder. But not all men do that and then you still have to obey. My dad was not saved. When we got saved he ran away to an old female friend from school. My mom fasted and prayed 3 days and he came back. He hated it there. He has hit her once or twice when she had the nerve to tell his dad that he had to get saved. He could be nasty to her and she asked God to change him and God said: You change. She had to obey him and forgive and bless. He said he first had to believe in her before he could believe in God. She did that. She laid down her life. But to be fair he wasn't some drug addicted mooch. He did a lot for her too. But he got saved thanks to her.

Her dad saved Jews and had to go to a concentration camp, which was so bad that afterwards he became an alcoholic and when he was mad they were all afraid of him and my mom was the youngest and his sweet little girl and they would push her to go to him while in such an agressive mood to 'make daddy happy again". Her mother didn't divorce him. He also got saved before he died.

You just told my testimony!  Wow,. Hard to believe they could be so similar.  The more I prayed for him to change the more God changed me.  He didn't say it, He just did it.  It took 4 years for God to make me the wife that my husband needed.  We were married for 54 years.  

17 hours ago, warrior12 said:

Anyone .    How can this be futher expanded or explained in your own words ?.

The Spiritual person has God's perspective and understanding, having His help to understand the true nature of things.   However the natural man doesn't understand him at all.  

I once had a pastor who was not born again.  He invited me to talk with him so he could "get under my skin".  He simply couldn't understand what I was saying, where I was coming from, or why I did things the way I did.  His shelves were lined with Freud and a lot of other psych books but no Bible dictionaries or commentaries.  I asked him why he became a pastor; he said because that was what his mother wanted.

We are supposed to judge so to evaluate, but we are not to pass judgement upon to condemn.

Luk 6:37  "Judge not, and you will not be judged; condemn not, and you will not be condemned; forgive, and you will be forgiven;

Act 15:19  Therefore my judgment is that we should not trouble those of the Gentiles who turn to 

1Co 10:15  I speak as to sensible people; judge for yourselves what I say.

Our hearts must be cleansed--our innermost being.  

You can give to Israeli Christians and their families through George who owns our forum since many from the church he established in Israel are involved in the war.  You can also get accurate up to date news from him.  His church is near the Dead Sea and Gaza.  He gives an account of how the monies are distributed.  Currently he has not been there since covid & hasn't been able to return.

I visited our local Salvation Army and was not treated well--was not impressed.  However I do know they have done good work elsewhere since I have a friend who was saved through them and delivered from alcohol abuse.  Locally we have a chaplaincy that offers grief counseling, ministers in hospitals, works in nursing homes etc.  It is interdenominational and does a very good work.  It may be under the Lutheran Church. I used to minister in a nursing home through it.   

Just a couple of ideas.   Do go to the organization and check it out.  Personally I am eager to support God's work and like you I want to be sure the Gospel is being shared with the assistance.

Lastest?  What dictionary did you find that word in?