Willa

I still love this hymn.  I grew up in The Christian Church which denied the Trinity saying the word wasn't in the Bible, so they reworded their hymnal removing the word Trinity from this.   Having eyes that do not see.

7 hours ago, Your closest friendnt said:

To say if you do not have Jesus Christ then you belong to the Devil, this is one of the erroneous beliefs common to christianity

I understand what you are saying about satan losing his power because of Jesus' death and resurrection.  Jesus bruised his head.  A concussion.   His power over us due to fear of death was destroyed by His resurrection.  Heb. 2:  that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil,  Heb 2:15  and release those who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.

Satan no long holds the power of death.  Christians are set free from bondage to fear of death.  However, those who don't trust in Christ are still in bondage to that fear.  

Only those who have been presented the Gospel and are being drawn by the Holy Spirit can be in the valley of decision.  The Bible doesn't support your theory that all unsaved humanity is now in the valley of decision.

 I do believe that those who have rejected Christ God will continue to call especially if we are praying for them that God soften their hearts. 

 Rom 8:9  But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His. Rom 8:10  And if Christ is in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit is life because of righteousness.Rom 8:11  But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.

To me this clearly says that only those who are born again of the Holy Spirit will be resurrected to everlasting life.  To have the Holy Spirit dwelling in us is to have Christ.  If we have Christ, we have life.  Those who don't have Christ, don't have life everlasting.

7 hours ago, Your closest friendnt said:

Back to the earlier issue at hand, the Devil never bought the human race as it is claimed in the post, it held it captive....That's why it was announced in the prophets when the Messiah the Christ of God will come will set the CAPTIVES FREE...

Blessings dear friendnt.  I fear you have misunderstood.  I believe we are saying the same thing.

I didn't ever say that the devil bought the human race.    Due to the sin of Adam all mankind inherited his sin nature.  Rom 5:12  Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned—Rom 5:19  For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so also by one Man's obedience many will be made righteous.

Col 1:12  giving thanks to the Father who has qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in the light.Col 1:13  He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, Col 1:14  in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins.

Col 1:13  AMP, ALT3 [The Father] has delivered and drawn us to Himself out of the control and the dominion of darkness and has transferred us into the kingdom of the Son of His love.

 The redeemer has always been the person who could buy us back from slavery.  People sold themselves into slavery to work off a debt.  The near relative who could pay off the debt could redeem them and buy them out of slavery.  When Adam sinned all mankind became slaves to sin.  By default that meant we were under the or dominion of darkness.  Jesus our Redeemer paid our sin debt with His own blood.  We only need to accept that and receive Christ as our Redeemer/Savior.  

Satan did not buy us.  Adam placed himself and his descendants into the devil's kingdom when he chose to obey satan instead of God.  God kicked mankind out of the garden.  Christ redeemed us  (bought our freedom) out of slavery to sin.

re·deem| rəˈdēm | verb [with object]•  • archaic buy the freedom of. To gain or regain possession of something in exchange for payment.  To Pay the necessary money to clear a debt.

Joh 8:34  Jesus answered them, "Most assuredly, I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin.  Rom 6:16  Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are that one's slaves whom you obey, whether of sin leading to death, or of obedience leading to righteousness?  Rom 6:18  And having been set free from sin, you became slaves of righteousness.

We were all a part of Satan's kingdom.  When we repented and turned to God, realizing that we couldn't be God pleasing in our own strength but need His help,  God applied Christ's righteousness on our accounts and placed our sinfulness on Christ's account. He died because of our sin.  

2Co 5:21  For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

Rom 4:22  That is why his (Abraham's)faith was "counted to him as righteousness."Rom 4:23  But the words "it was counted to him" were not written for his (Abraham's) sake alone,  Rom 4:24  but for ours also. It will be counted to us who believe in Him who raised from the dead Jesus our Lord,  Rom 4:25  Who was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification.

 He paid for us with His blood.  That is called redemption.  Christ bought us back from satan.  He purchased us with His blood.  We are now in God's kingdom, not satan's;  God owns us now.

Rom 4:5  And to the one who does not work but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness,https://www.blueletterbible.org/assets/images/copyChkboxOff.gif

Rom 5 :9  Therefore, since we are now justified (acquitted, made righteous, and brought into right relationship with God) by Christ's blood, how much more [certain is it that] we shall be saved by Him from the indignation and wrath of God.

1Pe 1:18 knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers 1Pe 1:19  but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.

 Rev 5:9. And they sang a new song, saying:
“You are worthy to take the scroll,
And to open its seals;
For You were slain,
And have redeemed us to God by Your blood
Out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation,

We are not saved by being good.  Our salvation is a free gift from God while we were still filthy in sin.  He conferred Christ's righteousness on us and Christ took our sinfulness to the cross.  

Yes we still must die daily, putting to death the old man with his sinful inclination, and put on Christ and walk in His righteousness.  So we focus on spreading God's love and forgiveness and on serving others. When we fall we confess it to God, trust Him to clean us up, and continue to follow Christ.  

If we listen to satan's condemnation or condemn ourselves we quench the Holy Spirit and don't accept God's forgiveness.  That is what hinders our walk.  We hurt ourselves and sometimes others when we fall, but we need to confess our sin to God and to anyone else involved, and the get back to walking with Him.

On 8/22/2022 at 2:26 AM, kwikphilly said:

Here I go " poor me" again...   Oh Lord,I'm irritating myself!

lol!  You remind me of Corrie Ten Boon when she chided herself,  and that is one of the things I love the most about her.  

Mat 11:28  NKJV Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.

Mat 11:29  Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.

Mat 11:30  For My yoke is easy and My burden is light."

Love you, Kwikie.  I know in part what it is like because of severe asthma coupled with severe bronchitis some years ago.  I sat up to be able to get any sleep.  Have been praying for you.  So many pain meds and sleep meds hinder breathing.  

Lord Jesus, please breathe into Kwikie the breath of life and fill her again with Your Spirit.  Please help her to rest in You and commit her problems to You.  Just hold her in Your arms. Please bless her without measure and clear the path before her.  Heal her and take away the pain, Dear Father.  We ask this in the Name of Jesus Christ our Savior and our God.  Amen

2 hours ago, missmuffet said:

Heart burn? If that is the case you are taking a risk. 

Miss Muffy, thank you for your concern. I see a gastroenterologist regularly and follow his prescriptions.  This is the third one I have seen and the best.  If you are concerned, pray.  I am resting in God's hands.  

54 minutes ago, missmuffet said:

If the heart burn continues for 5 years or more it can cause cancer of the esophagus. 

I have had it for 40 years and so far no cancer by God's grace.

5 hours ago, believeinHim said:

Yes, The Medications do have side effects.

Many meds can cause dry mouth which makes it hard to swallow.  Heartburn can also scar the esophagus, narrowing it so that food can't go down easily.  There are meds that can help the heartburn. Also, drinking something that makes your mouth water might help  as well.

1 hour ago, Starise said:

Weighing yourself can be a very tricky thing since we weigh different weights at different times of the day. Something as simple as having a full bladder or consuming a lot of water can throw the scale off. When the nurse at the doc weighs me she doesn't ask me to empty my pockets or take off my shoes. 

I always do those things at the MD office.  Remove coat, shoes etc. They don't ask but that is my habit.  At home I weigh in nightgown and bare feet before I drink anything or eat breakfast.  It is necessary to monitor a heart condition.  

Matthew 5:27-28;  1 Corinthians chapters 5-7 ;  Romans  chapter 1 are only a few areas that deal with sex.  The subject is mentioned all through the scriptures, both old and new testaments.  

On 3/26/2022 at 7:51 PM, other one said:

According to Biblegateway::::

The following Bibles in our library are in the public domain:

American Standard Version (ASV)

Darby Translation (DARBY) 

Douay-Rheims 1899 American Edition (DRA)

King James Version (KJV) 

World English Bible (WEB)

Young's Literal Translation (YLT)

Reina-Valera Antigua (RVA)

Biblia Sacra Vulgata (VULGATE)

 I understand that he translator of WEB wanted it to not be copyrighted but the publishers required it.  All most copyrights require is that we place the initials of the translation before the text when we are just quoting passages.  We are usually not allowed to quote the whole book or testament.  

The Didache  was a very early Christian writing that was used to disciple new converts.  It was written during the time that the Gospels were written.  It is interesting for its historical background of the early church, how it functioned and what it taught.  For instance, it taught there should be fasting and prayers before baptism and how that the baptism should be preformed. It should not be used for doctrine.

The books not included in the New Testament but which are often called lost books are most often written by members of the Gnostic cult in the 2nd or 3rd centuries.  They often wrote simply blasphemous things.  As a child, Jesus didn't kill some kid, for instance.  How do we know that?  Many New Testament books refer to Jesus as being without sin, and the whole message of our redemption is founded on that.  He was the perfect Lamb of God.  New believers can easily be led astray by the claims of the Gnostics.  As others have said, it is OK for people to read them who read their Bibles often over many years.  We learn to recognize  the false by first getting familiar with the truth of God's word.  It also helps to keep on being filled with the Holy Spirit Who leads us into all truth.

The Old Testament Apocrypha was not in the original Hebrew manuscript which is why Luther rejected them.  They were added later.  As others have said, some of these have historical value. Luther considered them good to read, but some contain really weird stuff, like Bell and the Dragon.  Some have blatant historical errors in them.  We believe they cannot be inspired of God if they contain such error. 

2 Maccabees 12: 44-45 in the Apocrypha contains a story about Judas who inspects the bodies of many slain in a battle and finds they all had idols carried on them that they had prayed to.  So Judas takes up an offering for them for a sin offering to atone for the dead, and prayed for them.  To my knowledge this was not Jewish practice.  

This is where the Catholic Church gets the blasphemous doctrine of praying for the dead, and being able to buy a loved one out of hell or purgatory.  By doing this they completely nullify the sufficiency of the blood of Jesus Christ to pay for our sin.  If this were used for historical use alone it might be OK, or even as a picture of what Christ would do on the Cross.  But it was used by the church to establish doctrines that allowed people to pray to and for the dead as well as to pay the church to get dead loved ones into heaven by holding special masses and to give money to atone for their sins, thus bypassing the sufficiency of His shed blood!. " Catholic authorities admit that there is no explicit authorization for prayers on behalf of the dead in the sixty-six books of canonical Scripture. Instead, they appeal to the Apocrypha (2 Maccabees 12:45), church tradition, the decree of the Council of Trent, etc., to defend the practice.  Got Questions.

 Jesus Himself condemned this as trying to get into the sheepfold another way than through Him, the door.  Many other scriptures also refute these practices on every level.  However,  historical errors alone were sufficient for not believing the Maccabees to be sacred infallible Scripture.

18 hours ago, enoob57 said:

bring in the meek and quiet scales

I even tell people my age but never tell what the scale reveals.  

17 hours ago, David1701 said:

I have all three of those translations (well, I have the ALTD, which is easier to read than the ALT3, because the notes don't clutter up the text), and several more besides.  It's good to have various translations to compare.

The World English Bible (WEB) is also quite a good, freely available translation, based on a Majority Text (in the NT); and the English Majority Text Version is a good New Testament, also based on a Majority Text.

Thank you, good to know about EMTV--not familiar with it.  I used to use WEB but it didn't upload to my E Sword, which gave me KJV text but labeled it WEB.  In 1958 I cut my teeth on AMP; ALT3 reads a little like it but without opinion. A very good study reference.  I wish they had a sample of ALTD that I could read, like a page so I could compare.   Have you seen any of Zeolla's Old Testament translations?

I respect the ESV because it has returned many of the passages left out by so called earlier manuscripts.  It is very readable.   But NKJV is probably more reliable.  I like to compare them.  

A lesser known translation is the (ALT3)  Analytical-Literal Translation of the New Testament, Third Edition by Gary F. Zeolla. It reads a little like Amplified but includes much less opinion.  It is an excellent reference and uses the 2nd edition of the Byzantine Majority text.

13 hours ago, Not me said:

For in the most simplest terms walking in the Spirit, is simply trusting God’s love for one, being that, walking in faith that God’s love is pointed towards them personally…. So then this truth; the just shall live by trusting God’s love for them

When I walk in the spirit I feel God's compassion for someone else and see their need.  This compels me to reach out to the person to help them.  Sometimes it is only to pray that God meets their need.  Sometimes I just sit and listen to them. Occasionally it is something practical to do for them.  God pours His love through me--it is not my own love.  Before I was saved I was not the Good Samaritan.  I passed as far as I could get on the other side or just stared at a person in need.  God's compassion won't let me do that anymore.  

7 hours ago, B-B said:

there aren’t many of us Christian women able to live up to that standard…

Your response reminds me of when the church ladies learned my husband wasn't a Christian.  They read 1 Peter 3:1-4 to me:

 1Pe 3:1. In the same way, you wives, be submissive to your own husbands so that even if any of them are disobedient to the word, they may be won without a word by the behavior of their wives.   1Pe 3:2 as they observe your chaste (modest) and respectful behavior.                                                                                           1Pe 3:3 Your adornment must not be merely external—braiding the hair, and wearing gold jewelry, or putting on dresses            1Pe 3:4  but let it be the hidden person of the heart, with the imperishable quality of a (meek) gentle and quiet spirit, which is precious in the sight of God.

 I replied:  "Me?  Meek and quiet?  You've got to be kidding!!!"  Yet that passage told me what God was trying to do in my life and how He wanted to change me.  50 years later am I meek and quiet? Well, perhaps I am meeker and quieter.  lol

Mar 14:23  Then He took the cup, and when He had given thanks He gave it to them, and they all drank from it.

Mar 14:24  And He said to them, "This is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many.

Mar 14:25  Assuredly, I say to you, I will no longer drink of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God."

Jesus was celebrating the Passover seder when He drank the cup with His disciples.  He is promising that He will come again to celebrate the Passover with them.  It wasn't so mush about what He was drinking as it was what they were celebrating--the Passover feast remembering when the death angel passed over the homes of the Jews with the Blood of the Lamb on their door posts so that their sons were not killed in Egypt.  This ritual feast requires many types of food  with readings and songs, and a serving of wine with each course.  

I have celebrated this only twice, many years ago, but it was a huge blessing--sort of like visiting the Holy Land and walking where Jesus walked.                                                                                      Historically the wine was very dilute with only enough alcohol to keep one from getting sick from bad water.

I like to call myself an Eisenhower republican because my grandchildren act like they have never heard of him.  Of course, if they are reading Obama's history books, they may not have.  lol. I remember seeing him in 1953.   

On 8/1/2022 at 10:53 AM, Starise said:

while you're at it could you throw in a prayer for Kwik?

God totally healed Kwik of stage 4 cancer some years ago.  It returned after years of her being cancer free.  

The same thing happened to another friend.  The doctors had told her to get her affairs in order since she also was in stage 4 and her organs were shutting down.  All treatment had failed and there was nothing else they could do.   She deeded her house to her daughter.    That night several friends from different churches gathered around her bed and prayed for her for several hours.  Slowly the huge liver tumor that had broken 2 ribs started to disappear till some months later she was totally cancer free.  I knew her well and saw this happen.   Years later the cancer returned and she is now with the Lord.

I agree that healing side shows are wrong and too many are done by actors.  On the other hand, God still heals today.  My husband was healed within 3 hours after our pastors anointed him with oil and prayed for him during their noon hour.  He had horrible pain from a pinched nerve in his neck that had him bed ridden for a month.  It was completely gone by 4 PM.  Our pastors rarely talk about the answers to prayer they have seen.  When they do they speak of them with hushed voices and in awe of what God has done.  Holy ground.  In fact, many people complain about no healings or miracles occurring in our church.  They just don't know about what God is doing here.  We get more excited about people being saved and growing in their faith.  Our pastors are focused on teaching the word, chapter by chapter.

 Never have I been a fan of Kathryn Kuhlman.  However, 2 friends went to one of her meetings and watched a severely deformed club foot straighten before their eyes.  The guy was not on stage.  They were sitting across the isle from the person.  Personally I think that God answered the prayers of the people around him who had compassion and the courage to ask.  

I stopped doubting the miracles in the Bible when I saw and experienced them myself.

On 7/26/2022 at 11:02 AM, backontrack said:

Is it risky praying for people to be healed? The church I attend encourages its members to pray for peoples healing if they fill Gods spirit or holy spirit move them to do so. I believe in healing as Jesus healed many so did the disciples. The biggest fear can I be sued for doing this! 

 

God is responsible for healing them.  We ask Him to heal them.  I would like to see someone try to sue God.