*Zion*

Ok, but once lost, how do we regain, or help one another regain it?

I agree. Ok, so this is a trust/faith issue. So let me ask again: how do we encourage one another out of insecurities? Let's face it, many insecure people are defensive and don't want to admit that they are in fact insecure...

Oxford English Dictionary: security Pronunciation: /sɪˈkjʊərɪti, sɪˈkjɔːrɪti/ noun (plural securities) 1 [mass noun] the state of being free from danger or threat:the system is designed to provide maximum security against toxic spills job security the state of feeling safe, stable, and free from fear or anxiety:this man could give her the emotional security she needed What makes people insecure? How can we regain security again? Is it all about confidence? This is what WikiHow had to say about it: http://www.wikihow.com/Build-Self-Confidence I thought it was pretty good, but what does the Word of God say about it? How can we encourage one another out of stuff or into stuff we may not want to confront without stepping on each others' toes? Jesus has the perfect balance of grace and rebuking. How do we make sure that our security is first and foremost founded on His truth? Not just in prayer, but practically and stuff?

This is why we pray: Your kingdom come, Your will be done; on earth as it is in heaven. Been reminded of some song lyrics lately: "touching heaven, changing earth" and "just one touch from the King changes everything." It's that simple. How amazing! We can live every day here in eternity, if we so choose!!!

This shows the love and awesomeness of God, and the courage that His people have to really break friendship with this world, which hasn't finished getting to its darkest yet.

Hi guys! Been a while... reading up on everyone's replies and while God needs no defense, I'd just like to throw this question out there for consideration to those with doubts - in a spirit of pure encouragement, nothing more: What is truth? What's the test for truth? Many things we know to be true because of experience, but what about the things that people of worldly esteem tell us? Are we supposed to accept someone's theories just because they have degrees/qualifications? Remember, a theory can never be anything more than an educated guess. What do we know of their practical experience? And if they say they do have any, how can we believe them? Are they going to come over for a cup of coffee one day and just happen to show us? How do I know something is reliable and true? Experience. I have to try it out for myself. And not just once; once doesn't tell me anything. Jeremiah 33v3: God says- ‘Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know.’ In Matthew 7v7, Jesus says this- 7 “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. 9 Or what man is there among you who, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? 10 Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent? 11 If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him! 12 Therefore, whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets. 2 Chronicles 1v7 says: On that night God appeared to Solomon, and said to him, “Ask! What shall I give you?” Seems like the Lord wants us to experience Him for ourselves, right? But dare we ask? Before we shut something down, let's have the guts to try it out for ourselves, a really solid investigation in total practicality; instead of just blindly following those who have rejected it without having tried it for themselves either, instead relying upon their esteemed opinions based on pure guesswork. More than ever, I'm encouraged to ask God. I have received so much from Him, and I still need so much. And if God Almighty upon His throne wishes to share Himself with me, who am I to refuse? Why would anyone want to? And considering that this gift above all gifts is for ALL, what on earth are we waiting for? Seriously??? What do you think? Worth a try? All it takes is a little faith. From experience, I know that God takes what ever ounce of faith we can scrounge up, and builds on it til He gets something He can work with. He is patient, gracious and accommodating, forcing no pressure upon us at all. The ball is totally in our court. Who's gonna pick it up?

Thanks Joe

Okay, let's take a look at how the Lord Jesus preached the gospel: Matthew 4:17 From that time Jesus began to preach and to say, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” Why must we repent? Well God had already said beforehand: Isaiah 59:1-2 59 Behold, the Lord’s hand is not shortened, That it cannot save; Nor His ear heavy, That it cannot hear. 2 But your iniquities have separated you from your God; And your sins have hidden His face from you, So that He will not hear. I think the core issue here is the level of repentance. How much we see sin as God sees it: as actual sin. How much we despise it and turn away from it. I used to be a very critical and judgemental person, pointing fingers and blaming all the time. I didn't realise it, but I was enjoying it. It made me feel like I was better than everyone else, as I wasn't concentrating on my own flaws, but just everyone else's. But then I read in God's Word about judgement and condemnation, and although a part of me still wanted to be puffed up in the flesh by it, I repented and laid it aside. This didn't just happen in one day. I had to continue to make this decision, because I kept slipping up; but as God dealt with my sin, so I let it go, and then I was able to see what He wanted to show me (I wasn't paying attention before - too busy criticizing) how damaging it can be, and how painful it was. I was using it as a shield against my own hurt, not thinking how I was hurting others all the more. Now, all I want to do is encourage others, and that in itself encourages me. I have seen my sin for what it is, and have allowed to work on it. God still wants to work on the rest of me, and as long as we submit every area of our beings and lives to Him and fulfill that obedience, our repentance will bear good fruit. Be encouraged: repent!!! The only time you don't have to is when you're perfect!

Love ya, Noobs!

Thanks Gnomonist, I know God has given us grace until the end of days to repent and be saved, and that is why He tarries, lest anyone perish. Ok, here's the thing. I've encountered a person who I believe knows God and loves God. However, they have been very much in the flesh, until recently, and would find any excuse not to confront what God has put before them. They would seek out distraction, rather read the Word of God, pray - and then they would ask me to pray for them! This happened over and over again, until finally, I had enough and said to them: 'Look! God doesn't want me to keep talking to Him about you, and He doesn't want to talk to me about you, He wants to talk to you! About you!!!' Now by God's grace, He had this person backed into a corner with no way out of their situation, so they had no choice left but to call upon God. And how they called. But finally they did stop to listen, and God was faithful. He sent His Word into their situation. I just hope they will obey Him, because the enemy had really got them distracted with strong temptations from their past - everybody's got their own baggage, right? But now, if something goes wrong they know it's between them and God. But if they had stayed pressed up in that little corner, or walked away and tried to do it themselves, how far would God let them go before He would release them completely? How far would any of us get? Now I'm not expecting God to fail this person, but I have seen how fickle their heart is. God is indeed patient. But I feel as though they should be warned. After all: "Do not be deceived; God is not mocked." They might fall back into their old ways, and then who knows? Only God!

Yay! Thanks for the fix-up!

I had not considered that this may be the context in which they are referred to... yikes! It's typically a position held by those who believe we are currently in the millennial kingdom, so nothing can be taken literally from that perspective. In just chapter 11 alone you will see that to millennialists, 1 temple=every believer, 2 witnesses=every believer. In other chapters 144,000=every believer, so that could explain why. You'll also notice in chapter 11 that it does not say only two go up, it says the two witnesses go up, it does not say they are the only ones. Oh, it's okay. On another forum, I've met three of the two witnesses, but the one who is the most sure of his position doesn't recognize the other two and says that HE must pick the second witness. It's all very fascinating! Like watching a soap opera! Wow, ok... can I watch too? I wanna see how this one plays out!

Thank you for your responses, you both have given of scripture - and as scripture says, the entrance of His Word brings light. I understand that it is God who does the work in our hearts, but I also understand that we make up our minds how much we allow Him to do in us. How much of our stubbornness/hardheartedness will He put up with, do you think? Ananias and Sapphirah: they lied directly to the Holy Spirit (not just to Paul and the church, as they thought) Peter denied Jesus... Perhaps A&S committing a sin which grieved the Holy Spirit was far worse than Peter deny the Son?? But as I understand it, sin is sin; and have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God... Hmm...

How long will God allow a christian to resist dealing with a sin in their life, once they've been convicted of it? And if they continue to resist it, do they become less of a christian? If so, can they still maintain faith in God while the sin remains an issue in their life? Especially when considering the log/speck/eye aspect of our walk in Christ? How long can we go until we can admit we've got it wrong - however major or minor the issue? Just wondering...

I believe that once we become born again, we literally are born into life in abundance - new, fresh, full, and eternal - all in Christ. We are now alive in the Spirit, and we obediently crucify our flesh and are no longer of the world, but of God. His thoughts and ways are higher and greater than ours, and we grown into Him as our spirits grow and are nurtured by His Word and His Spirit.God is the new dimension in which we live out our lives. John 17:3 And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.

Just beautiful! http://www.godtube.com/watch/?v=6WGPLNNX

I so agree!

I used to say Jeez Louise all the time, thinking nothing of it. Thanks for setting me straight, I repent!

I actually read this today in a London (UK) newspaper! Glad the doe's okay:)

Very sad, but it's a TRUE THING.

God bless you, Gary. Just stick to what God says in His Word - all the Bible is a book of prophecy - can't go wrong with that.

Mark 16:16-18 16 He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned. 17 And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; 18 they[a] will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.”

John 15:17-19 17 These things I command you, that you love one another.18 “If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you. 19 If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. As my pastor likes to say: if the world can't find something wrong with you, it usually means there is something wrong with you!

I'm not following you here, nor am I seeing where we disagree, this is what I posted above. My point is that we cannot avoid it, we are in it constantly. It's up to each of us to take up our own cross in following Christ. Blessings

Sorry to disagree, not that spiritual warfare is fought in the spiritual realm - it is - but I believe we are in constant combat with the enemy. Every time we choose not to give into temptation or the flesh; every time we refuse an evil thought/word/action; every time we choose to lift up the Name of the Lord Jesus and acknowledge Him as God; every time we praise our God! In fact, the very day we accepted God into our lives and we became His, we declared war on the enemy - because we were no longer slaves to sin, but Jesus set us free - and if the Son has set you free, you are free indeed!!! It's not about being craftier than the devil, and outsmarting him with our logic: Ephesians 6:13-18 13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. 14 Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15 and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; 16 above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. 17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; 18 praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints— Truth, righteousness, peace, faith, salvation, God's Word, prayer, watchfulness, perseverance... These are the things that we win the battle with. If you are in God then do not be afraid. God tells us not to, for we are hid in Him. We just need to know where we are standing. The easiest thing to do is take a look at your feet - are they in the world, or are they in God? Even if we have one foot in the world, and one foot in God it doesn't work - we'll end up having to do the splits and will be split apart ourselves. With God it's all or nothing - we can't just be a little bit saved, or a little bit in eternal life. Matthew 5:37 But let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ ‘No.’ For whatever is more than these is from the evil one. James 4:7 Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. When we walk in God's truth, righteousness, peace, faith, salvation, God's Word, prayer, watchfulness, perseverance; we have every right/authority to cast out the enemy from our midst, because we know we have no part in him, and that we do not partake of what he want to give us. How do we gain these spiritual riches/this armour? By seeking out God's holiness in prayer through faith, given to us by His grace, which He did so by placing Himself upon the cross and dying in our place, so that we would not have to receive due punishment instead. Notice that we didn't have to do a thing to have this - except accept it. God bless you so much!!!