WillfromTexas

There was a girl once that I loved with all my heart. She wanted kids badly but I was also in college and we didn't have the money. We weren't Christians and lived as if we were married. She became increasingly desperate to have kids and she was only 22 and I didn't get it. To me there would be plenty of time later when we were finished with school and give them a good life. Long story short... She worked in a medical office and constantly had sleazy doctors hitting on her. Eventually she gave in because she wanted to have kids so badly. They got married and had two kids- lasted 4 years before divorce. He eventually commited suicide and left her penniless. If she had only waited for me I'd loved her forever. So don't discount what you have right now just because you're in a rush. Patience is a virtue.

Never had one and never will! After watching that news story on that young woman who got that syndrome... Well I'll just take my chances. She was a normal woman but had a rare reaction and now can't walk or stand. Life ruined. Everytime my doctor asks me if I want the shot I tell him "No thanks. I don't want to get that Rosanne Baar syndrome where you become fat and obnoxious!" Usually gets a laugh. This lady has every right to decide what she wants put in her body. The shot isn't a guarantee against the flu either or would she be any more of a risk than all those coughing and hacking people in the waiting room. Waiting rooms are NASTY and you're risking your life reading those magazines... I've seen a person using a magazine for a kleenex before. I'm a bit of a germ-a-phobe anyway.

The Bible clearly states that cursing and profane language are wrong and you've been given scripture after scripture. God did not give us a list of words because he knew they would change and evolve over time. He did give us a brain and the Holy Spirit to recognise sin. You can harden your heart against it and in turn grieve the Holy Spirit. Intentionally grieving God will not go unnoticed by him- trust me I know. God won't be mocked and his grace abused. Repentence is required to be born again and that means to turn from sin and change your mind about it. Not embrace it and condone it or the acts of this foul mouthed false Christian woman. We are saved by grace and even the worst sins imaginable are covered by grace. We serve the Lord out of gratitude for saving us from our sins and not because we're under a taskmaster. God doesn't condone sin and never will. Grace isn't a license to sin and as a Christian we are suppose to be light to this dark world. What kind of light are you reflecting and what makes you any different from somebody unsaved? We are called to be in this world and not of this world. Living a life of seeking out sin- drugs, women, or whatever worldly pleasure leads to misery. You might think it sounds great and we're missing something as Christians. It is actually them who are missing out on all life can be through the fullness of Christ. I remember sitting in my apartment many years ago before becoming a Christian with a stack of money, drugs, and women to spare. Everything I thought I wanted and I'd never felt so empty in my entire life. Jesus will fill you with the good things of life and you won't even enjoy sinning. As Christians we still are sinners and sin- even bad thoughts are considered sins. You think we are trying to pawn off some holier than though attitude but that is far from the truth. Most of us here don't think we are better than others because we seek not to sin. The point is we all are sinners striving to live a life for Christ and that means avoiding sinning.

Awesome! I've always been a space nut and watch NASA TV all the time. Love when they just show the Earth and views from space but they aren't in real time. Darn reruns of the Earth spinning! lol Be sure and sign up for the beta invites. http://www.urthecast.com/

You know who knows what you did? Jesus. You've laid up treasure in Heaven! You aren't alone Kay and resentment can be rough... I'm dealing with quite a bit of resentment myself and it's rough. All we can do is ask the Lord to help us with these feelings and take them away. I think the Lord respects our feelings and understands. His ways are higher than ours and sometimes it's hard to understand the trials and tribulations. It's at that point you just have to say Jesus I trust you despite my lack of understanding. The end result is bitterness though and nobody wants to go there. Like a dum dum I let myself become bitter over a few issues in my life and I was the only one that suffered. The people that hurt me are off living there lives having a high ho time. Putting things in perspective will help but I won't say it is easy. It is constantly in my prayers to take all bitterness, resentment, and hatred out of my heart and replace it with your love oh Lord. You have a good heart and did the right thing. What was your only alternative? You could have been just like her uncaring children and dealing with 'I wished I'd helped instead of I helped and wasn't recognized'. Another thing to keep in mind is old people are easily manipulated and she probably was forced to rewrite her will. That just happened to me and an aunt- my cousin walked off with EVERYTHING $400,000 and he was already rich from what he'd strong armed my grandma into giving him everything. Also if she had no will it would automatically default to her children. I'd imagine that's what happened. One thing is I am sure that lady you helped remembered, appreciated, and loved you.

There's something obviously evil behind profanity because you can catch it like a virus. My first word was the B word so... By my teens I think I added and S... to every sentence. That was such a great movie- and S... I'm going to go eat - and S... It became a real problem and I couldn't even stop myself without dicipline. Eventually I had everybody I knew doing it! Not intentionally it is just the nature of curse words. I was no stranger to cursing and then I got around people that couldn't exhale without cursing. This rubbed off on me like a disease and I became so foul mouthed and everybody I knew started picking up my vocabulary. Even after I became a Christian it came up again and I found myself using bad words. My beliefs were similar to yours at the time and I didn't think it was a big deal. Then God started really dealing with me on the issue and telling me to stop. I had even developed a black spot on my tongue that had no explanation. I couldn't brush it away and even the dentist shrugged. After I finally laid it all at the feet of the Lord I finally had a breakthrough and lost all desire to curse. Now I don't even like to be around cursing and it makes me very uncomfortable. After I had settled in my mind it was wrong and to stop. The black spot on my tongue brushed right off! Right then I made the connection that spot was there due to my cursing. Yeah I know kind of a weird story but it is true. When God finally deals with you on the issue you'll see that it is a tool of Satan and not just evolved language.

Are you trying to say they are adding new definitions to already defined words? Other than that I'm not sure where you're going with it. Words have been defined for years and people need dictionaries.

Before giving my life to Christ I studied them and none of them rang true. Just an exploratory when trying to find out if the Bible was true. Most other religions can be taken apart on a fundamental level and Christianity can't although they try. I'd been into some weird things since my youth studying the mind. ESP, mind control, astral projection, etc... While they aren't labeled a religion they are demonic. I was just too ignorant and not a true Christian at the time to understand. After you get saved I think you are kind of repelled by the Holy Spirit against other religions. You see them for what they are and aren't blinded. Now what I did was dangerous and I wouldn't recommend following the path I took to Jesus. Studying other religions or experimenting with psychic stuff can open you up to demonic activity. God I believe would rather you use that time to study his word and become stronger in it. When you know the Bible you'll have all the tools needed to show people errors in their religion.

Merry Christmas!

There's a lot of good commentary on this subject worth reading. Frankly I had missed this verse or it had been glossed over in my studies. It is indeed a verse that makes you stop and take note. One thing I know is Jesus meant something other than his literal second coming. Your Bible should be trusted even if you don't understand everything. Trust God and search for answers because the answers can be found. Thankfully my salvation doesn't hang on my tiny brains understanding an infinite God. Even the angels are intrigued by the mystery of Christ's salvation. After reading several commentaries I feel satisfied with the transfiguration experience explanation. Actually it makes the transfiguration make more sense to me. I had always wondered why Jesus decided to show his glory and let his inner circle watch. Here's two different views but I lean to the transfiguration view personally. Here's a few helpful commentaries courtesy of biblegateway. 16:28 will not taste death until. Although this statement has been interpreted as referring to the Transfiguration (17:1, 2), the language implies a period longer than a week. Another possibility is the destruction of Jerusalem (10:23 note), but the context here is not specifically related to the judgment of Israel. The “coming” of the Son of Man more likely here relates to the entire process by which Jesus receives dominion, especially His resurrection, ascension, and sending of the Spirit. All these things happened during the lifetime of the disciples. The Transfiguration could also be the initial event in this process witnessed by the disciples. The Son of Man's Glory (16:28-17:13) Had the disciples any doubt that Jesus would someday come to reign in glory (16:27), he promises them a proleptic vision of his glory in the present (16:28). In a narrative that resembles Moses' revelation on Mount Sinai, the disciples become witnesses like Moses of Jesus' divine glory (17:1-8). The six days (17:1) probably allude to Exodus 24:15-18 (see, for example, Mauser 1963:111). The bright cloud (Mt 17:5; Ex 24:15) and other features of the narrative likewise recall the revelation on Mount Sinai. The appearance in Matthew 17:3 of the literal Moses and Elijah (both of whom had experiences with God on Mount Horeb) invite the reader to consider the other allusions to Moses (17:2-5) and Elijah (17:10-13) later in the narrative. Jesus the Glorious Lord (16:28-17:3) When Jesus again takes some disciples aside for private instruction (15:21; 16:13; see comment on 13:10-17), his transfiguration among them provides a foretaste of his glory when he will return to judge the earth (16:28). Various suggestions for the background for Jesus' proleptic "glorification" could be offered here, but a variety of allusions combine to point to Moses in the Old Testament. After Moses beheld God's glory, his own face shone with that glory (Ex 34:29-35; compare Ps-Philo 12:1; 19:16). Despite the clear testimony of Deuteronomy 34 (see also 1 Enoch 89:38), some of Jesus' contemporaries doubted that Moses had died (Sipre Deut. 357.10.5; ARN 12A), living on like Elijah and some other figures (compare 4 Ezra 6:27; pace Jos. Ant. 9.28). The Bible itself claimed that both Elijah (Mal 4:4-5) and a prophet like Moses (Deut 18:15-19) would return. Most important, this literal Moses and Elijah also capture the reader's attention for the figurative new Elijah (Mt 17:12) and new Moses-Jesus-of whom this text speaks. But while the text may present Jesus as a new Moses (especially 17:5), it also presents him as something more. It portrays the disciples as witnesses of his glory on the mountain, just as Moses and Elijah heard God on Mount Sinai (see Moiser 1985). The presence of Moses and Elijah indicates that Jesus is incomparably greater than the prophets with whom some were comparing him (16:14; compare Thrall 1970:316).

He was a local guy from my city and it was very sad to read in the paper. According to the paper he knew the dangers as did his wife and of course they expected the best. He had made many many friends there and unfortunately had fell into a false sense of security. That's a tactic used by many muslims. Might have been one of his own students that tipped off the gunmen or were the gunmen! She is demonstrating what it means to be a true Christian in my humble opinion. I'll be honest it sure wouldn't be easy for me and I'm sure it wasn't easy for her.

Here's a from a free resource that allows reposting their material -Helltruth. I didn't write this but it's what I'd say if I could speak so well. The Rich Man & Lazarus Doesn't the story of the rich man and Lazarus in Luke 16:19-31 teach an eternal hell of torment? No, Indeed! It is simply a parable used to emphasize a point. Many facts make it clear that this is a parable. A few are as follows: Abraham's bosom is not heaven (Hebrews 11:8-10, 16) People in hell can't talk to those in heaven (Isaiah 65: 17) The dead are in their graves (Job 17:13; John 5:28, 29). The rich man was in bodily form with eyes, a tongue, etc., yet we know that the body does not go to hell at death. It is very obvious that the body remains in the grave, as the Bible says. If you'd like to know more about what happens after you die visit The Truth About Death website. Men are rewarded at Christ's second coming, not at death (Revelation 22:11, 12) The lost are punished in hell at the end of the world, not when they die (Matthew 13:40-42). The point of the story is found in verse 31 of Luke 16. Parables cannot be taken literally. If we took parables literally, then we must believe that trees talk! (See this parable in Judges 9:8-15). By representing the beggar as being in heaven and the rich man as lost, Jesus taught His hearers that, contrary to the prevailing view, wealth was not necessarily an indicator of divine favor, just as poverty was not a sign of God's judgement upon a person. Jesus was also seeking to educate the Jews that salvation would not be theirs by birthright. The rich man in torments calls out to "father Abraham," just as the Jews of Jesus' day were mistakenly pointing to heritage as proof of their assurance of salvation. Furthermore, Jesus was seeking to lead His hearers to understand that only faithfulness to God's Word would prepare them to enter into eternal life. He told them, "If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead" (Luke 16:31).

I think Dak was kind of looking for more personal stories about our own fathers? The title might be better What you wish your Father knew? That's the route I'm going to go with my post. Dak your father sounds a lot like mine. Despite your best efforts he never took the time to get close to you. You have an opprotunity though if your father is still alive and not out of his mind like mine. Of course I know where you are coming from and understand it isn't that easy. Like you I wanted to attend college and was interested in science, technology, and everything my father wasn't. He'd tell me that I could get a job digging ditches and that seemed to be his highest aspiration for me. When he had to keep me while my mom worked he'd lock me in my room and make me stay in bed all day. Would never let me go outside. I dreaded him and lived in fear enduring mercilous beatings after beating after beating. My mother and him fought like animals and my house was only filled with hate. Once my mother and I had went to the garden nursery and bought all kinds of flower bulbs to plant in front of our house. I spent every day working on my little garden and was so proud of my work. All my flowers were about to bloom. Then my father wanted me to go with him to an auto store or something and I didn't want to go. I walked out to work on my garden and he'd pulled up all my flowers and layed them out on the sidewalk and destroyed my garden. Needless to say it hurt me deeply and set the tone for the rest of our lives. He killed my love and any feelings I had for him at that point. I remember being 4 years old and my father's birthday was Dec 26th the day after Christmas. My mom just wanted to joke around and told me to go tell my dad 'Happy Birthday Old Man!' He was laying in front of the stereo in his wife beater shirt and underwear listening to music. So I walk in there and say 'Happy Birthday Old Man!' He blew up 'YOU SON OF A ...' Then slapped me to the ground with all his might. All this time he's claiming to be a Christian. Later on in life around age 11-13 he started dragging me to an ultra-pentecostal church but he never changed. He never knew the Christ I know and played to the sadistic hellfire and brimstone God that is a religion based on fear. They never preached about a loving God only one that was only more than happy to send you to eternal damnation if you didn't follow all these imaginary rules. I'm leaving out a lot but i'll try and stay on subject. By 17 I had completely rebelled against my father, God, and everything else. Still in High School I was spending 3-4 nights a week going to and working at clubs. Now they'd be called Raves where the drugs and women were easy to get. I remember working the club and it being 2-3 AM and seeing my father roaming around downtown looking for me. I'd just step back inside the club so he'd never find me. After that I'd kind of settled down with a girl and we lived like a married couple. She was good for me though and I had stopped doing drugs and made it to college. During this time my father and I were probably the closest and that wasn't all that close but I was too big to beat anymore. After much loss- loss of my fiancee I turned to the world for comfort and put God completely out of my life. This went on for a few years until my health gave out from staying up months at a time. After I had lost everything I finally turned back to God and got saved for real. I sat around waiting to die for years but the Lord kept me here. Maybe it was to reconcile with my father. He had colon cancer and almost died himself, 15 years ago, and that was a real turning point. We prayed for him and God truly healed him and he's still alive today at 87 soon to be 88 on Dec 26th. During this time I did my best to try and forgive and I did. As Christians we MUST forgive even if it is the hardest thing we ever do. But he still never had it in himself to try and really get to know me. I guess there are some people that just don't have it in them. 4 years ago my father lost his mind- literally. He almost killed us all having hallucinations and owning well over 100 guns. It was a very scary time and my entire family was at their wits end. We found out that he had lesions on his brain and spinalcord and finally got him settled down after a year. Looking back I now can see how he probably had a mental illness for his entire life and it all came out in his old age. Now he is an invalid and guess who is his caretaker? Yep me. Out of his 6 children I'm the only one that made the sacrifice and I am in bad health myself. Between my 82 year old mother and me we manage to keep him out of a nursing home. I'm not sure why I got into all this but I did. Maybe there is somebody out there that will treat their son with more dignity. Remember the child you abuse today may end up being your caretaker- just hope he became a Christian. If you are a Christian never use God as your scapegoat and expect the Church to reform them. Nothing can replace a real father. If you claim to be a Christian then live like one and show your family the love Jesus shown us all. Try and find a common interest with your son even if you aren't really interested.

It means to stand up for the Gospel even at your own personal expense. Crosses come in all shapes and sizes- some big and some small. One personal example I've used is my best friend since 7th grade. His wife is Jewish and hates Christians with a bitter passion... When she found out I was a Christian she forced my friend to cut ties with me. We were close as brothers and always promised to be friends. I give up this friendship for the sake of Jesus but I can't say it doesn't hurt. Or maybe you are young and your friends are going off to a drunken party. They use to have these things called Keggers where somebody got a keg of beer and head to an abandon road. Use to be a big thing when I was in high school and there were kids there as young as 15. If I had any sense and were a Christian back then I'd said noway or had any desire to attend one. Now I know that's a fairly small cross but you'll be shunned by your other peers at school. Jesus goes on to say he hasn't come to bring peace and for his sake. It will turn family and friends against you for professing Christ. You might lose your job or even your life depending on where you are in the world. Think how heavy a cross it must be for a Christian in Syria or other muslim dominant countries. When Jesus speaks of leaving his peace to us it is referring to the peace we can have as Christians even during trials and tribulations. Peace inside when everything and everyone around us in chaos. Many confuse and think it means Christ will bring peace to every situation in the world. When the angels cried 'Peace on Earth!" They were referring to peace with God and man- not peace between man and man. Anyway guess I am getting a bit off the subject here. Luke 12: 51 Do you suppose that I have come to give peace upon earth? No, I say to you, but rather division; 52 For from now on in one house there will be five divided [among themselves], three against two and two against three. 53 They will be divided, father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law.

I'm personally boycotting A&E and won't watch any of their shows anymore. Some of my favorite shows on on their like the First 48 but this makes me upset. First I had silently praised them for having Christian faith shown on Duck Dynasty but now they do this... I guess as long as he was politically correct it was tolerated. This is just a personal decision for me and I won't be watching their network anymore.

People try and say it is wrong but I don't see the issue. I know this one thing for sure- I'd rather a CHRISTIAN WIN - somebody that would hopefully use some for God's glory. I know I wouldn't be greedy and would help many many people.

This is a great topic. Almost thought it said 'parables' lol... Then I was wondering why is he talking about Samson, rofl. Sheesh my eyes- I have cataract surgery Jan 7- need some major prayer on that btw. So many great ones but I guess the one that stands out to me is the Prodigal Son. God was always portrayed to me as an almost sadistic being in hellfire and brimstone churches. They taught me God was mean and cruel. Thankfully I learned who God was for myself through the Bible. Like a prodigal son I was also wayward and the greatest thing I ever found out was God is a loving Father waiting for us all with open arms. All he ever wants is for us to come home.

Is there such a thing as righteous anger? Anger is anger and it isn't a sin- it's what you do in anger that is the sin. Even God gets angry, and he certainly doesn't sin, it is a God given emotion. I guess if there is righteous indignation it is being angry at those that blashphemy the Lord. When I see non-believers make fun of Christians or the History channel twist the Bible into something unholy I get mad. The Bible makes it clear though that we should strive not to be in an angry state. Don't get anger mixed up with hatred. Hate is an entity all to itself where you wish harm. Anger is going to happen no matter how well a grip you have on your emotions. I understand your anger issues... I have struggled with them myself dealing with life's frustrations and things beyond my control. Like you I strive not to be angry but with family members that know how to push your buttons and seek to anger you- it's going to happen. Do your best to control it and regular exercise will release your pent up anger the best. A punching bag is great- or just use a pillow- sounds silly but it works. Just knowing you have an anger issue is the first step to you controlling it instead of it controlling you. And always pray about the issue and let the Holy Spirits peace reign in your heart. It's hard to stay angry when you start focusing on the important things of Jesus. Psalm 4:4 Be angry [or stand in awe] and sin not; commune with your own hearts upon your beds and be silent (sorry for the things you say in your hearts). Selah [pause, and calmly think of that]! Ephesians 4:26 When angry, do not sin; do not ever let your wrath (your exasperation, your fury or indignation) last until the sun goes down.

Jesus said the volume of the book is of him- speaking of the OT. Like has been mentioned the only way this makes sense is it being a symbolic vision of Jesus sacrifice. Remember Jesus is our High Priest forever and ever and there won't be orders of priests either as outlined in this chapter. This is just something that has to be taken in light of all scripture and the entire Bible. We know there will be no sin or sinning after Christ's return. There will be no more pain or death. Sin causes seperation from God and we will never be seperated from him again- amen. So in my opinion there won't be sacrifice because there will be no need and there will be no death. Luke 24 (Amplified Bible) 25 And [Jesus] said to them, O foolish ones [sluggish in mind, dull of perception] and slow of heart to believe (adhere to and trust in and rely on) everything that the prophets have spoken! 26 Was it not necessary and [h]essentially fitting that the Christ (the Messiah) should suffer all these things before entering into His glory (His majesty and splendor)? 27 Then beginning with Moses and [throughout] all the Prophets, He went on explaining and interpreting to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning and referring to Himself. Revelation 21:22-24 Amplified Bible (AMP) 22 I saw no temple in the city, for the Lord God Omnipotent [Himself] and the Lamb [Himself] are its temple. 23 And the city has no need of the sun nor of the moon to give light to it, for the splendor and radiance (glory) of God illuminate it, and the Lamb is its lamp. 24 The nations shall walk by its light and the rulers and leaders of the earth shall bring into it their glory. Romans 8:2-4 Amplified Bible (AMP) 2 For the law of the Spirit of life [which is] in Christ Jesus [the law of our new being] has freed me from the law of sin and of death. 3 For God has done what the Law could not do, [its power] being weakened by the flesh [[a]the entire nature of man without the Holy Spirit]. Sending His own Son in the guise of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, [God] condemned sin in the flesh [[b]subdued, overcame, [c]deprived it of its power over all who accept that sacrifice], 4 So that the righteous and just requirement of the Law might be fully met in us who live and move not in the ways of the flesh but in the ways of the Spirit [our lives governed not by the standards and according to the dictates of the flesh, but controlled by the Holy Spirit]. Hebrews 5:4-6 Amplified Bible (AMP) 4 Besides, one does not appropriate for himself the honor [of being high priest], but he is called by God and receives it of Him, just as Aaron did. 5 So too Christ (the Messiah) did not exalt Himself to be made a high priest, but was appointed and exalted by Him Who said to Him, You are My Son; today I have begotten You; 6 As He says also in another place, You are a Priest [appointed] forever after the order (with [a]the rank) of Melchizedek. Isaiah 11:5-7 Amplified Bible (AMP) 5 And righteousness shall be the girdle of His waist and faithfulness the girdle of His loins. 6 And the wolf shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid, and the calf and the young lion and the fatted domestic animal together; and a little child shall lead them. 7 And the cow and the bear shall feed side by side, their young shall lie down together, and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. Isaiah 65:24-25 Amplified Bible (AMP) 24 And it shall be that before they call I will answer; and while they are yet speaking I will hear. 25 The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, and the lion shall eat straw like the ox; and dust shall be the serpent’s food. They shall not hurt or destroy in all My holy Mount [Zion], says the Lord.

I use to think it meant 120 years as in we're promised 120 years to live. But that doesn't seem to make sense because of the ages then and the ages now. What makes most sense is they had 120 years before the flood would come. Here's from the study Bible that seems the most likely explanation. 6:3 My Spirit. See note 1:2. abide in. The Hebrew word is difficult to translate. Some scholars relate it to a term meaning “rule” or “judge,” while ancient translators understood it to mean “remain” or “contend” (text note). Either way, the sentence points to the withdrawal of God’s life-giving Spirit (1:2 note). 120 years. Probably the span of time between this proclamation and the Flood (5:32; 7:6). It may refer to an individual’s life span, but that interpretation seems contradicted by the age of the postdiluvians who at first lived much longer (Gen. 11) and then much less (Ps. 90:10).

MissKay it sounds like you really could use some mentors in your life. Keep searching for a church you feel comfortable in that has women's programs. Nothing can really replace being there in person. You don't need to be afraid. The Holy Spirit is with you always and God's angels have charge over your life. God won't hold you responsible for making a deal with the devil out of ignorance and deception. It is important that you make it clear to God that you are sorry for the sin and to be restored and forgiven. Jesus blood can cleanse us of any sin. Remember the voices you hear have NO power over you. They can talk all they want but it is nothing until you give in. When you hear the voices and are being attacked pray and worship the Lord. Claim the promises of God and tell the devil he is a liar. Using God's promises against demons is like waving a sword and they will run. There's also a lot of free worship music out there that will also strengthen you. As for what to do in life... Well that can be the hardest question of all. One of the only ways to find out what you're good at and like is to get out there and try things. You're bound to have some interests I'm sure. Do you love to cook? Do you love to paint? Do you love animals? Ask yourself what you like and see if there's a career path with that interest. Wishing you the best of luck and you'll be in my prayers. I command those voices to never bother you again in Jesus name! Amen.

If I am able to I will throw an insect outside but it isn't possible sometimes with 1000 ants in your sink, lol. We have this species here that shows up from nowhere it seems by the millions. I have been to the kitchen and seen a ton there and I just hit the hot water. Can't say it is keeping me up at night. If I can let a fly out I will but they are like little demons! Even the Bible associates those suckers with Beelzebub. Mosquitos shall receive no mercy Animals are an entirely different ballgame... I eat meat but could not stand to see or partake in animal killing. My dad was a big hunter and made me go hunting all the time. If God gave me anything it was a gift for animals and even wild animals weren't afraid of me. Never wanted to kill an animal because they were my friends growing up. Even now I feed the wild animals around here and they don't even run from me. My dad and I had been hunting many times before and never got anything. Then on my 16th birthday I got my drivers license and went hunting that evening with my dad. That evening I got a huge 8 point buck and my dad was proud. It went against everything in me to kill that deer and honestly felt heartbroken- but I wanted to get closer to my abusive father. Anyway he was proud of me and hunting was something we could share. We went hunting many times after that and animals not being afraid of me made it too easy. I'd just let the deer go and walk around the land enjoying nature. We'd been going for a long time and hadn't got any deer and my dad was losing heart I guess... So I decided I'd go ahead and bag another deer and see how I felt. I was young and still trying to find myself and grow up and be a man. That night two deer ran by my stand frollicking with each other- they looked like twins. Thought they were doe's because I didn't see horns and they were really big- 150+lbs. So I shot one... The deer with it must have been a sybling because it didn't want to leave his twins side. Literally had to shoo off the other deer and then to my horror saw the deer was actually a male that barely had his horns. That was all enough for me. That was the last time I ever went hunting and swore to never go again. Obviously it still bugs me and I never killed another animal since. It isn't so much that I feel hunting is wrong- it just isn't for me and I just don't see the thrill or excitement aspect. Some hunters I feel are exceptionally cruel. Now I do whatever I can to help any kind of animal because that is my true nature. I love animals and they love me too.

This quoting feature leaves a lot to be desired. So I'll just put what I wanted to quote in red. Desi2007 - Thank you for reply, however I never took on the task of writing about why people die in general. I think that some tried. For example a writer, Thornton Wilder " in his novel, "Bridge over San Luis Ray." wrote about 5 people who all died in a train accident. People dying young, or thru no discernible fault of their own, puzzle me, greatly. What I wrote about are people that couldn't handle their cross. It was too much to bare. "And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. Mt.10:38 I know people are edgy about this topic. And I have my number of well meaning critics who say, "what kind of friends do you have or what kind of life are you living, Oak?" And it's all fair but we have to get seriously honest about ourselves, especially in the times we're living. To be born again is to be broken like a sacrifice. There is no anesthetic for this process. Oak I'm trying to figure out your point brother. You are putting yourself in the place of judge and that's a dangerous place to be. If two of your friends accepted Jesus as their Lord and Savior then they were saved. We are all sinners and despite our best efforts won't be 100% sin free until we are in our glorified bodies. It is the faith in our Lord's work that redeems us. Each one of us has a different cross to bear. We will all have things in our life that will require sacrifice to follow Jesus. My friend from childhood married a Jewish woman that despises Christians. She told him that he couldn't be my friend anymore. That is a cross I bear and it hurts deeply. We all make mistakes and only Jesus was perfect and lived a perfect life. As Christians we strive to be more like Jesus and sanctify ourselves. Following the teachings of the Lord and the Bible is our evidence of faith. When I love an enemy, or forgive because I am a Christian, it shows I am a Christian. I'm just thankful for his grace and mercy which is greater than we will know in this lifetime.

If he has no mercy for his own family- imagine how he feels about us. You can just look in his eyes and see a dark soul.

Why would you want to go really? You said you aren't really close with him anymore but are still friends with his ex wife. Seems like it would cause unecessary conflicts that could be avoided if you stayed home. I'd politely decline and just forget about it.