ravindran

On 12/27/2016 at 2:29 PM, spiderman1917 said:

 If you receive afflictions  or diseases(like Job), how do you know you aren't suffering for the Lord?

Precisely where I am getting to as well. There is absolutely nothing wrong in crying out to Lord in our suffering. Job did not like his suffering. David did not like his suffering. They all cried out to the Lord. We don't see Lord in anyway condemning them crying out due to suffering. They were not suffering by choice. Paul was suffering by choice.

On 12/23/2016 at 5:08 PM, spiderman1917 said:

Colossians 1:24 ►
Now I rejoice in what I am suffering for you, and I fill up in my flesh what is still lacking in regard to Christ's afflictions, for the sake of his body, which is the church.

2 cor 12:10
Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.

He takes pleasure in suffering.  That is brilliant because I and so many others have to suffer every day, and we will be much more happy if we learn to love it (as Paul did.)

let me ask you reader, If there are two children in Somalia starving to death, one of them hates suffering, one of them loves suffering, which do you think suffers more? Which one would you rather be?

Since they don't get to have food, it is their attitude about suffering that makes all the difference in the world.

Paul was shipwrecked, stoned, chronically persecuted, and suffered all kinds of torments, but he learned how to take delight in the trials and suffering.  Do you think God will grant some people that grace to love their crosses and afflictions?  Perhaps those of us who have to suffer on a daily basis should pray for that grace.  It would make us a lot happier.

 

I think there is something very important to understand here. Suffering is different from suffering for the Lord. Paul suffered for the Lord. And that's how he drew strength and found it to be pleasure. Having this understanding is important. Because Lord does not want us to be in suffering all the time. At the same time, He expects us to be contempt with everything we have. More importantly, doing the right thing for Lord irrespective of whether it would bring suffering or not.

On 12/24/2016 at 0:19 AM, Brick said:

     For me many years ago it started with I guess best I can describe it a push or need to do or say something to someone at times I didn't want to and worried about looking foolish didn't do it sometimes the feeling went away other times not until I did it.

Time went on and at times I heard that little voice or thought I did but not often but I started stepping out and doing.

   One day  years ago     we had been shopping and as we left town grabbed something from a fast food joint,as we were going down the highway  the truck seemed to slow down, and a louder voice I knew for sure I heard

said turn into a park a bit up the road so I thought ok we are eating in the park. As I pull in there are several roads to choose I hear "right"  

     I drive down aways see some tables  but I was directed farther along until we see a man across a strip of grass maybe 50/60 foot away who was sitting alone at a playground and I get told "get out and walk over to him put your hand on his shoulder and tell him God loves him" I said nope ,don't want to , I can't do that ,I don't know him ,he looks pretty weird etc  we go back and forth awhile and I was told to tell him what happened so I finally agree to do it.    so I get out walk over to him say hi  until I get his attention he is just staring at the ground very depressed looking.     I tell the guy "this is going to sound crazy but as I was going down the highway I hear this loud voice telling me to pull in this park ,walk over to you and stick my hand on your shoulder and tell you that God loves you " he gets a funny look on his face says he believes me said he was waiting for something , tells me to do it .  So I do and he smiles.

Then he started talking about his problems  and his life how he felt worthless his mom prayed about him the more we talked and more he said the happier he looked

that was kind of the ice breaker for me

Now it's usually  a conversation. 

the Lord may tell me to do something simple like tell the guy in the  store "he is a blessing to me "

That he's  always friendly and without asking asks if You need help finding items.

or bigger items.

For me mostly it has been through Bible and sermons. And at times I do hear the inner voice which tells me do something. I can very clearly differentiate that from my own thoughts.

On 12/22/2016 at 8:21 AM, nebula said:

"It’s easy to get caught up in theorizing about God, but within our everyday lives reality is what matters most to the people around us. Theorizing only becomes important once it becomes relevant and practical and applicable to our lives."

https://sojo.net/articles/when-christians-love-theology-more-people

While the article is written with good intent and I do agree with the core message, I do not agree with the title. Theology is study of God. Every one is a theologian. We all need to study God through Word of God to improve our relationship with God. If we say something is more important or equally important to knowing God, I have a problem with that. I do agree people should not hold on to doctrines and traditions above the commandment - love your neighbor as you love yourselves.

I would argue the other way around. There is no point of showing good works (help poor and be kind and do every kind of charitable work) without knowing God. Our actions are to bring glory to God. While it is wrong to say we would hold on to traditions than showing love to other, it is equally wrong to say showing love to others is enough and not worry about theology and doctrines. One is not important over other. How each other complements in our lives is the important thing

13 hours ago, Adara said:

A lot of churches I've been to like to pledge allegiance to the U.S. flag in church, or kids AWANA/prayer classes. I'm all for respecting the flag, but I have a problem with Christians pledging allegiance to it in church. I feel like this just isn't needed and we should yield our allegiance to Christ instead. What are your thoughts?

I see no harm in that. But the interesting question would, what should foreigners or non-citizens do in such cases? For example, I am from India. I am not us citizen. My kids are born in US. I have no problem them pledging allegiance to US in Church or anywhere. They are US citizens. How about me? I have never been in that situation before anyways.

On 3/13/2016 at 1:43 AM, AliceJane said:

I'm not a new Christian by any means. I was raised in the faith and so maybe that's where I struggle. I feel like I've become apathetic and lazy in my devotion to God and I guess I was wondering how you all manage it? Like, how do I stop being apathetic and make my life revolve around Christ, like I know it should? Any suggestions? 

I love this command in  Deuteronomy 11:18

Fix these words of mine in your hearts and minds; tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads.

It is very much applicable for us even today. The problem is, we detach God from our day to day life. Work is a very good example. We feel work is something of this world and does not have anything to do with our spiritual lives. And we spend 8 hours at work. Let's say we sleep 8 hours. We have now taken God out of 2/3rd of the day. The command was given by God just to avoid this. Word of God should be everywhere and should be part of everything in our lives. That's why people like putting Bible verses in office, kitchen, bedroom and so on. We should never be detached from God. We should allow God to be in every part of our life. Then automatically our life would start revolving around God.

After I joined here, the website became very sweet. Because I bring so much sweetness with me 

Will pray

On 12/18/2016 at 5:24 PM, The_Patriot2016 said:

Thoughts? Seems like a pretty solid comparison to me.

Yes, a pretty solid comparison. While the post modern views are completely dangerous, even a mix would be dangerous. There are so many people who get a few things right and go absolutely wrong on few. It would still be dangerous since they would be pulled to the wrong side easily.

24 minutes ago, Ezra said:

 

But the Bible does give a clear answer (Gen 1:31):

And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day.

When God says something is "very good" it actually means it is perfect.  Nothing but perfection can be expected from the PERFECT ONE.

But does that include everything created until 6th day or everything created on 6th day?

I have never looked into this before. Doing some search comes up with so many conclusions and interpretations on this. Quite interesting I think. I don't know if we would have a clear answer since Bible does not give a clear answer. It would all be speculation. It would make a very good discussion. I would keep a close eye on this thread to learn myself

Will pray about the whole situation

Surprised the thread is going this long! The question was answered right in the first reply itself

On 12/5/2016 at 2:44 PM, HAZARD said:

God considered Abarham a personal friend.

Isa 41:8, But thou, Israel, art my servant, Jacob whom I have chosen, the seed of Abraham my friend.

God spoke to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend.

Exodus 33:11, And the LORD spake unto Moses face to face, as a man speaketh unto his friend. And he turned again into the camp: but his servant Joshua, the son of Nun, a young man, departed not out of the tabernacle.

Jesus called Judas His friend.

Psa. 41:9, Yea, mine7 own familiar friend, in whom I trusted, which did eat of my bread, hath lifted8 up his heel against me.

Abraham and Moses were called as friend by God. We also see them called as servants every where else. Without cross, that is the best relationship one could have with God. Through Jesus, we are now called sons and daughters. We are bought at a price. We are heirs. We are called His children. We are no longer just friends. We are His family.

I don't see a connection with this and Judas being called friend. God called him friend, but Judas did not do things a friend would do - betrayal.

3 hours ago, heyvavhey said:

I've been following the rise of VR technology for a few years now, waiting for the world to change. 

Just curious how many here have experienced a Samsung Gear VR, or the Occulus Rift, or the HTC Vive, or a Holo-lense?

 

 

 

I have not used those expensive gadgets. I have tried Google Goggles though (the cheap $5 ones).

21F here. In the morning, it felt like walking into a freezer.

This is taking Artificial Intelligence to the boundary of where one would start questioning whether this is right.

Artificial Intelligence at it's best is still "artificial". These are man made logic. Programs with numerous conditions. Based on the condition satisfied, the program would generate an output predetermined. These devices are not making their own choices. They are not making any moral choices. They are simply giving an output already programmed. By taking this AI to these extreme levels of replacing real people, it poses problems. We are making our life artificial by elevating AI to level of real life.

May be I am just old school! But these leads to dangerous roads. How far this is from having relationship with AI machines? Then sex with machines? Where do we draw line?

17 minutes ago, Abby-Joy said:

Actually, his facts about christmas are way off and he is very prideful .... I could see the justification in what Kwik said, that a police officer should have arrested him.... that's a hard thing to say, about someone who things he's doing right ... but it would be the right response to what this man is doing.

I did not see the full video. The core message of santa being not real is true. But I don't know how he delivered it and what he said about Christams.

But arrest on what count?

On 12/13/2016 at 5:33 PM, Churchmouse said:

What would you say to a person who thinks he can go around your parental rights.

 

I had a better idea for Christmas carolling this time. Some people wanted to have santa as an "attraction" for unbelievers. I proposed to have someone dress up as Santa and share the true gospel. And tell how Christmas is all about Jesus and not Santa. The whole idea of Santa quickly dropped away

While what he said might be truth, it cannot be pushy.

If translations are not to be used, then KJV should also not be used. Everyone should read Bible in Greek and Hebrew only. That is the original language. People forget KJV itself is a "transalation". Why is it different from other translations? And what should people do who don't speak English?

The verse you have quoted would be actually present tense. That is why many translations save "being saved"

Part of Speech: Verb

Tense: Present
Mood: Participle
Voice: Middle or Passive

On 12/7/2016 at 9:05 PM, gerbilgirl said:

I have very strong beliefs when it comes to animal rights.  I don't believe it is okay to eat factory farmed animal products.  Therefore, I eat very few animal products only from specific farms.  If I eat any animal products (not just meat) or anything that contains animal products that could have been factory farmed I feel very bad about myself and feel like a sinner and find myself praying for the animals and asking God for forgiveness.  I do feel it is okay to kill animals for food, we just need to slaughter animals humanely and treat them with kindness.  I also don't believe in wearing animals products or that cosmetics should be tested on animals.  

To get to my question, what does the Bible say about animal rights?  I've long questioned my faith and lately I feel it would be unacceptable for me to be of a religion that doesn't feel similarly to me.  I mean no offense to anyone.  

Recently I led Bible study at Church on book of Jonah. Saw something which I had never seen before. At the end of book, we see this verse

¹¹ And should not I pity Nineveh, that great city, in which there are more than 120,000 persons who do not know their right hand from their left, and also much cattle?”

Lord is extending His compassion to cattle (animals). All through the book, we see different creatures involved in God's redemption of Nineveh and Jonah. Whale, worm, plant. It is important to remember animals are also God's creation and they are part of God's plan and purpose. At the same time, Bible makes it clear man has dominion over all animals.

Balance is the most important thing. It is wrong to over protect animals and say they have all rights humans have. Bible does not say that. At the same time it is wrong to under-protect and treat them extremely bad. Because they are also God's creation.

3 hours ago, Yowm said:

The discussion had to do with pastors, so I was assuming a congregational setting. Outside a Church setting I suppose would be the responsibility of the government...which it's main duty is to protect it's citizenry.

I don't think responsibility of government changes. It is government's responsibility to provide a safe environment. It would include social gatherings, church or any place. Same time, we can't expect cops to be there everywhere! Just like how we can't have cops inside our house all the time. 

2 hours ago, The_Patriot2016 said:

I actually agree. the federal government, should protect us from outside threats, and assist local law enforcement agencies when it comes to interstate stuff, and thats it. the local law enforcement (police, sheriff) are responsible for all their citizens, inside and outside of church. With that said, they cant be everywhere at once, including at church. hence why we have the second ammendment.

And I completely agree! And that is where individuals need to apply their discretion and decide whether they want to hold a gun or not.

36 minutes ago, Texas47 said:

Hi,

What do you do when you need a Christian mentor and have been praying on and off for one but with no success? I've been a follower of Christ since 13 years old. I lost my way for about 10 years and didn't go to church, drank alcohol and wasn't so nice at times but was still aware of God and prayed somewhat regularly. My father passed away in my early twenties and I continued down this bad path. A divorce brought me back to the Lord. For over 16 years now I've been back in church regularly, seeking other believers to fellowship with, studying the Bible, participating in Bible studies, tithing and generally doing my best to figure out what it is God wants me to do! 

He has certainly spoken to me at different times. Of that I am 100% sure. I've tried to serve in areas without success and have finally considered some of those doors closed. I'm still searching for exactly what God's purpose is for me while continuing to try to be obedient. I'm male and have missed that father figure on whom to go to for advice and counsel. In my mind it would be great to find an older male that is willing to mentor me, meet with me and give Godly counsel and advice. I know that the person might NOT be an older male or what I expect. I've prayed for this person on and off but no one has showed up. I'm trying to be open to anyone, whoever it may be. 

Has anyone experienced something like this or do you have any suggestions or advice?

 

Let Jesus be that Father. And seek for any other man to fill that shoes. You would end up with disappointment. While spiritual mentors are good, but even their advice and council should be tested against Word of God

16 minutes ago, kwikphilly said:

Im just amazed at all these Christian songs with these fantastic lyrics,all from Scripture...."How You lived,How You died,your Sacrifice......Proof of Your Love".....phenominal & yet,,,,,they never say once JESUS........His Name Says it ALL for me........I want to hear a song that says JESUS,anyone?

That's a very good point. The songs are just motivational or spiritual songs if they are not centered around Jesus Christ. Today we see many songs being self centered. Worship should be God centered. I am very picky when it comes to songs. I don't mind too much music or guitar. But music should not be too much that we don't even understand words! there are some good singers out there. I like Chris Tomlin. I find his songs always God centered and not too much music also.