ravindran
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Posts posted by ravindran
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We were having this discussion the other day in our Church. A lot of this happens due to lack of understanding of Holiness of God. When we do not understand that, we think certain things are "okay". As long as it does not hurt someone, it is okay. It is personal business. They are created that way. All these excuses come because they take God's holiness out of picture.
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Few things which many have already highlighted
1) Prayers
2) More time in spiritual activities between the 2 of you. Not just spending time in men's and women's fellowship separately. That is good, but does not build your relationship with him. Spend time in Bible study, fasting, prayers. It would help
3) Marriage counselling
4) Burn the bridge to old things. Why those things are even there? Mails and stuff?
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Some preachers I love listening to - Charles Stanley, John Piper, Chuck Swindoll, Ravi Zacharias. Solid preachers who never talk anything outside of Scripture
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7 hours ago, HisFirst said:
Is it the same thing to you?
Quite an interesting question! I think there are quite a lot of differences. Belief is more like accepting. Believing something exists. Even devil believes in Jesus Christ and His existence. There are many unbelievers who believe Jesus was an avatar of God. Belief stops there. Faith is beyond belief. Faith involves a relationship built on trust. Having Faith in Jesus Christ is simply not believing that He existed and died on the Cross. Faith is accepting the ramification of His sacrifice, which is our redemption. Belief is more of passive acceptance. Faith is more of active trust.
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No wonder Bible says "Fix your eyes on Jesus Christ, the author and perfecter of our faith". I escape the lies by focusing on Jesus more and more. The more we focus on what devil does or what he can do, we allow him more in our lives. He knows we got a place for him in our mind that he can play with. Instead I try to fill my entire mind with Jesus and spiritual thoughts. That's one (and very effective) way to avoid being deceived.
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Gospel according to Jesus. That He is the only way. Yes, I am certain. Because it is as per Scripture.
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18 hours ago, Juliebet said:
I am far from an unbeliever but I have many questions which I feel uncomfortable asking my fellow churchgoers or even our minister. I feel with this forum I am brave enough to ask and please hope you understand my need. I sometimes feel that God has forgotten me, I say that because I lost a child and I prayed to God to help me and my child but she passed. I felt angry with Him and that when things go well we say He has answered our prayers but when things do not - where is He then? At that time in my life I decided that God could not save my child as she was unwell, nature is cruel sometimes and she had health problems and the doctors could not sort them. By the same token, if she had lived would that not have been due to the doctors skill and not God's invervention? I have come to believe that God cannot save a sick person even though we pray to Him when we are in that situation and thank Him for answering our prayers if they become well, He is given credit for it. Spiritually, he is there and I hope to feel that more strongly than I do at present. I need to feel He is there for me. I hope no-one is offended by my comments, I just need some kind, understanding people to advise me a little. Thank you.
I would pray that Lord would strengthen you. Being a dad, I can only imagine what it would have been for you to go through this. I can keep talking about what Lord's love is and on and on. But you would never get the answer for "why". And in many cases, we never get the answer. That is the truth.
When me and my wife went through losses ourselves, Lord spoke to me through this song. I was simply crying! Not just the words. The circumstances in which it was written. I hope this song encourages you and will continue to pray that Lord will strengthen you
I will finish by saying this. Many times the only answer Lord gives us for the question why is - My grace is sufficient for you
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On 4/15/2017 at 0:56 PM, Wayne222 said:
Did anyone ever feel like you were not really in fellowship at there church. Or not connected even through you tried to be friends with members. I felt that in some of the churches. The best one was Calvary Chapel in NJ years ago. I felt they cared for each other. I went to a Baptist Church and not too many people talked to me. I once went to the local kingdom hall of the JW. Just out of curiosity to see how they worship. I knew they were outside the faith .I felt so loved and everyone was super nice. They wanted to do so much. But I rather be alone and with christ then be with a false church. I wonder why some many churches don't show God's love.
Does not sound surprising. At the end of day, people at Church are all sinners in need of God's grace. Church is not a bunch of "perfect" people. Church is a place for imperfect people, who have understood their imperfectness and knows they can do nothing about it apart from Jesus Christ. As you get more involved in Church activities (deacon, board member, etc) you would see more politics and you would feel that Church is more of an organization than fellowship! That's what man has made Church to be. An organization and not a place of fellowship. Does that mean going to Church is bad? Let it be the last thing. In short, the point is - all churches would have some shortcoming. Pray and see where Lord wants you to be rather than the circumstances.
I wouldn't call a Church as false Church just because of a few rude people. It would be teaching which would define whether a Church is false or not.
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On 4/16/2017 at 6:43 AM, Deborah_ said:
The Scripture that supports this (though probably doesn't prove it) is I Corinthians 14:18,19, where Paul writes:
"I thank God that I speak in tongues more than all of you. But in the church I would rather speak five intelligible words to instruct others than ten thousand words in a tongue."
If he spoke in tongues more than the Corinthians, he must have done an awful lot of tongue-speaking. But if that was rarely or never in a church meeting, then presumably it was in his private devotions.
But wouldn't it simply mean Paul spoke in tongues quite a lot simply because he was able to interpret it or someone else was there to interpret it?
13 For this reason the one who speaks in a tongue should pray that they may interpret what they say
When I read this, I think Paul is saying everyone speaking in tongue should pray that they are able to interpret it if there is no one else to interpret. And Paul is saying, while I can speak and interpret quite a lot, I would rather not do it. because tongues as a whole is a sign for unbelievers and not believers.
This is where I am quite lost. Today speaking in tongues are NOT a sign for believers. And there is no strong scriptural backing for "personal speaking in tongues"
And Scripture is supportive that gifts of the Spirit are relevant today and I don't think speaking in tongues have ceased. So there is no much speaking in tongues today, without being aligned with scripture
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I will be meditating on this word at my Church for Good Friday
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On 4/8/2017 at 0:45 PM, bryan said:
Does your church have open or 'soft' rules stating certain types of people may not attend your church? I've encountered some of this recently and would like to hear your thoughts.
Here are a few specific examples I've experienced in the past year. Please note I'm not judging these practices, simply describing them to see what you think.
In a small, home-based fellowship consisting of six families, some friends asked if they could attend as well. Some of the elders (aka fathers of the families) said one woman could not attend since she had remarried. It didn't matter that her previous husband was abusive and in jail for violent crimes. Remarrying was judged as wrong and thus she could not be with us.
In that same home-based fellowship, another family was considered and it was rejected because their political views were judged to be too progressive. The existing members stated they could not tolerate such views in their fellowship.
I'll note that fellowship dissolved earlier this year when some views on marriage, women, and homosexuality divided the group and several families decided to leave instead if using biblical discussion to reach a rational consensus.
In exploring some local churches, I've attended a couple bible studies to get to know some of the members in a smaller group setting. The first one was from a large church and looked promising as they were using a Gruden apologetics book and just starting. In the first meeting, they reviewed the chapter topics, restated the key concepts, and asked for questions. One person asked for some detail about a concept and was rebuked with the group leader saying "We believe this concept in our church" and made it clear no discussion was welcome. Further questions were treated similarly, so after a few meetings I stopped attending since they apparently only wanted people who repeated the phrases from the book.
Another local church had a board meeting to deal with a current member. This member had been there for several years and ran all the audio for their services. Last year, he had been convicted of viewing child pornography online, spent some time in jail, lost is job, and was now applying to be a night janitor at the church to clean things when nobody else was there. While he had not committed any crimes other than online viewing, they banned him and his family from the church.
In the past few months, I've seen several churches make it clear people aren't welcome if they ask the wrong questions, are from the wrong social class, have remarried, and more. It is all frankly quite disturbing. Biblical examples constantly show we should help people in need, yet what I'm seeing lately is rejection of people searching for help.
Mine is a pretty small Church. Anyone who does not agree with me theologically is not welcome in the Church
Just kidding.. everyone is always welcome. When it comes to leading some form of ministry or being an elder or something like that, then we think a lot before just confirming.
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Quite interesting. In few days entire political picture has completely changed. Relationship between Russia and Trump has changed. Trump's policy on Syria has changed.
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I think there is another thread on same topic
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1 hour ago, cherubim said:
That's an intelligent take on it. I suppose God will make things clear in His time. I hit times where I've prayed for things so many times, and the answer hasn't come, so I wonder if I should I keep praying, or decide that I've prayed enough? It's a stumbling block, and I'm unsure of the answer. Nothing jumps out at me as the right action to take.
You are right. God will make things clear in His time. No where in the Bible we see the concept of over praying. Or stop praying after a threshold. There is nothing like that. Bible encourages us the opposite way. Keep on praying. keep on asking. Pray without ceasing. We should keep praying until God makes it very clear that we need to stop. It only happen when we ask something against His will. God will make it clear in such cases to stop! Because we are on wrong track
And many times God would simply say "My grace is sufficient for you". When you pray and cry out to Lord, you will see Lord embracing you and holding you in His arms. You may not see the answer you wan't. But you will see the love of God in a way you have never seen before. That's my personal experience. And then eventually God would do things in His time and in His perfect ways
I will share testimony. After having first child, we planned another child. My wife had 2 miscarriages. She was totally heart broken after second one. She got afraid that she would never have a successful pregnancy. She asked the question "Why God would let this happen?". Why her prayers were not answered. Many said we are weak in faith. Many said devil is causing havoc and we need pray more. Many said it is generational curses. I was the only source of hope for her. I still remember those conversations. I made it clear to her that I don't know why. But God is in control. He does not ignore every tear we drop. He gave His life for us when we did not even love Him. Would he keep ignoring our prayers now? Those are the times I felt closest to Lord. Through so many ways God ministered to us. Spoke to us. Comforted us. We felt like He was right with us, going through the situation. Eventually Lord blessed us with another baby and she is a healthy 1.5 years old baby now
The point is, God is hearing your cry. God is grieving along with you. And He is saying "My grace is sufficient for you". Why He is letting you go through? Only He knows.
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Will be praying for the little girl. Sad sad story.
Recently in India a 5 year old was raped and murdered. Can't believe how people can sell their soul to devil so much and allow so much sexual immorality that they would do such things to so little girls. My heart goes out to her and family. Will be praying
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1 hour ago, cherubim said:
I often pray multiple times when I ask God to answer a specific prayer request. In some instances I have prayed for years, and no answer came. There is the parable of the unjust judge, which is to serve as a reminder to us to continue petitioning God for an answer until it comes. Sometimes this seems a futile waste of energy which also brings the grief and heartbreak of unanswered prayers. It would seem that God is cruel, when we are told in Scripture to be persistent.
I don't like when some fancy preacher showboats and insists someone's leg has grown two inches, or other unproven results. I like to know that it was really God that answered the prayer. I recall one time I was going through a terrible ordeal, and God didn't answer my cry for help. I spoke with a young mother who blustered at how "God had brought their family a dog!" That really hurt. Here I was going through a hellish ordeal, and I'm supposed to believe that God sent a dog to that family when I had serious unmet needs?
God said He desires truth in our inmost being, and I always remind Him of this when I express how much I've been disappointed, and how I don't like the way He has let the evil in this world to continue it's downward spiral, and how I don't agree with Him that He's let evildoers off the hook.
I'd like to know how long others pray for a specific request before throwing in the towel.
I think people misunderstand the parable of unjust judge. It is not to say we should keep praying to God until He answers the prayer the way we want. We need to keep praying until there is an answer to the prayer. It is not to remind God that He needs to take some action. It is a reminder for ourselves on our dependence on God. And without Him we can do nothing. Some times the wait is long or very long. Some times God says No.
For some the path in this side of life is a difficult one. Imagine lives of different prophets. God chose them and made them do things which would have made their life miserable! Imagine being Hosea? Marry a prostitute and keep paying to bring her back. He did not do anything wrong. Lord chose him to show Israel a lesson. Hosea was probably one of the very few God fearing people at that time. As per the theology of many faith preachers, Hosea should have lived a life of luxury and got everything he wanted. No, it was not the case. He suffered and all the evil people were living a life of pleasure.
Why? There is no answer to "why". At least not while we are in this world. We do not understand everything that's happening. We are only called to trust and have faith in Him, who knows everything. And Who does everything for our good. While it may not look like good in short term, it would all work out for good in long run.
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On 4/2/2017 at 3:42 PM, LadyKay said:
The past few Sundays I have found myself getting bored in church. I don't really know why. It is almost like my brain just goes to sleep. Anyone else ever feel this way?
I have found myself feeling bored. There have been days when I have felt so sleepy. Some times I have even dozed off. Not because it was because the sermon is boring or something. Some times work gets crazy and I would have just slept few hours the night before or the entire week. Our Church service starts around 9AM, unlike other Churches who start pretty late. So I would feel so tired and uncontrollable sleep creeps in!!
Why do you think you feel bored? Is it because of tiredness or something else?
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1 hour ago, Yowm said:
How 'bout the title, "On Christ the Solid Rock I Stand"?...you know the rest.
All other ground is sinking sand
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1 minute ago, TheMatrixHasU71 said:
No you cannot lose your salvation. There are some who point to passages like....
1 Timothy 1:20 | View whole chapter | See verse in context
Of whom is Hymenaeus and Alexander; whom I have delivered unto Satan, that they may learn not to blaspheme.
.....and assume that means that one can lose their salvation. But that is not so. Christians can fall into sin and walk away from the faith but God punishes them (as shown in the above passage) even to the point of death if necessary but that does not mean they lose their salvation.
We are PROMISED eternal life. To deny this by saying we can lose our salvation is to suggest God is a liar or capricious. At worst it shows a lack of understanding of scripture.
Sister, there is no disagreement here. I will stand by your side to proclaim no one can lose Salvation. I just quoted what Arminians would generally believe. The point is, doesn't mean Arminians can lose their Salvation just because they think so!
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On 5/18/2007 at 1:29 PM, Phil.2:12 said:
In Revelation it talks about the Lamb's Book of Life that will be opened on the Day of Judgement. According to Scripture, your name is written in this Book of Life when you accept Jesus as your Savior. Once written in the Book of Life, can your name ever be erased from this Book? Please give Scriptural references that substantiate your viewpoint.
I think this is just another way to ask about a person's belief in Once Saved Always Saved theology
I don't think a person can lose salvation. I would like to make a correction though. A person's name is not written when the person accepts Jesus. The name is written when God regenerates the person. This probably answers the question. Because if salvation is based on our acceptance of Jesus Christ, then everyone would lose it, get it back, lose it, get it back every day! I would have lost it long while ago! Because Salvation is God's doing, no amount of rebellion from me can separate the Jesus from me. That's why our names are not going to be removed from Book of Life.
I will post one of many verses which confirms this in Bible. We read on John 10,
27 My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. 28 I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one can snatch them away from me, 29 for my Father has given them to me, and he is more powerful than anyone else.[d] No one can snatch them from the Father’s hand.
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10 minutes ago, TheMatrixHasU71 said:
No it isn't. You cannot serve two masters.
You either believe in the truth fully, uninhibited by man's lying traditions or you don't.
there will be many who call themselves Christian but because they believe the lies of men Jesus will tell them Be gone from me ye workers of iniquity
As per Arminians, many Calvinists are wrong when it comes to Salvation. They think Calvinists believe in OSAS, but they can lose their salvation anytime. Nothing is guaranteed
As per Calvinists, many Arminians are wrong when it comes to Salvation. They think Arminians believe salvation is part because of what they did. And what they did does not matter and they are probably not truly regenerated.
As per Protestants, Catholics are not saved because they believe in traditions outside of Word of God
As per Catholics, Protestants are not saved because they believe only in half truth.
You see the trend here? We can add more denominations here. There is only one way to heaven, that is through Jesus Christ. Faith on Jesus Christ and the Cross. There is no question Catholic church drives away people from true Gospel message. It does not mean, anyone who claims to be Catholic can ever be saved. Just my humble opinion.
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15 minutes ago, Spock said:
Thank you for this response. This is exactly what I was looking for. Yeah!
I will be honest here- your answer is what I believe or maybe what I want to believe. However, in my study of what constitutes IDOLATRY and what does think of people who are IDOLATERS often, it is not good. The one brother mentioned in Revelation 21 that there is no place for "an idolater" in the new kingdom. What does that mean?
Someone else mentioned believing all these things about Mary is not really worshipping her. Is that true? How many millions of people pray "to Mary" for her grace? How is this not worship when you are praying to her?
Who can receive prayer? God, right? Praying to a dead person, be it Mary or some saint, seems like is replacing what is meant for only God. Do you agree with this? So, how do you think God feels about this? The first commandment says he is a jealous God and that thou shall have no false idols before you.
Not to mention the countless millions of people running to and fro throughout the world visiting places where supposedly Mary showed up. What do you call this? Seems like worship to me. How do you think God in Heaven looking down is processing all of this?
So, back to brother. You feel this should not affect his salvation....I hope you are right. John McArthur doesn't feel that way, but to him, just about everything is black and white with very little gray in between. Even though I don't agree with every inference/interpretation/application he makes, I do know he is a man who cares only about what the Bible says. I listen to what he says very closely.
But, I do like what you said too, and it seems to make sense to me- in a way, we all have our idols that perhaps we use to replace God. It's just not as black and white as McArthur sees it, and there is the rub.
Thanks again,
spock
I see lot of self answered questions
You are right, there is no place in heaven for idolaters. Similarly, there is no place in heaven for any sinner. Because no unholy thing can be in the presence of God. When it says there is no place for such people, it means what they are identified by. Every believer sins. Everyone is a sinner. But God does not see our sins, instead righteousness imputed through Jesus Christ. That is exactly the same reason I believe there are many Catholics who are truly saved and will spend eternity with us!
I love John MacArthur, wonderful preacher and very passionate about Word of God. I do disagree with him on many areas and this would be one of them. There is no harm in that.
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15 hours ago, Spock said:
I hope this is the right forum and is an allowable topic to discuss. I really would appreciate brotherly or sisterly dialog. I have had a long discussion with my Catholic brother about Mary this weekend and am walking away somewhat frustrated. He kind of surprised me by telling me he has gone back to his previous beliefs regarding Mary:
1. Immaculate Conception- Mary also born without sin just like Jesus
2. Was without sin - just like Jesus
3. Perpetual virginity- never had sex
4. Assumption- did not die, but ascended into Heaven
5. Co- Mediatrix - Jesus and Mary both mediate man's sin
6. Mary receives prayer because she is tender and compassionate and God listens to her and always gives her what she asks.
I believe this is idolatry which as you know violates the First Commandment. So my questions stem from that assumption:
1. Do you believe this veneration of Mary is idolatry?
2. If so, is it possible to both believe on Jesus for his atonement, and also believe in all this stuff regarding Mary, and still be saved? In other words, can you be both a God worshipper and an idol worshipper simultaneously?
I hope this isn't too confusing. I'm planning my next strategy in our next dialog and I need to have a firm grasp on how I view my brother's standing.
Thanks,
Spock
edit: one more thing, please do not use this thread to "argue" the merits of these six Catholic doctrines. I'm not interested in discussing that. If you feel the need to discuss that, start your own thread. Thank you.
Hello Spock. Every point you have mentioned, comes from tradition and not Word of God. That is the problem. Bible does not confirm any of these things. Going by Bible, maryology is idolatry.
regarding your other questions, I truly believe there are many Catholics who are truly saved and we would see them in heaven. Because Salvation is not based on how good a life we live. Salvation is from God. No one is perfect. And we all have our own idols.
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On 3/31/2017 at 5:56 PM, HisFirst said:
Yes ravidran,
Its interesting and also not that surprising, that when you put a heap of toys out and let the preschoolers choose what they want, they generally choose gender specific toys : girls/dolls; boys/cars etc
Its not rocket science, and to have a certain element of society slowly forcing the gender neutral issue is a concern.
If not two specific genders, then what? A state of absolute confusion? (which is happening thus far).
What exactly is the ultimate agenda?
Denial of God's creation and order. Man can call himself woman and vice versa. People can marry others of same sex if they like. And now they push the same agenda to kids. To deny their uniqueness. That's what I feel it is all about
Church of England bishops in the UK say, Being gay IS NOT A SICKNESS OR A SIN,
in General Discussion
Posted
Even I wouldn't support some sort of conversion therapy. If there is some therapy for sin, then we can convert every person on this earth! Change in heart is brought only by Holy Spirit. The calling of believers is to preach and not convert. Proclaim God's word, not try to push it into someone's brain until they accept.
Coming to the other point, everyone is a sinner. Just like how I am tempted by being attracted to women other than my wife, gay people are attracted to same sex. What we do with the temptation is what matters. Do we overcome the temptation or give into it? We read in Genesis 4:7.
Sin is crouching at the door. It desires to have us. But we must rule over it. Sin takes different forms in everyone's life. The question is, are we ruling over it or it is ruling over us?
If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must rule over it.”