creativemechanic

55 minutes ago, R. Hartono said:

Ananias and Safira were killed by Peter's rebuttal on their lies, shoul Peter spare them they would not die that horribly.

what?

The bible  is full of pertinent  messages  and important accounts which we can model our lives after.

However, its full of funny accounts and stories which  have a bit of humour in them. Have you found anything in scripture which you find humourous?

Pharisees vs Jesus 1 ; Matthew 12. Jesus  removes a demon from a man who was deaf and mute. The Pharisees accuse him of doing it by Satans power. Jesus pretty much points out that -Why would Beelzebub give me power to cast out his own demons. A kingdom divided against itself cant stand.

In Exodus 32 -When Moses confronted Aaron about the making of the golden calf- Aaron claims he put the gold in the furnace and the calf popped out. Yes... a fully formed calf pops right out of the melted gold.

2 Samuel 1

When Saul killed himself, one of his soldiers looted his body and brought the crown to David lying that he was an Amalekite who mercy killed him (possibly hoping for a reward). David instead got mad and had him killed for killing Gods annointed.

Lesson :Dont tell lies

15 hours ago, ayin jade said:

She is welcome here.

Im not saying get out. But  Ive noticed a trend in other forums where people who are opposed to the ideals of the group or page, join an d just disagree or  make negative comments about the   subject area.

Eg A facebook page highlighitng African history or African  pride will have causacians joining and making racist  remark or downplay black achievements. If youre against it , why join? Do you want to learn or discuss or just make trouble?

3 hours ago, Slibhin said:

I have 25 years of synagogue, so I think I know them pretty well.

If I put you in a position where you are forced to do or act a certain way via laws or some other unavoidable consequence based on my own personal religious views, how is that not controlling or imposing on someone?

If youre not a Christian, why are you in a Christian forum?

4 minutes ago, missmuffet said:

I have talked to pastors who have said there is a lot of politics and gripping among the members. They get tired of it. 

yeah

30 minutes ago, missmuffet said:

The politics of a Church. There is a lot  of it. 

Not so much. Heres how it basically went.

The mother was a former attendant who never got saved and left to live how she wanted after a while. She and I were friends actualy. Her father still regularly attended and on occasion, the child would come, once every couple of months with him.

One day , the mother out of the blue messages me asking if I could put her daughter in the christmas programme, as I coordinated alot of it. I explained ,  just let her come regularly and theyll give her a part. The child in fact did not come regularly in the months leading up to the programme, if memory serves correct, not at all. As the programme drew close, I asked the mother if they were coming to see the programme and she told me- Im not. I told you to put my child in the programme and you didnt.

It amazing how the bible often predicts many things long before theyd happen- 1 Timothhy 5:22 says:

New King James Version
Do not lay hands on anyone hastily, nor share in other people’s sins; keep yourself pure

 Churches often offer opportunities to people to shine and show off their talents- singing , playing instruments act etc. Sometimes people with no interest in church or serving God will come. Its easy to be dazzled by a persons talent or wanting to give people chances and give people who arent interested,  opportunities. This can  be disastrous if we arent careful to vex who we give opportunities because it can damage the church and christianity as a wholes ministry.

Youll have people living any kind of was in open sin want to come up onstage and perform and disappear when they dont have to or even troublemakers join a ministry both of which can be disastrous

4 hours ago, The_Patriot21 said:

The error in the second to last box being green and not grey means this is a fake conversation. Not that you can't learn anything from it....

But with that said...I can see both sides of the argument. Is it fair to the regular attendents to let someone who never goes to give a part to someone who hardly shows up?

But the flip side is...it can also be a witnessing opportunity to the person who is rarely there and may encourage them to come regularly. 

Honestly though I guess I've never seen where it's a problem. I've always attended smaller churches so it might be in a larger one, but in the churches info to there's always enough parts to go around.

 

 

it is a fake convo. Hence the cartoon child in it, but as I said  it was based on an actual situation I was in

This is a situation I literally went through when I used to coordinate and direct our church Christmas programme. The parent in question was a former youth group/ church attendant who'd send her daughter by with her grandfather every few months.

Theres a valuable lesson here. Can you find it?

P.S The last box should be grey not green

51 minutes ago, Starise said:

I can't speak for other's children. I am guessing most children go through a phase, even if they are believers. When one of mine got older we had to have a few discussions while they were living at home and out of school. Never involved being kicked out. Just had to make a few rules.

When children are becoming more independent. They will often intentionally do the opposite of what their parents do, not necessarily to rebel but to become an individual. If my dad would have had long hair I would have probably opted to have short hair. One of the things my son did was grow his hair long. Very very long. Today his statement is a beard.

It's odd that I liked a lot about my parents, but didn't want to be like them. It's very easy to pick at people we live around all the time. Very easy to find their faults and flaws. FWIW to this very day I never found anything wrong with my mother. At least nothing of any significance. I had the idea I was going to do everything better than my parents. Not make the same boo boos they made. Yes I would get it all right.

You probably know how that one worked out.

The bible tells us if we raise up a child in the way they should go, when they are old they will not depart from it. I believe the Lord blesses HOUSHOLDS through faithful believers. A decision for salvation is still an individual decision. A child should understand the difference and hopefully SEE the difference in at least one of his or her parents. It might be years down the road, but I believe it will be impossible not to come to the right conclusions by observation and teaching. Christians are still individuals, so we don't have to become our parents when we get saved.

 

 I dont see him as being a busy body at all. If I saw a friend or brothers child doing something questionable,I thin its best to go to them directly as opposed to spreading it behind their back

2 minutes ago, teddyv said:

I'm not sure if you're just playing along with the scenario but that image is no photograph. It looks like a manga style drawing.

Again, not sure if the OP is just setting up a hypothetical. I just don't think the text exchange is real.

Its a fake convo based on an actual situation I know of. I chose the cartoon image cause it wouldnt be right to put a real humans pic

10 hours ago, Starise said:

I'm sorry I might be slightly OCD and it's bothering me. The title of this thread should correctly read-

When your child isn't interested in God

Or you could say  When your child is not interested in God.

yeah i noticed it right after posting but I didnt bother editing it. Thanks though

There are some  harsh  things about this Christian life that we are better off learning earlier than later. Often many of them have actual biblical support but we may have not noticed them or how deep the verse is relating to it. What are some lessons youve learned about the christian life  that you'd like to share, so we all can benefit?

Here are mine-

1) It's easy to drop your guard among fellow church attendants that we would  among people we meet elsewhere  but DONT. The church doors are open to EVERYONE with no limit to who can enter. And they do, for a whole host of reasons- some are unsaved people seeking God but still living the unsaved life, some are unsaved people who go because of tradition or just feeling they need religion in life, some grow up there and never get saved, some are christians with their own struggles etc .As a result, you can  find any and everyone in church with a whole host  of issue. Some of which may require a degree of caution around them.

the bible warns us about this

15 hours ago, Your closest friendnt said:

Saul was a warrior, well trained in the art of using the spear...

And someone may ask? Did Saul missed the target? 

Or is it possible for Saul to miss the target? 

We did not have all the details, the distance of David from Saul, and to what was David was doing at that  time. Was David on his duty to play music to Saul? Was it at a time when Saul was disturbed by something?

The point is that Saul was a lot better by a far cry from David in this specific situation....

One more thing we need to sort out is that Saul did not call David to come and live in his house and be his "medical" "musician", but rather Saul's "physician" must have recommended David...

That takes us whether or not Saul knew about the Anointing of David by Samuel as the choice of their God to give the Kingdom to a "Shepherd" to David. 

And this event took place after the battle with Goliath and the people glorifying David and singing songs about him.

The point is that Saul if he wanted to Kill David he could have done it earlier, in many and different ways, but Saul was not a murderer like David was....and we know about the premeditated murder of Uriah...

The other point is that Saul did not want to kill David, only to scared him, or communicate how or what was thinking about him, frustrated how this Shepard has a glamour about himself, and more praise from the people that they dared to sing songs about him, that glorified David more than glorified himself...

Yes Saul throw the Sword at David but he never intended to kill David, only he express his frustration about the situation...Saul could have kill David in many other ways and no one would know, or he could entrapped him in some situation and caused his death but he did not do it because he could not live with that because he was not a murderer...

Saul loved the animals that he had to go on a journey to find his Father's donkeys and he Saved the cows from the Lord's slaughter, they were a very rare species and could not get himself around to killed them..when he showed them he gave himself a mission to saved them...

To saved the cows became the reason to loose the Kingdom and the Kingdom to be taken from his family...

He disobeyed God to saved them and he hoped that God would approved it because he planned to offer them as a sacrifice to him, and have their offerings for future sacrifices to him, that's how he showd it...in his own self, he loved them when he showed them and they were so unique breed that he could not kill him.

Also Saul did not tried to Killed David and all his family as to wipe off all the successor to the Throne, (David had not children at that time). But David after the death of Saul he did killed everyone of Saul's children the would be rightfull successors to the Throne...He did that on his own, the Lord did not asked him to do it. 

The point is Saul intentionally missed David because he did not have it in him to kill him...perhaps he wish that if David was not alive, many other things will go away...

Saul was tutoring his son Nathan, to be his successor the next King on case something happened to him, even though Saul knew in time about what Samuel had done to anoint David to be the next king, the Kingdom to be taken from his family...but Saul still was tutoring Nathan to fight for his birth right to succeed him as the next King.  

 

thats a whooooooollllllle lot of supposing. Something id advise against in scripture

20 hours ago, Starise said:

There seems to be a difference in the outcomes of many biblical characters. The so called "good" characters of the bible sinned, The Abrahams, The Davids,  All of these people paid a steep price for their sins, yet after it was all said and done they continued to have the favor of God.

Others seem to have fallen into a deep hole never to regain their original stature with the Lord. The Cains, the Esaus, the Sauls. They either never had the positional benefits of God or lost them along the way.

Why does one man fall, repent and get restored, while another man can't seem to ever get back on track? Maybe the simple answer is repentance, yet in many cases it seems men truly repent but loose the favor of God. Do you believe some men can go so far as to loose God's favor forever, even when they make attempts to repent? 

Saul is one example of a man who forever has that negative stigma attached to him as a man who failed to follow God's instructions. Ham seems to have been forever cursed and shunned for one foolish deed. The bible describes Esau as a man God hated, a man who made at least a few bad judgement calls that seems to have affected him for life. Do you see these people as beyond the blessings of God? If so, why?

Its their attitude to falling. When David was corrected about his sins, he quickly repented and God showed mercy. Saul and Cain often got angry, lashed out and remained in their sin.

9 hours ago, JohnR7 said:

It is difficult to continue to pray for them. It is as if they don't care then why should I. But then I regretted that I quit praying for my son. Maybe I could have made a difference if I had continued to pray for him. Maybe the outcome would have been different. 

Yeah. Its hard but God wont answer our prayers in the time we think he should or he may be and we dont realise. We should still keep it up though

16 minutes ago, Fidei Defensor said:

If that picture bothers him, he should see all New Age, Hindu, Buddhist, Taoist, and other stuff in video games, shows, movies, and etc. these days. 

The Eastern Religions are hard at work, Yoga their most popular evangelistic tool. (Yoga is major practice in Jainism, Buddhism, and Hinduism, look it up)

The man protesting in the text isn’t wrong. So the parents are ok with their offspring getting exposed to eastern stuff, but not presenting the gospel to their eighteen year old? How will their Anna learn of Christ if she does not hear?: “[13] For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”[14] How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? [15] And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!” (Romans 10:13-15). I mean kids these days have liturgies of eastern thought in their shows, but oh do not force them to hear about Jesus on Sunday! That’s coercion!  

Pres. Obama was right, this is Post-Christian America. 

 

huh? Shes dancing in a club and the parents say they witness to her? What eastern stuff?

What would you say here. It's based on a statement I heard a christian man say.

This is a funny story from a christian book im reading. What do you think.

 Based on an actual conversation I had with a christian couple. Their daughter who grew up in church with me  had married an unsaved man  and they had used the exact same arguement when I in passing mentioned about unequally yoked. I handt the the heart to tell them that she didnt live much like a christian when she was going to church and had married him when she stopped attending .

Another similar situation happened when I was speaking about homosexuality to another professed Christian. They fiercely attacked and found excuses to debunk all of the verses speaking against it going so far as to claim the bible said it was an abomination, not a sin. To them - abomination meant unnatural, not necessarily wrong. It bewildered me until in passing they later mentioned their eldest child was a lesbian and had moved in with her girlfriend.

A point made by a christian youtuber was this- When dealing with such issues, its important we as christians resolve to take a side regardless  ie purpose to stand with God and his word regardless  of what our loved ones are doing. Not doing so means we may slide over to a more permissive attitude

6 minutes ago, kwikphilly said:

Hi creative

Well your probably getting some " push back " just from starting out as you did,HATE is a pretty strong word.....and capitalized at that so its quite obvious that Lady & I struck a nerve just because..... Hmmm,what? Is it because you need/want more of a physical relationship than she and I both have no desire of?

Neither of us ever suggested what is good for us should be for anyone else ,its personal- we've both been through some pretty horrible experiences and we are at Peace alone with our Lord & Savior....

For me,I never wanted to leave my earthly Dad to get married in the furst placed( 1st time around)so now,nearly 45 years later I'm very much at home with my Heavenly Father,I dont need Him to be sitting on the couch next to me in a physical body to see hear or feel Him with me be cause I do see,hear & feel His Loving Embrace..... And that is for ME

So if you HATE what I'm saying then thats on you

There's a big difference between being alone and being lonely,I'm not lonely and dont need anyone to fill any void- no doubt others may be quite lonely without a mate.. Did that/ been there- its suffocating for me

God Bless you & I'm thrilled you have a wonderful match to spend your time on this earth with,I hope the same Blessing for anyone with the same hearts desire

I think Ive been misinterpreted. Some people will never marry because God doesnt have that for them in their lives and some people will be content  and happy with their singleness. Nothing wrong with that. God knows whats best for them.

What my issue is when people  make it out that a relationship and God and an intimate relationship with another are exactly the same thing. Theyre not.  What i once saw was in another Christian forum a woman saying she was wishing for a husband and someone told her you have a relationship with Jesus, isnt that enough. It was like he was trying to guilt her for wanting something totally human and natural.

When God created man, he acknowledged the benefit of a spouse-"Its not good for man to be alone" and the bible in different places points out marriage as a positive thing.

A relationship with God and one with a human being are two totally different types of relationships so we shouldnt try to act like one has the exact same dynamic and benefits as the other, the bible never does (as far as I know). Since we cant hear, touch or see God, the relationship dynamic with Him and a spouse  that is visible, audible and tangible will be different. There are things we can do with one you cant do with the other.

11 minutes ago, Marathoner said:

I did. 

You asked for input, my friend. You've getting that so I have to wonder: what, exactly, are you wanting in this topic? For others to agree with you, or to offer their input? I noticed how you misconstrued what I wrote earlier, and I paid it no mind; but in light of how you've misrepresented what another member wrote, this seems to be indicative of something you didn't lay out on the table from the start. 

I don't for a moment believe you intentionally misrepresented my initial contribution, which is the reason why I did reread what I wrote a few minutes ago and dispensed with it. It was off. 

There are some of us who are more than content with our relationship with Jesus Christ, and this isn't without precedent in the scriptures. We don't *need* to date anyone nor seek a wife (or husband). Is that difficult to understand? Perhaps it is for some. I get that. 

Like I wrote in my response to ladypeartree above I haven't attempted to persuade anyone else to do as I do, @creativemechanic. It seems like you're trying to do that, but of course I could be wrong. 

trust me. You really didnt.  You accused me of judging ,when all i did was express disagreement with a statememt people made.  You may want to reread and see if you werent the one doing the judging

7 minutes ago, Marathoner said:

That's your belief, @creativemechanic. One cannot take exception to the position of others, claiming they are thrusting their view upon others, when the complainant is engaging in that very enterprise themselves.  

We get that you believe God lacks a voice and that's your affair. It defines your outlook. However, it would be best for you to refrain from judging others, disparaging their faith in the Lord, all because of your fixation upon this flesh. Not everyone believes as you do. 

You asked for input in the OP. You're receiving it. Is that not sufficient, or are you looking for answers which please you? 

You may want to reread what you just said.

6 hours ago, kwikphilly said:

Agreed and He Pronises so much more than a lifetime commitment, marriage to Him is for Eternity!!!

6 hours ago, ladypeartree said:

being " single " is a HUGE blessing ... I left my husband at the age of 27 with my 4 children. He put me into hospital with several broken bones   and threats to kill me and disapear with the children . He had cheated on me within a year of marriage and had a child with the other woman , then cheated several times afterwith others ,hit me often and locked me into the house as he was convinced I would cheat on him ( projecting his guilt onto me )   He hated me going to church as he honestly believed if he gave money to " the church " that was all that was needed (poor man )  I have been single ever since and have had no wish to ever remarry even though I havent seen him since that day apart from the court for our divorce when he told the judge he just gave ea few back handers to keep me in line .

He died several years ago from  what I was told ( he was 15 years older than me and my children found out via social media as he didnt want to keep in touch with them THANK YOU LORD )  but I still have no regrets about staying single  So never worry about finding a partner you have the best partner in your life with Christ 

 No offense to you but   I personally HATE  to hear people try to  equate these 2 together. A relationship with God and a human relationship are 2 different  entities  each with its own benefits. As far as I know, the   Bible never makes them  out to be the same.People need to stop trying to say 1 can replace the other. Some  people can live alone and be completely fulfilled  with their relatiopnship with God and theres nothing wrong with that. But people need to stop acting like you shouldnt want to be married because you have Jesus.

God is invisible, inaudible and intangible, so there are plenty of things in a marriage that you wont get from your relationship with God-  physical company, emotional support, sex etc and the bible in various verses speaks on the merits of these things.

Saying things like that can be very insensitive to people who want to get married because it makes it seem like they shouldnt want something the Bible says is good.

5 hours ago, kwikphilly said:

Hey all,its funny - I just read the pages I missed to catch up & I love how there are such serious comments with good advice ,beautiful testimonies and then total ridiculously silly comments in between..... Its a big mix of love,compassion,sympathy,joy,sadness,laughter,understanding,wisdom ,humor,kindness,fellowship ...it brings me back to wonderful memories of my big  Italian Sunday family gatherings

Talk about " blind dates"- ha! My ancestors set up their children's marraigrs( fixed/ arranged marriage)_ It was customary in Sicily.So my grandmother was promised to a pretty well off fellow in America & she was sent here on  ship ( Olga was the name of the boat) to marry a man she never met,she was a teenager.....She was a stunningly beautiful young lady with quite a mind of her own

There was a handsome young Sicilian man who was a passenger on the Olga, he caught a glimpse of my grandmother and was taken by her beauty,he had to meet her

The young man was my grandfather- they fell madly in love on the journey to America and he asked her to marry him! Grandmother said" yes"..... She used to brag about her beauty(she was terribly vain) She would say" Because I'm so beautiful it cost him( my grandpa) a fortune to have me as his wife- lol

They had to pay the fiancée's family double what they paid my grandmothers parents for the betrothal promise plus my grandfather had to negotiate with her parents for their blessings blessings( more money!)...& they were together until my grandpa passed away,they had 6 kids,dozens of grandkids ( they named their first born " Olga")

Anyway,speaking of " blind dates"- love is blind,they say and because of " love" which I'd say they fell in "lust"- they broke every rule in the book( Book of Sicilians?)caused a lot of chaos for 2 families and had a tumultuous relationship for decades...... I often wonder if arranged marriages are so bad, they seem to stay together,become friends & learn to love each other in most cases I've heard of... The falling in " love" stuff I'm not so sure about anymore

From a Christian point of view I'm all confused these days,tbh- maybe I'm not supposed to get it,just meant to be by myself with the Lord

With love in Christ, Kwik

 

there are 2 sides to every story. People like to romaticizie things without pointing out the other ends  How many of such matchups work like that. Often, marriagaes are arranged for  financial convenience, sometimes little girls get bethrothed to  men who are already adults when they are now born etc.People say muslims do arranged marriages and they work out, but  they dont point out how fast muslims also divorce

3 hours ago, Sower said:

Well, I doubt she was hiding anything when he met her with her kids (as the picture shows). Perhaps she only wanted to see his reactions, good or bad. Her concern for her children may have been more important than just having a good time.

I don't know what it 'feels' like to be a single mom. I remember the overwhelming responsibility I had when I had three children that my wife and I were entrusted to raise. She did the vast majority of work/teaching them while I brought home the beans. It was great having a helpmate, but was also years of learning and work, and that was with two of us, not a single mom.

Perhaps this mom was actually looking for a man, a  real man who might enjoy having a ready made family whom he could love.
I met my wife on a blind date sort-of, when my cousin living with me had girlfriend come over to go swimming and had a friend with her, unknown to us. My future wife, whom I knew nothing about.
We were opposites, and fit together nicely. (50yrs, A Godsend-literally)

Online dating is only the result of today's social climate, screen time communication. No more face to face. (Like right now as I type, you only know what I reveal about myself, and what you try to read between the lines) Should we meet in actuality, your anticipated perception of my face and personality will probably be nothing like what you finally encounter.  And people want it right now, instant gratification, and get online dating services and can almost order a date from Amazon or E Bay.

I do not believe these people are that desperate.
But it is a socially accepted alternative to meet without the hassle of waiting/looking for Mr/Ms right, in person.

While i think his reaction is wrong. Shes wrong for hiding the kids. Let him see what hes getting  up front so he can decide before he starts to connect. Not every man or woman is keen on being a step parent and they have every right to