ayin jade

Make sure they are a bible believing church. Definitely rule out cults like mormon/ latter day saints, jehovah witnesses, unitarian. Calvary Chapels are good. http://www.calvarychapel.com/affiliates/index.htm This is a locator for you, to find one close to you, if that helps. Read the statements of faith. Ask the board moderators here about the churches' statements of faith if you have any doubts about them. Pray too and ask the Lord for His guidance.

Beth, we've been praying for you, and everyone, in chat. He calms the winds and waters Beth, everything is in His hands.

Ephesians 6:10-18 Put on the armor of God. Read the bible, pray, talk to your pastor. Rebuke the demons there in the name of Jesus. Jesus defeated satan on the cross.

WIP, 2 wrongs dont make a right as the saying goes. I am sorry for all the hurt feelings in here. I have not participated in any of this. My weight problem stems from a fall 12 years ago. I lost mobility as a result. Over time, osteoarthritis set in, and more nerve damage has occured. Where I used to be athletic, now I am lucky if I can do minor housework. I suffer from chronic pain too. Over time, I have gained weight. If you think that is sin, you are entitled to that opinion. If you feel better lashing out at me, because of the hurt feelings here, well ok. Please dont justify the pain people felt in that thread because of what you all have experienced in here. People were hurt there that had nothing to do with this thread, and hurt needlessly. Nothing done to any one here justifies lashing out elsewhere. Ive made my point. You are free to accept or reject it. I will read for awhile for any replies, but I feel it is better for me not to contribute any more to this thread.

Speaking as a sister in Christ............. I have spent hours wondering whether or not to say anything. Except for the above post about how marijuana is illegal, Ive neither posted nor read this thread. Yet I felt attacked in the thread on eating. Was that thread started purely to discuss what the bible had to say about it? Or was that thread started with the intent to lash out at people who were hurting you in this thread. I will assume it was open to discuss what the bible had to say. Unfortunately it didnt stay that way as member after member, some of whom had nothing to do with this thread were hurt at the blatant attacks on their weight. I was one who was hurt. Not by you Lady C, by another. I did not complain, althought I considered it. I dont know why any thread is deleted, or why others are not. You will have to discuss that with the particular moderator who made that decision under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Lately there have been a number of threads that have become openly hostile to members. Ive been concerned, as a member, and as a beleiver. All of us need to be focused on our purpose here: fellowship, learning, uplifting others, guiding those who seek Him, and most importantly, glorifying the Lord. If our purpose in threads is to "win" our arguments at all costs, then please look into your hearts and ask yourself if this is what the Lord would want of us. Im praying for all of us, and worthy ministries.

Private interpretation, as in interpretation without the Holy Spirit.

I have great news! Jesus loves you and can forgive that sin. Turn back on that lifestyle. Repent and return to God. He can forgive that sin just as He has forgiven us of our sins. He desires you to turn back on sin and live as He desires. Homosexuality is not something God likes. That is plainly stated in scripture.

Romans 14 1Accept him whose faith is weak, without passing judgment on disputable matters. 2One man's faith allows him to eat everything, but another man, whose faith is weak, eats only vegetables. 3The man who eats everything must not look down on him who does not, and the man who does not eat everything must not condemn the man who does, for God has accepted him. 4Who are you to judge someone else's servant? To his own master he stands or falls. And he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand. 5One man considers one day more sacred than another; another man considers every day alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind. 6He who regards one day as special, does so to the Lord. He who eats meat, eats to the Lord, for he gives thanks to God; and he who abstains, does so to the Lord and gives thanks to God. 7For none of us lives to himself alone and none of us dies to himself alone. 8If we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord. 9For this very reason, Christ died and returned to life so that he might be the Lord of both the dead and the living. 10You, then, why do you judge your brother? Or why do you look down on your brother? For we will all stand before God's judgment seat. 11It is written: " 'As surely as I live,' says the Lord, 'every knee will bow before me; every tongue will confess to God.' " 12So then, each of us will give an account of himself to God. 13Therefore let us stop passing judgment on one another. Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in your brother's way. 14As one who is in the Lord Jesus, I am fully convinced that no food is unclean in itself. But if anyone regards something as unclean, then for him it is unclean. 15If your brother is distressed because of what you eat, you are no longer acting in love. Do not by your eating destroy your brother for whom Christ died. 16Do not allow what you consider good to be spoken of as evil. 17For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit, 18because anyone who serves Christ in this way is pleasing to God and approved by men. 19Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification. 20Do not destroy the work of God for the sake of food. All food is clean, but it is wrong for a man to eat anything that causes someone else to stumble. 21It is better not to eat meat or drink wine or to do anything else that will cause your brother to fall. 22So whatever you believe about these things keep between yourself and God. Blessed is the man who does not condemn himself by what he approves. 23But the man who has doubts is condemned if he eats, because his eating is not from faith; and everything that does not come from faith is sin. (Not meaning any condemnation to anyone, but it just seems that people might benefit from this particular chapter.)

Wow Gary, I had no idea. It makes my aches seem quite minor, since I have so far been able to limit my need for pain meds to only occassional times. God bless.

Oh Bodhi, Im sorry, but that is just so wrong. Smoking marijuana is illegal, immoral and a sin.

Sadly, there are many predators out there, and people can be too trusting at times. There are a few websites devoted to tracking these predators down and stopping them. Even so, this can still happen. We know that in the end times, men's hearts will grow cold, and they will all do evil things. Use caution at all times please.

Illness can happen without it being sin related.

Praise God in all things.

And give up Amazing Race? Sorry, not just because one news group got caught lying. They all do that. What would be effective is a letter writing campaign Trinity. At one point I heard it said that for every phone call, there are x amount of people who feel the same way, and for every letter, there are 2x amount of people who feel the same way. Start a letter writing campaign instead of a boycott. That will get their attention.

In my sig line is a verse from Romans. In it, it plainly states that the Lord has evidence of Him in all creation, so that no man is without an excuse. He promises to reveal Himself to those who seek Him. Anyone who looks for God will find Him. We can trust the Lord in this.

I personally think it is unfair to vilify doctors and the medical profession that way. I know a lot of doctors quite well and can assure you that they want to cure people and take it quite personally if someone isnt healed. They do not have a mentality that if we can keep them sick, then they will need us and we can make money. Yes, only the Lord can heal people fully. And Ive seen examples of that. Ive been an example of that. I also know the Lord can use modern medicine to effect those cures too. Please dont regard the medical field as some horrible evil. That is far from the truth. Those examples where people spend everything they have and never get better isnt solely the medical professions fault, but the desperation of those with illnesses as well. Some people cant accept the fact that they have an illness and seek desperate measures to fight them. Doctors go along with it for fear of medical malpractice suits. Our system of medical care changed drastically over the last few decades with the advent of managed health care systems (HMOs). Changed for the worse, I might add. There are far more examples of people going to the doctor, getting a prescription, and getting well, completely well. All things are in His will. All people forget that regardless of whether or not they seek medical help or not. Ok, Im going to try to stay out of this thread. God bless.

We dont need to rely on the organized church for this. We dont need the organized church to donate to the needy. We ourselves, outside the organized church, can willingly help out by donating money or time to food kitchens, community closets, homeless shelters. Sometimes I think we get too hung up in only the organized church can help to realize that we ourselves can do so much on our own as well. * I used organized church to refer to the local church you attend as opposed to the Church body of Christ.

Quietly agrees with this. :hug: :hug: :hug: :hug: :hug: :hug: :hug:

But are we scripturally to give to those who ask, even if we suspect that they are lying to us?

One day last week, a poor looking man on a bike came up to me in the parking lot and asked me for money. He gave me a story about his car breaking down while he was here on a family emergency. This episode sparked a lot of thought on my part and discussion with my husband on how he would prefer I handle such incidents. My question to you all is simple..... If someone asks for money, and you are not sure if the reason he or she is giving to you is truth or not, what is the proper Christian response? Scriptural references are prefered if you can provide them.

I can only speak for myself (my family). We give where we are led to. Sometimes that means helping an individual who needs something. Sometimes that means goods for an organization. Sometimes it means money. Maybe Im wrong, but it strikes me as legalistic to spend exact amounts only to certain groups. That may be just my background. My parents routinely gave to groups just for the tax break. They taught us to do that too. That is not real charity since it didnt come from the heart. It was not an offer to God, but to themselves. God and I are still discussing this issue. Im learning still (like, oh, last Wednesday).

Romans 14: 1Accept him whose faith is weak, without passing judgment on disputable matters. 2One man's faith allows him to eat everything, but another man, whose faith is weak, eats only vegetables. 3The man who eats everything must not look down on him who does not, and the man who does not eat everything must not condemn the man who does, for God has accepted him. 4Who are you to judge someone else's servant? To his own master he stands or falls. And he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand. 5One man considers one day more sacred than another; another man considers every day alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind. 6He who regards one day as special, does so to the Lord. He who eats meat, eats to the Lord, for he gives thanks to God; and he who abstains, does so to the Lord and gives thanks to God. 7For none of us lives to himself alone and none of us dies to himself alone. 8If we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord. 9For this very reason, Christ died and returned to life so that he might be the Lord of both the dead and the living. 10You, then, why do you judge your brother? Or why do you look down on your brother? For we will all stand before God's judgment seat. 11It is written: " 'As surely as I live,' says the Lord, 'every knee will bow before me; every tongue will confess to God.' " 12So then, each of us will give an account of himself to God.

There is a lot of misunderstanding about that. Some people seem to think that we are not to make ANY judgements of any kind. Yet the bible tells us to watch out for false teachers and prophets. To determine that, we need to have some judgement. We are to approach brothers (and sisters) in sin and talk to them, even casting them out if they are not repentent. That also requires judgement of some sort. (May I ask, what is your avatar? Who is the person in it?)