Dakila777

Yes, this place does offer a lot of opportunities for growing up. And it has a great history too. I'm glad to be part of it. And yes, there are some people that I miss also that I would like to talk to again....

Personally, I don't concern myself much on the things that are happening and are going to happen on the world at large. My focus is mostly on my daily burdens, and on becoming the best servant I can be for God. My reasoning is that there's not much use in becoming worried about the things happening outside, when I cannot even do something about them. It would be better for me to focus on my growth and on my present—to be of better use to God—so that I will be prepared to face the uncertain future when it comes. And as to your various questions about apostasy and salvation, all I know and care about—for now—is that there is already a great falling away happening, and that someday I will do my part to help bring them back to God. Just remember the parable of the Prodigal Son. God wants his lost children back. You may have noticed that I don't participate much in discussions such as this. Now you know why. I don't want to be lost in too much contemplation of the future when my present is still unsecured.

Yup :thumbsup: God is a jealous God. He wants to be the Number One in our lives. It doesn't mean that we should not love other people. But it means that we should love God above them all

Because the evangelism that was done to me went badly—I was driven away from Jesus instead of being brought close to him—I've learned to be very careful and very understanding in my own evangelism efforts, and I act only when there is a clear leading of the Spirit. And because my own acceptance of Christ had never been properly explained to me, much less its real cost, I've come to prefer telling someone the true cost of following Jesus in the beginning—in general terms, of course—before I ask him whether he wants to accept Jesus as his Savior or not. I'm not after numbers here; I'm not here to "sell" salvation; what I want is to find those who can be true followers of the Lord. Besides, the blessings of God only come to those who are truly devoted to him, and people need to know about that, before they decide. They need to know that they cannot expect blessings if they will only return to their sinful ways after being saved. Nevertheless, even after being informed of the real cost before the decision was made, a new believer will still find that hearing about it is much different from experiencing it. It is easy to say, "I will give all to Jesus." Doing it is another matter entirely. Still, I prefer honesty in the beginning. That's how Jesus had done it. He was very clear about the cost of following him. "Then Jesus told his disciples, If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his life? Or what shall a man give in return for his life?" (Matthew 16:24-26 [ESV]) "Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it." (Matthew 10:37-39 [ESV]) "Now great crowds accompanied him, and he turned and said to them, If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple. Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple. For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it? Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, saying, This man began to build and was not able to finish. Or what king, going out to encounter another king in war, will not sit down first and deliberate whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand? And if not, while the other is yet a great way off, he sends a delegation and asks for terms of peace. So therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple." (Luke 14:25-33 [ESV])

I remember my own honeymoon period with Jesus. Unfortunately for me, God had led me to a community that could not really accept my passion for Jesus, and would later reject me. I learned a lot, but you could say that I was never a babe in the Lord for long. God wanted me to grow up fast.

Hey Jai, you double-posted your topic. You better let a moderator know so that one of them can be deleted.

Okay Bro. I really didn't want to argue. I am seeing your point, and you obviously feel strongly about it. If truth be told, I am more like you; I tend to focus more on the work at hand, on my daily burdens, than on what is happening on the world at large. I've also read your response to Oakwood, and so I can understand where your strong feelings are coming from. I had been misled too in the past, both by the devil and by leaders I thought were true servants of the Lord.

But what if God allows it that you be affected personally someday? You are still living in this world after all, and you cannot realistically expect to be shielded from all that is going to happen. And if God does shield you, personally, would you still not care, if the world around you is already collapsing because of the actions of this man?

What he says might matter to you someday, when the repercussions of his actions finally affects you personally.

I agree with you completely, Omegaman

Yup, you yourself said that you were a bad boy, Butero

Just tell me if/when you want those resources.

This is an emotional abuse. I had a best friend once, who was in a similar situation. I tried to help her; unfortunately, despite the opportunities given to her by God, she lacked the faith to follow through. And so she is still trapped, and we're not friends anymore. Your friend should really consider separation (not divorce). I'm no expert, but that is the advice given by a pastor I trust and respect to those who are being abused in their marriage. If you want, I can PM you some links to resources you can study.

There may be good reasons why they seem to dislike you. However, based only on what you've shared in your post, I cannot even make a guess why. Perhaps you can explain more to us the situation?

Well said, Brother. I myself just had a struggle with these demonic forces a few days ago. They come at me whenever I'm seriously ministering to people and souls are at stake.

We will all be a year older. That is significant enough

But sometimes it is worrying... a little I'm just glad that the website is back online.

@ Ezra. Thanks for the info about the KJV. Now I can sound knowledgeable if somebody asks me something about its history

@ Butero. KJV is also popular here. I actually have two copies of it. A small one for devotional reading, and a large one as a desktop reference. But as I've indicated earlier in the thread, I'm not yet ready to dig into it because of its old-fashioned language. I actually have a NKJV, which I found in a used-books store, but it is a One-Year Bible (rearranged for daily readings) and has no footnotes, so I don't use it much. By the way, I don't have yet a credit card, so I can't order a NKJV from Amazon or other online stores :) No matter, I'm still studying the Scriptures in a general way, and ESV suffices for that. In the future, when I am ready to dig in deep, KJV and NKJV will be among those that I'll be studying—you can be sure of it.

Sounds like a controversy in the making Are you ready to take on the heat? What I am ready to do is seek to obey the one who made me but seriously I do understand that it is God who gives authority unto men for his purpose. I wonder at times about his ways. I do not really know the history of KJV, nor why it is called the Authorized Version. Had done some research about it years ago, when I was choosing my preferred version, but I'd already forgotten much about what I learned

Sounds like a controversy in the making Are you ready to take on the heat?

Amen.

It should be extremely worrying, but because Christians have been sold a bill of goods, most Christians are not aware of how seriously deficient the NIV is. It should be regarded as THE MOST UNRELIABLE of popular modern versions. I have done the necessary in-depth research to say this with confidence. Have made some research myself (though not in depth) in choosing my preferred Bible version, and I've chosen the English Standard Version, which belongs to the KJV tradition. I also use the World English Bible, which has the same root. I plan to become familiar with the KJV some time in the future, but for now it also just too old school for me The English Standard Version does not belong to the KJV tradition. I just happened to purchase a copy of that translation recently to do research on various translations, and it leaves out the verses brought up in the OP. Most of the new translations do. What concerns me most about this, in addition to the fact that this means part of God's Word is being left out of the Bible, is the attack on the Biblical canon. The canon stated that there are 66 books that make up the Bible, and that would include the book's contents. This matter was supposed to have been settled. With the modern English Bibles, part of the Biblical canon has been removed. Some have tried to defend this by saying that the Books are canon, not the contents, but that is ludicrous. If that is the case, I could in theory remove entire chapters, like John chapter 3 for instance, and still claim I am holding to the canon since there is still part of John's gospel present. Once you accept part being removed, you may as well question the validity of the canon. This brings up another matter to me, and that is how people really view the canon. Did God move upon men to where they knew what should be in the Bible, or did men just of their own accord look for certain things and determine based on man-made criteria to give their mark of approval to 66 books? I have always held to the idea that God moved upon these men to give us the entire Bible as he wanted us to have it, but if you believe that to be true, you cannot possibly defend modern translations that remove part of the established canon. You would have to take the more liberal view that the canon may not be fully legitimate. Some things perhaps were included that shouldn't have been and some things left out that perhaps should be included. That is not my position, so that is why I take assaults on the canon so serious. This brings up another issue. Is it possible that God could have moved upon the KJV translators to give us a perfect Bible translation and thus preserve his Word? If you can accept the canon as inspired, I don't see why this is so far fetched. Neither can be proven, so I don't even bother anymore, but I certainly have no problem believing that. I trust my KJV Bible completely. Still, I realize this is a matter of faith, and I can't prove something that requires faith, which is why I have decided that for those who simply refuse to accept God gave us a Bible we can fully trust in the KJV Bible, and those who say it is too hard to read, I have compromised with the NKJV Bible. At least the Biblical canon is preserved. I don't use the NKJV Bible or any modern English translation. I trust my KJV Bible, but the NKJV Bible isn't directly calling into question the canon. So once again, I feel the need to ask this question of anyone with an open enough mind to answer it truthfully. How can you believe the canon is of God, and accept translations that remove part of the established canon? I'm not going to argue with you, Brother, as you obviously know more about this than I do. But thanks for the info about ESV. When I said that ESV belongs to the KJV tradition, I was only relaying what was stated in the Preface.... I know that the ESV is not perfect, but it's the best choice I have here in the Philippines. The most popular modern English Bibles here are the NIV and the Good News. NKJV is no longer being printed.

Please, indulge my ignorance about Christianity, but I am receiving posts that do not seem to harmonize themselves. I am happy your life is in color now, but I am slightly more interested in what our afterlife will look like, if any. Which is obvious, considering that eternity basically annihilates any value our lives can have for a few decades here on earth. Let us assume that I end my life as an unbeliever, while having lived the best of lives; will I go to Heaven? siegi Yes, you can live the best of lives here on earth, but when you die, the only thing that will matter is whether you've accepted Jesus Christ as your Savior or not... whether you have a personal relationship with him or not. You will stand before him, and be judged according to this. You will go to heaven if he is your Savior; to hell if otherwise. "Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." (Philippians 2:9-11 ESV) "For as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so also the Son gives life to whom he will. The Father judges no one, but has given all judgment to the Son, that all may honor the Son, just as they honor the Father. Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him. Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life." (John 5:21-24 ESV) "because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. For the Scripture says, Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame. For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him. For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved." (Romans 10:9-13 ESV) And no, I don't completely agree with you that "eternity basically annihilates any value our lives can have for a few decades here on earth." For the unsaved, yes, this will be (mostly) true, but not to those who are serving Jesus Christ with their lives. Their lives are meaningful and influential. And their lives will remain meaningful and influential, even after they die and go to heaven. You can easily see these with the saints who are still influencing the Church to this very day. And yes, there are those whose service goes mostly unnoticed, but their lives are meaningful and influential nevertheless. And they are being rewarded, these servants, here on earth and in heaven: "But, as it is written, 'What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him—'" (I Corinthians 2:9 ESV) "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God's power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls." (I Peter 1:3-9 ESV) "Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." (Matthew 6:19-21 ESV)

i see a little problem in my case, which might not be at all applicable to all atheists. I cannot possibly believe or disbelieve a God because of the heart. The moment my heart takes over, is the moment I am double skeptic of what it tells me. I cannot help but feel a natural predisposition or instinct to default to belief in something my heart likes. A predisposition that I must compensate via other means, in order to avoid an unsubstantiated bias toward certain claims. If I will ever believe in a God, that will only happen via a process of rational analysis, for I beleve the heart is quite unreliable when it comes to determine the existence of objective ontological realities. What if God reveals himself to you? Would that be enough to make you believe? In my opinion, no matter how good the explanations and arguments are, you cannot come to ever believe in God by rational analysis alone. For one thing, he is invisible. It takes some faith. And it takes some listening to the heart, for God speaks to the heart. Jesus said to him, "Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed." (John 20:29 ESV)