Unfailing Presence

According to the Lord's instruction and command our "neighbor" is another believer of a different spiritual tribe (as in the 12 tribes of Israel). It does not mean someone you may live near, or across the street, or someone you bump into at the super-duper market. ALL things Covenant belong to those IN Covenant. Not even God casts His Pearl, Jesus Christ, to swine. Thanks. You have no way of knowing who is a " believer " and neither do I . That is why Jesus placed no parameters on who is our " neighbor " . In fact Jesus commands us to give & preach the gospel to our "neighbors " specifically for the reason that they may have never heard the good news and therefore are not believers . " In your prayers make intercession for all men . " ( 1 Timothy 2 : 1 )

That "deep yearning" was put into His elect people Not my experience . The real " love " you need to answer to know the heart of God requires looking into a mirror and asking ourselves , " why do I not love my neighbor as I love myself ? "

If God does not love everyone why did He put into the soul of every person a deep yearning for God ? "Thou hast made us for Thyself and our soul is restless until we rest in Thee" , is still the echo of every person's soul today . " Acquaint now thyself with Him and be at peace , thereby good shall come unto to thee ." ( Job 22 :21 )

Something you may want to look into that I have heard spoken about before but never followed up on is current world population based upon modern man's acknowledged arrival at historic rates of reproduction . life spans , etc,etc,etc . Seems to me I chanced upon a discussion one time ,sort of in the middle of it , and it was pretty eye opening . Sort of in the way that most people do not realize until to work it out that if you took one penny today doubled it tomorrow and kept doubling it every day for 6 months you would never have to earn another cent the rest of you life . I will look into it myself and let you know if I can find out anything .

"works " as the bible refers to them are things seen of men . This is where Jesus said " they have their reward " . That " reward " being the congratulations of men . Accepting Jesus is the most private intimate thing a person can do , it is done within the heart . Many people who publicly make a " work " saying they accept Jesus have no part with Him . No other human can ever be 100 % sure of another human's relationship with Jesus .

Hmm...I don't know if it's true or not, because I have not checked scripture, that the Lord never appeared to any other nation. It is not primarily the fact that Israel is the only nation God appeared before , but mainly the reason He did so . So here you have two vital factors the fact that He did appear , and the purpose for which He did appear . Is there any possible reason you can formulate as to why He would appear to any other nation besides Israel ?

What about Abraham? And Lot? And Noah? None were Jews. And I think God wiped out a great many people in the flood that were not Jews, dealing with them "face to face". When I say a " people " I am speaking in terms of nations . The Jews being the only nation in History to whom God physically manifested Himself to .

The clearest human based lack of reasoning behind the Post-trib thought is the neglect , inability to deal with God's message for the building up of the nation Israel . The only way they can deal with themselves being on the scene is by clumsily interjecting themselves into being God's needed emissaries for restoration of Israel to God . "God needs us to accomplish this " being the thought . Completely ignoring the fact that God's Word tells us the Jews are the only people in human history God has dealt with Face to Face . All by His lonesome . God started dealing with Israel Face to face , and God is still the same . It is as if they believe God tried doing it Himself Face to face , but it did not work out so well , so now we will help God with this Jewish issue .

A good observation. I'll also add that Judas probably wanted to "get in on a good thing", thinking that Jesus would take the throne and create His kingdom on earth. When things didn't go according to plan, I think Judas wanted to put Jesus in a position so that "His hand was forced" and that Jesus would have to demonstrate His power. Instead, we all know how it ended for Judas... Right . A lot of money involved in the type of earthly kingdom Judas was thinking of .

Judas's maneuvered his way into being charge of the money from the very beginning because therein was what he loved and treasured : " ..he was a thief , and had the bag . " ( John 12 : 6) He never cared for others , ever : "..not that he cared for the poor ." ( John 12 : 6 ) His masquerade obviously did not fool everyone . The only way one could have witnessed 3 years worth Lazarus raised from the dead type miracles , and then desired to be satisfied by nothing more than the creature comforts of this world money can buy is if the cistern they drink from never contained the Water of Life to begin with . " The Lord is my strength and song . " ( Psalm 118 : 14 )

It does not show at all at this point that Judas was given over to the love of money, no evidence whatsoever till later on But you agree that like the salvation that is available to all , according to Jesus there were conditions to be met in order to activate the special " power" He offered to them ?

No not in this case, but rather used of God in Christ's ministry. And here is another scripture: Mat 10:1 (1) And when he had called unto him his twelve disciples, he gave them power against unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all manner of sickness and all manner of disease. If you read Jesus's full instruction to them this " power " was not given carte blanche . A little short sighted not to read the quite lengthy qualifications Jesus attached to this " power " Just as Jesus offers salvation to ALL . Yet ALL are not saved . One of the first qualifications was they were to have no concern for money : " Provide neither GOLD, nor SILVER , nor BRASS in your purses ." Yet we know that Judas loved money and was a thief . Yes the " power " Jesus offered He offered to them all . Then the ball was in each of their own courts

Are you speaking of his being , " used of God " , to betray Jesus ?

It basically comes down to God's desire to help you vs the devil's desire to hurt you . Look at everything that you have , God granted this day complete with the uplifting consciousness of His unfailing presence . He gave you the beauty of the world , in which we are able to forget ourselves and minister unto others , our loved ones , our food , shelter , clothing , sunshine . And the greatest of all gifts His only begotten Son for the forgiveness of our sins , He gives us the victory over death & the power to shun evil . God was our help in ages past , our hope for the ages to come . The really amazing thing that speaks to God's goodness is that if you were the only person to ever live , He would have done it all the same and extended all the same grace , forgiveness , and reconciliation just for you alone . It's really a no brainer . " My HELP cometh from the Lord , which made the heaven and the earth ….He that keepeth thee will not slumber ." ( Psalm 121 : 2-3 )

People in developed countries have greater access to birth control. But it is also proven in numerous studies that the more education a person has, they later they get married and the less interested they are in *ahem* intimate recreational activity. May not be a real good barometer but I have known at least two instances within my extended family of couples struggling to have a child . Interesting with one of the couples , I think partially in an effort to change everything that had been so heart wrenching for them , decided to sell everything and become Christian missionaries half way around the world . Making a total commitment to Jesus . No sooner did they become established in this other country Christ granted them their desire for a child , + more . They fulfilled their missionary work for several years , and came back to the states with several new additions . Just another example that there is nothing about us the Lord does not know and care about , and we just need to let Him lead us .

I don't know if it is true or not but I have heard it said that people in the more " developed " countries in general are less fertile , and that may be a factor .

I can say with absolute certainty that the Rapture is closer on September 14 , 2018 than is was on September 13 , 2018 .

I'm glad for that. Of course it makes me wonder how old you are and if you were a Christian in the 80's where you lived, because things may have been very different in other areas, especially the Bible Belt states. I'm not saying I heard this preached from a pulpit but the friends I had in my first church basically used to say this to me. I never bought it which lead to many a debate I had with them. I always felt I knew inside myself that even after we are saved we will still have to answer for sins. I see this all over the NT. But I was always told I was wrong. I'm not wrong. Right you are . And that is exactly where I was going with my answer is that if you are in Christ then why would you want to sin anyway . The Temptation of sin is always there but if you are in Christ then the attractive temptation of sin will lose it's shiny luster more and more with each passing day . If you told me today that I could engage in sinful behavior I did before I knew Christ and not have to suffer for it at all , it would not matter to me at all , and would not cause me to change the path I have chosen at all . In Him is my pleasure and fullness of joy forevermore .

I kind of did already. 35 yrs ago almost everyone was being taught that once they were saved they could sin with impunity, this is false. I have to honestly say I have never met a Christian who would believe such a thing . And I have never heard it taught . I have met Christians who say they know they are , or have , committed a certain sin and that they will have to answer for it , but even these deliberate ones did not believe they had " impunity " in their mischief .

Could you give a specific example of such a sin that a believer would not be aware of ?

I'm not paying an awful price for my sin. And i wont be paying one after im dead. Jesus already did, on the cross, for me. Thats why He came. This is : Salvation. Its wonderful, and its FREE. You misunderstood the context I was referencing . Saved from the penalty of sin is one thing . But being " FREE" from the penalty of sin does not then make you "FREE" to sin . That was the context . Any time I have ever made a deliberate decision to sin I have paid a price for it . And any time you have made a deliberate decision to sin you have paid a price as well . God did not let David get by with it , and He is not going to let me or you get by with it either . Daily prayer for His direction is best for He will protect and guide us in our time of temptation . " He leadeth me " ( Psalm 23 : 2 )

Of the congregation in almost any church it is a safe bet that a fairly large percentage of the attendees are not saved . People attend church for a variety of other reasons , business , social , family tradition , , , . Same goes for the organized Christian Music industry . And it gets worse . In the town I live one of the largest churches had a very well respected , very esteemed music director. That is how big this church is it could afford it's own full time music director . He had been there for years . It turned out this music director had been cultivating and sexually assaulting multiple children for quite some time . He has been in prison now for over a decade and hopefully will die there . My point is this , the " world " is everywhere & you do not have to find yourself an imaginary line of spiritual demarcation to get there . Just consider that , and that being said I will pray that the Lord truly Lead your open and accepting heart in your future . God Bless+

Something absent from the picture , if we are talking about at least one believer being involved that is , is God's officiant . When me and my spouse were set to be married the Pastor required that we meet with him three separate times prior . Each time delving a little deeper into both of our spiritual life in Jesus or lack thereof . If this pastor had even the slightest inkling that either of us were insincere in our professions of faith , I know for a fact he would have not conducted the ceremony . A very vital and valuable component where any young believer at risk of making a bad judgement is concerned .

Jesus's use of things temporal / physical , was to convey a higher spiritual purpose / reality . Not as a MEDIUM to one . And He used this technique repeatedly throughout His ministry . Look at the cross . A symbol of horrific death & suffering used by the Lord to convey Divine Spiritual power to the believer . Spiritual power that vanquished and overcame the world . Does the Transubstantiation crowd then strap a physical cross to their backs as they head out the door to work each morning as Jesus said to do ? Really ? Consider , " Except a man be born again he cannot see the kingdom of God ." ( John 3 : 3 ) But Nicodemus instinctively knew to take such a statement from a teacher sent from God who is a spirit at shallow , face , physical value was to fall short of the mark . He did not understand the deeper meaning at first , but he knew that there was one . " How can a man be born when he is old ? " A " hard saying " yes ? So being this was Nicodemus's first contact with Jesus , He elaborated for him : " Except a man be born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter the kingdom of God . That which is born of flesh is flesh and that which is born of Spirit is spirit . " ( John 3 : 5-6 ) The Lords Supper is not a message of " flesh " & " blood " any more than being born again is a message of being reconnected to the flesh of the umbilical cord . It is a message of Spirit . What those stuck in spiritual first gear do not understand is that unlike Nicodemus , the woman at the well , etc , etc, etc, & etc .. those who were present at the Last Supper had been in the Lord's presence for three years . traveling , preaching , eating , sleeping , witnessing His miracles . For THREE years they had been with Him . To convey the deeper spiritual meaning at that point , to them who had been with Him three years would have been re-plowing spiritual ground that had undoubtedly been plowed many times before . In fact there is another passage in scripture that gives good indication the deeper spiritual meaning had been explained to them long ago . As well as being a very disheartening thing to the disciples in that if Jesus did feel the need to explain the deeper spiritual meaning AGAIN , at that moment , they undoubtedly would have been thinking to themselves : " Does He really believe we are so spiritually immature that we do not understand at this late date ? " He was trying to instill spiritual poise in them at this point , not spiritual weakness .

Look no further than Satan's first human interaction . Eve knew exactly what God had said before Satan ever approached her : " God hath said , Ye shall not eat of it , neither shall ye touch it lest ye die . " ( Genesis 3 :3 ) Yet Satan raised the possibility that God was not being straight with her : " ..ye shall be as gods knowing good and evil " ( Genesis 3 : 5 ) There was quite a bit more going on here than just interest in a snack . Self-deceit on multiple levels .