Happinessity

4 minutes ago, Spock said:

Just to be clear friend, and thanks for replying, are you saying this: (using a chronological timeline)

1. Sinner, doesn't know Christ, sins ever present

2. Sins washed away, no longer a "sinner"  you have been redeemed.

3. No matter how often you sin or whatever kind of sin you commit, makes no difference, Christ's blood keeps you from being a "sinner" ever again

4. You inherit the kingdom (heaven and beyond) because you are no longer a "sinner" but have been redeemed by the blood.

thanks,

spock

That about sums it up, yes. 

4 hours ago, spiderman1917 said:

Amen!  So true.

Reading that response to Omegaman, I know now how you see things. I just think it may not be understood by many people. Gods sovereignty ultimately makes God in authority and therefore in control of all in his creation. Anything that Satan does is therefore part of God's plan. In that way God is culpable for what Satan does among God's created. Because Satan exists because God lets him be himself. 

I get what you're driving at spiderman. 

2 hours ago, Fidei Defensor said:

Yes indeed, "Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness," (1 Timothy 3:16),"For the LORD disciplines those he loves, and he punishes each one he accepts as his child." (Hebrews 12:6), and, "Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline, so be zealous and repent." (Revelation 3:19). But always remembering do do this in love (Ephesians 4:15: a spirit, motive, and in forum setting give indicators like add "I say this from concern or love or care for you."). 

Didn't Jesus rebuke his own people and going to the extreme ,  when he became enraged some of them were working with the local merchants and exchanging monies before the temple ? So that fellow Jews could buy their sacrificial animals with Roman coin? 

Of course he did. How could the son of man and of God remain quiet and simply love the trespass that was happening before God's house. 

I do admit to not quite getting someone's troll comment here. I love trolls . I use to collect the little color dolls when I was a kid. 

 That was very generous of you.  I would think it would be illegal to take money from a waitress when a table skipped?

I was visiting friends in Tampa last month. We have a favorite Italian restaurant we visit when I'm in town. Anyway, our waiter who knows us pretty well by now told us about a table that tried to skip the night before. He knew something was wrong because they were dressed very very casual but were ordering all the expensive items on the menu. From appetizers to drinks. Then when the check came in the hundreds he wondered if they'd skip. 

They did. Fortunately, the woman wore very high heels and didn't make it past the first parking space in front of the door before she fell flat trying to run with her boyfriend. Cops were on their way because our waiter said he watched them to see if they'd leave money at the table. There was no cashier so the only way to pay was leaving cash or putting a credit card in the bill jacket. 

The boyfriend didn't miss a step in his run for it. Turned out their car was two blocks away so as to insure no one caught their plate had they parked in the lot at the restaurant. 
Our waiter laughed and said the guy underestimated how fast a waiter can run in dress shoes.  Not only did he catch up to him and start the escorting back to the restaurant but, when the boyfriend saw the girlfriend being put into the back of a police car as they returned to the lot of the restaurant he dashed again. And was caught again. This time by the waiter and a very fast Tampa police officer. 

Apparently the hundreds in the bill total made their skip a felony.  
Probably the most costly dinner that young couple had in their entire lives. 

I was dining with friends at a Red Lobster a few years ago with friends. A large group was at a table near ours celebrating a birthday. Like all those huge group gatherings there are pictures taken. And the lady that was the official camera person was snapping pictures of the birthday girl and everyone there. But also as is usual that one taking the shot isn't in the memory captured. I volunteered to take the pictures so everyone could be in them. 

After they were finished and everyone left the lady with the camera returned to our table and offered me a tract. She said she thought I might like to read it. I had noticed they left a tract on their table too and there were bills sticking out for the tip. 

I've had that happen a few times when I've done things for people. One woman offered me a little red New Testament. I use to be really gracious and accept. Then I'd leave the materials at a shop next shopping trip. Now my curiosity makes me ask the one offering why they presume when we are strangers to one another that my act of kindness warranted the presumption on their part that I didn't already know Christ? 

I think I owe it to the next kind person if they're a Christian too to avoid that presumption on the part of that particular individual making the implication. 

When I was visiting a friend in Philadelphia last year I saw a group of women dressed like that. They were entering a church, the First Church of our Lord Jesus Christ. The pastor there was Gino Jennings. They're a holiness doctrine church and have since purchased a giant campus that I believe was once owned by the Catholic diocese in the area. Their services are on Sunday night TV at 10 P.M. I caught one of their programs last year shortly after seeing the women entering the church. 

That may be who you saw. 

10 hours ago, TheMatrixHasU71 said:

Never heard of it. When did this start up?

It was first a pun. A play on, may the force be with you = May the 4th be with you. 

Today is actually the national day of prayer. I think that's something to take seriously. 

9 hours ago, Spock said:

Greetings brethren,

My reading of God's word this morning made me pause at this passage in 1 Cor 6:

9Or do you not know that wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor men who have sex with men^a 10nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. 11And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.

My two questions are simply this:

1. Do you see this passage as a salvation issue - won't make it into Heaven- or do you see this as a rewards issue - won't inherit any rewards?  

2. And my follow up question is this: Paul said in verse 11, "and that is what some of you were....."  What exactly is he saying here? For example, is he saying you were once a GREEDY PERSON, but since you accepted Christ into your life, you are no longer a GREEDY PERSON, even though you still may be GREEDY?  

I will not share my thinking now for fear of tainting your thoughts. Thanks. 

Blessings, 

spock

I read it as his saying what amounts to what we already know. Sinners won't enter , inherit, the kingdom of God. 

"and that is what some of you were..." , refers to what all Christians at one time were. The sinner, the unredeemed. 

On 3/20/2017 at 2:01 PM, missmuffet said:

Yes, all babies do go to heaven.

Yes, they do.  

Did you get to read the article that's linked here yet? It's pretty extensive. Lots of other links at that site too. 

Thank you for posting that. 

On 4/14/2013 at 1:48 AM, ByFaithAlone said:

I have a question I have been wrestling with and I was wondering people's thoughts on the matter. Hell, commonly understood, is a place of eternal separation from God which is going to be the worst possible experience that anyone can ever hope to achieve. The major philosophical problem I am running into was posed to me by a deist friend of mine who was questioning whether the idea of hell was in some manner an injustice. His argument was as follows in roughly the order of the conversation we had (this is not a logic argument and is not in proper premise-conclusion form - I realize this).

 

(1) God creates human race

(2) The human race is finite

(3) Through actions of their own (this is assumed as I currently am holding a Molinist position of free will), part of the human race is justly condemned to separation from God.

(4) To be just, the punishment must fit the crime

(5) Eternal punishment is never a just punishment for a finite crime

(6) Even if original sin, the sins of all humanity was taking into consideration, based on (2) we would still require a finite punishment

 

(5) and (6) are particularly intriguing to me and have kept me thinking. I was wondering people's thoughts on the matter.

 

Thanks for sharing your thoughts. As always, I look forward to dialogue.

 

Regards,

BFA

Sheol is the abode of the shades, the dead. Hell isn't yet opened to receive anyone. Sheol is separation from God. Those who die in their sins suffer soul death. Ezekiel 18:4. 

The righteous dead go to be with God as soon as they die. "And the dust returns to the earth as it was, and the spirit returns to God who gave it."Ecclesiastes 12:7

On 4/9/2017 at 10:54 AM, Jeff2 said:

One could build an entire theology over one word, and many do. But words mean things in context.

No one knows the extent and permanency of the Seal (the Holy Spirit) upon a person through the use of a single word. We can assume all theories, and built a theological tower upon it, but lets be open to Scripture and look at the context a bit. Ephesians 1: 13, "In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation-having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise." The condition of receiving, listening and believing. Verse 14 continues, "who was given as a pledge of our inheritance, with a view to the redemption of God's own possession..." A pledge, a down payment on that which is not yet complete. Till the time of final redemption.  

4:30, "And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God..." A stern warning. "by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption."

Note that no translation of the Bible says, "until", but "till, for," or as in context properly translated in Ephesians 1:13, "with a view to the redemption."  The earnest, the down payment of the Holy Spirit in in a view to the future redemption of the believer. Yet, in Ephesians 4:30 it is coupled with a warning not to grieve the Holy Spirit, who is the Seal. What happens to those that insult the spirit of grace? (Heb. 10:29-30.) It is clear in Scripture that the very same Spirit can be quenched. (1 Thes. 5:19). The warning in immediate connection with the promise indicates a conditional statement concerning the Seal.  

 

I would look askance at a teaching that would hope to repeal the teaching of permanence of the holy spirit using the avenue of context to accomplish that end. God is not a man that he would lie. 

On 5/3/2017 at 3:35 PM, Absolem said:

If you sin against a christian its like sinning against Christ. 

I clicked on the link to read the posted article and saw your statement. Is there scripture that supports that? 

10 hours ago, Neighbor said:

Ha! Oh my, whoa! scarry - Sorry but:  I'd probably stare, glare, and wonder  more at such an odd attire, that I might spend time to the point of lust because of it. -If I weren't afraid  there might be a jihadist's bomb hidden under it. Be my own fault or sin of course, but that is what I might think.

That would be a preconceived visual prejudice wouldn't it?  And that would not be the responsibility of the woman clad in the Abaya. Keep in mind an Abaya is not a Chadri, also called, Buqa.

An Abaya is a long dress and looks much like the attire that the men in biblical recreation movies wear.  

8 hours ago, TheMatrixHasU71 said:

I would like to wear that myself but the problem with that is, Arabic type clothing is so radically different than Western styles that it naturally ATTRACTS stares from others rather than deflects from them. Thereby there goes modesty if you like to remain invisible

I don't have any intention of remaining invisible. That for me is not the meaning of modesty. I do respect that others may feel differently and wish to remain invisible.

5 hours ago, creativemechanic said:

Looking at how hot the modesty debate has gotten. A particular  issue kept popping up which had me wondering. So tell me what u think of this  related situation 

I have participated in the modesty thread but haven't been back much since I posted there the first time. I don't know how it could become a heated debate issue. If it has come to that. Because our attire as believers isn't going to be decided as a matter of consensus. I think it is rather a matter of a reflection on our consciousness with The Word that is God. Not so much what we believe when we read what God expects in our wardrobe closet to be fitting. 

3 minutes ago, Fidei Defensor said:

Well said, "So don't make judgments about anyone ahead of time--before the Lord returns. For he will bring our darkest secrets to light and will reveal our private motives. Then God will give to each one whatever praise is due." (1 Corinthians 4:5). While it is necessary to judge things in Church, "Do you not know that we will judge angels? How much more the things of this life," (1 Corinthians 6:3) and "What business is it of mine to judge those outside the church? Are you not to judge those inside?" (1 Corinthians 5:12). Paul however is using judge in these two verses as to judge behavior, not the motives, attitudes, and thoughts of a person; we can't know those, only God does.
 

Amen. 

Paul was quite wise about such things don't you find? 

But why do you judge your brother? Or also, why do you despise your brother? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God. For it is written,“As I live, says the Lord, every knee will bow to me,and every tongue will praise God.”So each one of us will give an account concerning himself. Therefore, let us no longer pass judgment on one another, but rather decide this: not to place a cause for stumbling or a temptation before a brother.

Romans 14:10-13 LEB

I never heard of this till now. I'm glad this is over. 

"Having your civil liberties restored after a protracted legal battle that never should have begun in the first place is hardly a victory," Mersch said. "It's like being happy that someone stopped finally beating you."

I can see Ms.Carol Mersch's point there for sure. I hope she can get all costs the was out in this protracted and ridiculous battle. Sue for that if nothing else. 

On 4/27/2017 at 6:05 PM, lemurchampagne said:

AMEN! I pray for America every day and I'll join with people I know as we pray for America on May 4th. 

Blessings to you Joshuas for posting this. 
Do you think it is weird that Christians here don't pay the Christian section a lot of attention ? 

I know you asked someone else that question but if I may answer and say, yes! It's sad to say but I'm not the only one that noticed apparently now that I read you. It's still sad. But don't you find that God delivers his word in any number of ways? What can we learn from what we see? That makes it easier to understand maybe. 

It's tomorrow! I am also looking forward to the reports. And the day. I'm off work so I'll be with friends praying and working in the community to serve the mission Christ puts before us. I hope everyone has a peaceful day tomorrow. 

God bless his church. And God continue to bless America. 

On 4/27/2017 at 10:11 AM, notsolostsoul said:

When hearing or reading the words just seem like lies. When the word bares no substance within. When the word seems to just be empty. What do you do?

Pray. Quiet yourself and pray. The devil can't enter the believer because we are sealed with the spirit of the most holy. But he can lead our mind to be confused by making us think what is transpiring in our personal life has no solution in or through God's advice, his word. And if the enemy of God can lead us to think that way he'll lead us to focus on what fails us so that we don't hear what guides us from inside ourselves. 

Reading the words in the Bible without the holiest of hollies within will cause those words to appear to not make sense. God's words are for those who are in his covenant. We learn how to trust God and then we can learn how to read his advice for us. That oddly enough at least in my experience, always seems to hit the mark perfectly when I go to the word for advice in bad times. God also speaks to us in other ways. Remember that God is everywhere so there is no thing that can get in his way of guiding you. Just believe, trust, and free yourself of what your limited intellect imagines would be something God would show up and say. God works in his own time, and he's so immense we can't hope to know him in his entirety. He's full of surprises. The good kind. 

7 hours ago, wingnut- said:

I believe God reaches people where they are.  We are not all in the same place on our walk with God, so I agree that what may be right for one person can be wrong for another.  We each have different strengths and weaknesses, therefore we have different issues that we deal with.  The Lord deals with each individual according to His will.

God bless

I believe that also. Well said Wingnut. 

"But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you."

"Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words." 

5 minutes ago, Yowm said:

Showing Mary respect ..YES

Mary sinless? ..NO..

And Mary said, My soul doth magnify the Lord, And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour.
(Luk 1:46-47)
 

Yes, I know that scripture. Then there would be the question, when Jesus was God in flesh how could he be sinless and born of a woman? Even Jesus rebuked the one who said of Jesus that he was good, in Luke. "“And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? none is good, save one, that is, God.” Chapter 18 verse 19.
John 15:14 “What are mortals, that they could be pure, or those born of woman, that they could be righteous?”

Hi Limey Bob, 

I'm not one that read all of these posts to your first question. What I wanted to seek clarification on is, do you believe in who Immanuel was according to God's purpose?