Billiards Ball

I know those verses, because I lost much of my family for trusting in Jesus as a Jew.

And all of you Gentiles are wrong. That's the problem with your "theological training," it's not Jewish enough.

Just kidding!

Agreed, although a rose is amoral and only perfectly moral persons can thrive inside a utopia.

And yes, Christians need not live in abiding sin, but they will sin until they are translated and enhanced!

I'm sorry for your pain and struggle. Claim verses daily that can help you, like "Don't worry for tomorrow, it will have its own trouble." In one sentence here, Jesus Christ gave the best advice ever for stress and mental health. When you worry about eternity because you laughed or did something, you're worrying about tomorrow, and Jesus said, "Deal with today's stuff only, today."

You'll also want to be sure you trust Jesus for salvation. Once you've accepted that His horrible death and glorious resurrection have paid your sin, guilt and shame, you can walk in the light and ask Jesus Christ to take your OCD away and/or diminish it.

The Bible actually says, "Do not be foolish [immoral] but understand what the will of the Lord is."

In other words, the more you try to do what God wants from you--the clear moral living the NT describes, the more you'll be in touch with God's will. You can do it!

28 minutes ago, simplejeff said:

In the New Testament already many are called blameless,   (even in the OT the ekklesia of YHVH "must be holy, for YHVH is holy" ....

also written of EKKLESIA (born again by the will of the Father in heaven) , LIVING IN UNION (as ONE) with JESUS and the FATHER DAILY,

with continual peace , joy and righteousness .....  as confirmed and written in OT and NT ,  over and over ....

Jesus did not tell the Apostles and the disciples to eventually be perfect, did He ?  Just as He and they did not tell to be saved eventually,  but to turn to YHVH and be immersed in Jesus' Name for forgiveness of sin and to receive eternal life.

Same  He said it directly to them "you must be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect" (look through Scripture for the MEANING of "PERFECT" as it is different in Scripture in english than it is in LIFE and in Scripture in Hebrew) ,  and then made it so / showed them how/  it was as JESUS SAYS accomplished by the Father in heaven in them as they TRUSTED THE FATHER,  even for their salvation during their life on earth and in the life to come - the HEAVENLY FATHER ACCOMPLISHED THIS,  by HIS PURPOSE and WILL and DOING it in JESUS, for ALL THE EKKLESIA (all the born again ones).

Yes, thank you for your comments.

The moment we trust Jesus for salvation we ARE perfect as you wrote. However, I have a propensity, still, to sin against conscience. I will be transformed to behave perfectly morally when I am translated...

On 10/16/2011 at 9:46 AM, Isaiah 6:8 said:

The subject of Christians and fruit and good behavior and bad behavior has come up a lot recently, so I felt I needed to clarify what it means to have good fruit and what it means to be a Christian.

 

To start off, Christians are not perfect. They still struggle with different issues. Christians still have issues with anger, with pride, with selfishness and lust. Being a Christian does not make you into a perfect angel. It means you have started on the path to perfection, which we will obtain by the sacrifice of Jesus when we make it into heaven. The Bible states as such.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Many people in the world however judge Christians by there behavior, and say things such as "Look that Christian lost his temper and said a bad thing so they are no different then me." or on the flip side " I am not a believer but I am nicer that christian over there so I am better then him."

 

You see they mistake fruit to be an individual action or behavior. The point is not if they make a mistake now and again, the question is more of as a whole, does there life show a change? Or what would that person be like with out Christ.

 

For instance, a person with out Christ may be likened to a baby who does not know how to walk yet. As they learn they fall constantly, and as often as not decide to crawl instead. Yes they can take a few steps from time to time, but they still wind up back on all fours. Now a Christian is like more like a older toddler. They walk all the time, however they still fall from time to time, as they grow and learn they fall less and less until one day it almost never happens.

 

Now I know this is not a perfect example, for of course in the natural course of life, all babies, unless crippled for some reason eventually learn to walk, and they need no outside influence to do so.

 

Spiritually, Christians are people who are just learning to walk, and can not do so with out the help of God to teach them. The fruit is shown that they are indeed walking, even if they stumble and fall from time to time. A baby that always crawls and rarely walks and stays that way is showing no progress, no fruit. So you see, if you knew what a person would be like, or was like with out Christ you may understand what fruit there life has produced.

 

Let me perhaps make it a bit clearer by me telling a bit about myself.

 

When I was in school I was a bully magnet. I was a good head shorter then everyone else, save one or two of the girls, I had braces head gear, neck gear, I was a nerd and a goody two-shoe. My family was also lower middle class so I wore cheap clothes and hand me downs. I was an easy target and as such I was often bulled and harassed over and over again, and the teachers, when told about it simply blamed me and said it was my fault.

 

This went on for a few years and by the time I was in sixth grade it was getting bad. I was threatened with a beating if I did not wear the "in" brand of shirt, I was picked on because I was still a virgin at 13 years old, and I did not fit in with any crowd. I was getting to the point that I was almost willing to do anything to stop the attacks. I was willing to throw away all of my morals if it meant a day in school with out being bullied.

 

Yes I was a Christian at that time and but it was not fully real to me. I was willing to throw it away to stop the pain. My mom did, wisely take me out of that school and I had a chance to regain a sense of who I was.

 

You see, while I was spared having to deal with that, by my parents, it showed me one thing looking back. It showed me who I would be with out Christ. I would be just like everyone else. I would not see anything wrong with weed, with sex outside of marriage with anything that was sinful. The really scary thing is this. Due to the years of being bullied, I could even seeing me lashing out like so many of the bullied kids have and perhaps even gone so far as to find a way to cause harm to my antagonists violently, as I was already wiling to start fights to keep people off my back.

 

You see, with out Christ, I would have eventually had produced evil fruit. For I know the darkness in my own heart, and I know that He has been changing me.

 

Now I am not perfect. I still have issues with my anger, and lust, and pride, even on the boards I have lashed out at people in frustration. Just because I have made mistakes does not mean that is who I am , and who I will be, it means I tripped, and fell down. Falling down is one thing, crawling and wallowing in the mud is another.

 

So for those who point out that Christians don't bear good fruit, you can not say that unless you know the whole story. You need to know where they are coming from and how far they have come before you can try to judge that.

 

Remember fruit is more then just one action, mistake or even good deed. Fruit is the over all change in the persons life, the whole package, and that may take some time.

 

For instance John Newton became a Christian he was a slave ship captain at the time, who in a storm had even thrown all his "cargo" of slaves overboard to save his ship. After his conversion, he still did two more slave ship voyages. Does this mean his conversion was not real, or producing good fruit? No it means he was still learning and growing. The thing is this, after he realized how evil it was to be a slaver, he became a minister of the gospel and helped William Wilberforce to abolish the slave trade in England. He also wrote a hymn that is still sung widely today where he explains how amazing it was that he was saved, although he was, as he put it ,a wretch. He is the author of the hymn "Amazing Grace."

Yes, Christians are imperfect, but MUST be perfect when the time comes, thus the gospel:

1. Imperfect people cannot live peacefully in a perfect place.

2. Christ died and rose, the perfect to substitute for the imperfect.

3. Trust Jesus, who died and rose to pay for our guilt, our sin, our shame, our imperfection.

A Christian who went to Heaven today would ruin the place! But a person made morally perfect at the Rapture transformation, won't.

22 minutes ago, one.opinion said:

Ok, so out of the three options of:

1. Global warming is taking place, a large part due to anthropogenic causes.

2. Global warming is taking place, but human activity has little influence on it.

3. Global warming is NOT taking place.

Which one has the least evidence to support it and would thus be a conspiracy?

Since Revelation mentions God's punishment for what we've done to harm the Earth, and since a Revelation punishment is extreme heat . . . but while being good stewards, let's not go overboard, is my point.

2) may have some evidence to support it--but a Google search shows about as many scholarly articles against global warming as for it...

On 2/9/2018 at 3:05 PM, Saved.One.by.Grace said:

Source: Breitbart

Don't put your faith in the camp of global alarmists.

I'm reminded of the warning in Isaiah not to run away with conspiracies of the public...

On 1/4/2018 at 5:34 PM, one.opinion said:

On November 23, 2017, Jack Szostak asked for a retraction of an article his lab had published in 2016. This is not very remarkable until additional details of the background story are revealed. First, Jack Szostak shared the 2009 Nobel Prize in Medicine for his work on telomeres (chromosome ends) and telomerase (the enzyme complex that builds them). Second, Szostak's retraction was for a paper in the field he has been working on for the last decade, pre-biotic chemistry - researching chemical complexes and reactions that would eventually (hypothetically) develop into processes inside functional cells. Third, this was Szostak's second retraction in this field of research. He previously retracted an article published in 2009, also related to pre-biotic chemistry. Fourth, Szostak initiated the retraction process himself, after learning that colleagues were unable to replicate his experiments. This is a bit unusual, as retractions are generally called for by someone other than the primary article author.

This raises the following two main questions for me:

1. Researchers have been working on pre-biotic chemistry since before Urey and Miller (1952), since they were working on hypotheses first presented by Oparin and Haldane. In the roughly 70 years since, very little discovery has been made in this regard. Generally, I tend to shy away from "God of the gaps" arguments, but at some point, there just may be a real gap! At what point will the atheistic version of life origins have to change to account for the lack of progress in this regard?

 

2. Although it is true that Szostak sought the retractions himself, his own colleagues brought problems to his attention and the retractions were actually made. I have read numerous posts here suggesting that scientists are more interested in maintaining their own pet hypotheses than pursuing truth - to the point of elaborate cover-ups of truth. Does this retraction by a well-known scientist bring that suggestion into question?

Scientists are people. Some people are in sin. Some are in denial re: the Bible and Christ. There doesn't need to be a conspiracy promoting mechanistic evolution--it's a beautiful tool if one wants to live as a scientist without a God who loves man and intervenes in human affairs.

On 3/17/2017 at 10:47 AM, SOLOMONS PORCH said:

Few things on my mind and hopefully I can make it clear in asking and commenting at the same time. 

Bible states:

anger rests in the bosom of fools Ecclesiastes 7:9

he that is soon angry dealeth foolishly Prov 14:17

a wrathful man stirreth up strife Prov 15:18

an angry man stirreth up strife, and a furious man aboundeth in transgression Prov 29:22

make no friendship with an angry man; and with a furious man thou shalt not go. Lest thou learn his ways, and get a "snare to thy soul" Prov 22:24,25

it is better to dwell in the wilderness, than with a contentious and an angry woman Prov 21:19

but I say unto you, that whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment Matt 5:22

by ye angry and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath Eph 4:26

I first hand can testify to the damages of "anger". So this morning I have been given many scriptures by God as to this subject. He poured in one after the other, putting all the peices of the puzzle together. I had been searching for answers and to some extent I believe I found them. The human body and its emotions is truly puzzling. 

Have you ever been around someone that exploded in anger (without good or sensible reason) and lashed out furiously? and you could almost feel their hate for you? Yet they are suppose to love you and you are left dazed and confused by this.

And your just thinking to yourself "what in the world was that and why did they act that way"?

Why did they have to get that mad and put their hands on someone and break everything around them?

Or you live with someone that one minute can be so loving and caring and then BOOM flip the switch and your thinking, ummm what just happened?

I will also choose their delusions and I will bring their fears upon them (Is 66:4) 

They do not sleep unless they have done evil. Their sleep is taken away unless the make someone fall (Prov 4:16)

But if he be found he shall restore sevenfold, he shall give all the substance of his house (Prov 6:31)

Anger "rests" in your bosom. (so it sleeps until it is stirred and once stirred =destruction)

Their sleep is taken away unless they make someone fall.  (they are able to sleep without caring the pain they caused, because unless it "hurts" someone by doing evil to them, they themself will find no rest. So does that mean that because anger is resting (they are not) unless they do evil? So they act out and cause harm, therefore their body can rest? )

Do not let the sun go down on your anger.  (which is a great warning, because you think well if I am asleep, I cannot harm anyone. So what happens when we sleep with "anger".?  The bible states that when we sleep on anger we have given a foothold to the devil. Wonder whats happening while they sleep? 

So is their a "spirit of anger or a spirit of wrath"? 

Be angry ( it is ok to get angry, we all do BUT sin not ). So at what point does it become sin? So to let the "spirit of anger" out gives that person rest.?

How many times have you quickly acted out in anger and then shortly regretted what you said or did? But what about those that are not sorry and feel justified and continue to live this way, day after day you never knowing when the next explosion may come. I am  not looking for debate, I am asking your thoughts, scripture or feelings on the subject of anger. Is it a spirit? Is it an evil spirit (at some point)?  When does anger become unnatural and leave the human level into the (evil) spiritual level? 

                       

Here's the answer: "Be angry but do not sin." There is a righteous anger against wrongdoing and false doctrine. The real question is, "What is sin?"
 

Whatever isn't of faith, your conscience alerting you. Get angry, because trying not to get angry tends to make people explode with anger, but if that voice says, "Rein it in," rein it in.

13 minutes ago, ytLiJC said:

 

i thought project mkultra has been discontinued

That's funny! 

I'm not on LSD with CIA, MK Ultra kills, the Spirit gives life and rescues the demon-possessed!

Thanks! I believe another important use of discernment (of spirits) is to know when you're dealing with a stubborn human and when you're dealing with a demon that can be mastered. The stubborn human is usually tougher!

Some other reasons:

1. Fulfillment of prophecy (both testaments).

2. Which religious figure loves more than Christ?

3. Modern Christians have accessible testimonies of relationship with Christ, and power.

There are sinners everywhere, in politics, in academics, in business, in schools. But in America, where we have the right to vote, we can vote for right to life candidates, and make a difference there (and in many other areas).

I find that the Republican platform is far more biblical than the Democrat platform.

It's a good question. I've had unbelievers tell me they are divine or in touch with the divine. They tend to recant when I ask if I can pray to them for divine blessings and healings.

A better understanding as I see it, regarding all predestination in the Bible, is that it is talking about entire nations (usually, Israel and a different nation):

Esau NEVER served Jacob, but the Edomites were beneath Israel at some point (Jacob and Esau's descendants).

It's hard to see Israel as so blessed, especially in the modern troubled times, but there are some Bible explanations as to why a whole nation of people, including some who trusted God and some who didn't, received special blessings.

Esau wasn't "pre-hated" by God, but his descendants suffered for his lack of vision. Confer with another remark nearby in Romans about jars of clay, commonly taken as individuals and salvation--the reference is Jeremiah 18 and the potter and clay in that passage are about the nation of Israel, not individuals!

On 8/19/2015 at 7:07 PM, OldSchool2 said:

from First Things:

"People are basically good, right? It’s a truism drilled into us by any number of self-help books, magazines, talk-show hosts, and pop therapy. When, from time to time, people do terrible things to each other or themselves, we are assured that just the right combination of education, medication, and therapy could correct the ignorance, illness, or faulty social conditioning that led to the act. But do we really believe that to be true? Or do we recognize there is something more sinister at work in human nature?..."

https://www.firstthings.com/web-exclusives/2008/09/sin-cinema

"To be truly wicked, C. S. Lewis said, one must have at least one virtue to make one great. However counterintuitive that notion might seem to be at first glance, Hollywood again gives us multiple examples that demonstrate its truth. Think about Saruman as played by Christopher Lee in The Lord of the Rings ... So driven is he to rid Middle Earth of Sauron ... that he becomes consumed by it. Through his courage, insight, and determination, Saruman becomes at once Sauron’s ally and rival as he succumbs to the power the Ring. Lewis’ friend J. R. R. Tolkien has it right: Studying the enemy’s methods too much will, whatever the original noble motivation, reproduce him in us...."

 

I think a way that resonates with those I share with is this:

People are like Jekyll and Hyde, sometimes evil, sometimes good. However, since only morally perfect persons can be citizens of utopia, we must trust Christ to be changed for Heaven.

Respectfully, I agree. It was an eye-opener to me that we may not know the date (on which the Great Tribulation is cut short, otherwise no flesh would survive), but that we may know the season.

The fig tree buds when summer is nigh, and the Return will be in the Fall: Yom Kippur/Rosh Hashanah/Feast of Trumpets.

Nicely done! But I can make it easier for you, simpler.

Read Matthew 24 as if it is exactly chronological, verse 1 happens, then 2, 3 and so on.

It's a fascinating fact you shared. In the Essenes, we can see Messianic expectation and also a foretaste of the exilic life of the End Times.

23 minutes ago, Last Daze said:

You failed to finish the thought:

• And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.  Matthew 6:13a

Seems that its the pretrib rapture that runs contrary to the teachings of Jesus:

•  I do not ask You to take them out of the world, but to keep them from the evil one.  John 17:15

Striking indeed!  We don't have to leave earth to be kept.  That's man's reasoning.  Trust in God and fear not. 

• What I say to you I say to all, ‘Be on the alert!’  Mark 13:37

And, of course, "In the world you shall have tribulation, but be of good cheer . . . "

I don't believe Christians will enter the Tribulation based on philosophy or "we need to", I believe we shall based on my understanding of the holy scriptures. I tried hard to disbelieve this truth but the scriptures compel.

However, I don't believe in the post-tribulation doctrine. I'm what's called a "pre-wrath" doctrinal adherent.

Both you and I should believe eschatology based on what the scriptures teach, not a certain emotional or philosophical position.

No, we are not ready, but by God's grace, when the trouble comes, the Holy Spirit will guide true believers.

I'm grateful to have been a member of a church movement for over two decades, one with an estimated divorce rate at less than 2% of marriages. You are right, family = nation-building.