bropro

You might try restarting your computer. That works for me a lot of times. Gary

Bearing much fruit to the intent that The Father is glorified, is the true essence of being a successful born again Christian. It is more about who God wants us to be, and not merely doing what we think God wants us to do. If we become who God wants us to be (character), He will empower us and guide us to do what He wants us to do (service). This can only be accomplished as we abide in Him. John 15:7-8 (KJV) 7 If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you. 8 Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples. Gary

In the verse below, the writer of Hebrews directs us to offer the sacrifice of praise. Not just on occasion, but continually. Hebrews 13:15 (KJV) 15 By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name. Gary

That's true. I can fool people, but I can't fool the omniscient God. Gary

It is wise to examine our lives to see whether we are in the faith or not. If we have biblical faith it should show in the way we live our lives as stated below by James. James 2:18 (NASB) 18 But someone may well say, "You have faith and I have works; show me your faith without the works, and I will show you my faith by my works." Gary

The Apostle Paul said "I die daily." This should be the aspiration of every true disciple of Jesus. Gary

Gary = A Spear, Mighty with a Spear LOL! I can't even hit the broad side of a barn with a 12 gauge shotgun. Gary

I cringe when I hear people say "just follow your heart." I always remind Christians of this passage when I hear them say this. We cannot as Christians follow the heart that is bent on doing it's own thing, which is evil. We cannot live by our emotions, but rather obey the scripture that states "the just shall live by faith." This specifically means to me, that I am to put my faith in what God says in His word, and not what my misguided and wicked heart may be speaking to me about. I am to live by "thus saith God, rather than thus saith Gary." Gary

The verses below are the mission and passion of my life. Mark 12:30-31 (KJV) 30 And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment. 31 And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these. The most important commandments according to Jesus is to Love God Supremely, and people sacrificially. When we love to this capacity, we will effectively live in obedience to all His other commands throughout scripture. Not in order to merit or contribute to our salvation, because that was accomplished by Christ on the cross. But as an outflow of our relationship with God. I believe that genuine love for God will be manifested in His children. Gary

I have never personally watched this show, but have heard that full nudity is portrayed in it. If this is so, what would be the difference in watching this and pornographic videos? The questions to ask then would be, is this glorifying to God for me has a Christian to engage in such practices? What could a Christian possibly gain by allowing themselves to be entertained by watching pornographic material? And the last question would be, how would engaging in this impact my pursuit for God's holiness? Gary

I have learned lessons the hard way also. I used to be pretty impulsive and an “in your face kind of guy.” But for the most part I learned pretty fast, because when I reacted in this manner I would be prompted by the Holy Spirit to make things right with the individual I offended. I finally got to the place that if I felt myself getting emotionally charged, that the best thing for me to do was to keep silent, pray about it, and then deliver my answer (even if it happened to be days later). I also found such directives in scripture that says to “speak the truth in love,” and ‘a brother offended is harder to be won than a strong city: and their contentions are like the bars of a castle.” And of course Jesus stated that those who are peacemakers will be blessed. There are many more references, but these are ones that seem to speak to the issue at hand. Oh, I almost forgot, “the wrath of man does not work the righteousness of God.” Have a great evening. Gary

Below are definitions of debate gone to extremes. There is a healthy debate, but when it turns to strife and contention, testimonies are damaged, people are offended, new converts are confused, and people searching for the Lord may end their search if they see that the body of Christ is full of contentious people. If I am in a debate and see it going in this direction I will pull out, because I would rather lose the debate than to lose my testimony of Christ. There are things more important than winning an argument. Debate: Strife, contention, wrangling. Metaphorically, it means love of strife Romans 1:29 (KJV) 29 Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers, 2 Corinthians 12:20 (KJV) 20 For I fear, lest, when I come, I shall not find you such as I would, and that I shall be found unto you such as ye would not: lest there be debates, envyings, wraths, strifes, backbitings, whisperings, swellings, tumults:

Yes, that is true. Have a great day. Gary

At the present time, there are several dozen countries where Christianity is outlawed. The "Voice of the Martyrs" is an organization that would have information on these countries, and the Christians that are presently being executed for their beliefs. Gary

If Christianity were outlawed tomorrow, I would continue with the help of the Holy Spirit to: Love God supremely, and people sacrificially-Mark 12:29-30 Trust in the Lord with all my heart and not to lean on my own understanding, but in all my ways acknowledge Him so that He could direct my paths.-Prov. 3:5-6 Abide in Jesus and let His words abide in me-John 15:7 Gary

I think the most important thing for believes is to live in obedience to God's commands, starting with loving God and people: Mark 12:29-31 (NASB) 29 Jesus answered, "The foremost is, 'HEAR, O ISRAEL! THE LORD OUR GOD IS ONE LORD; 30 AND YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND, AND WITH ALL YOUR STRENGTH.' 31 "The second is this, 'YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.' There is no other commandment greater than these." Gary

Proverbs 8:13 (KJV) 13 The fear of the LORD is to hate evil: pride, and arrogancy, and the evil way, and the froward mouth, do I hate. According to this verse, I am to hate pride. Especially the pride that is within me. Gary

Glad to hear you two came through the fire. There are 3 people in my church that had it and what I got from them is that "it was brutal." Have a blessed evening. Gary

Even though we only dated for less than 3 weeks, I knew her for about 11 years. I could not have been persuaded by even the closest friend to not marry her. As I said previously, we were not committed Christians when we got married. While we were able to maintain a relatively normal marriage at the beginning, as time progressed we became divided over a number of things and the marriage was in jeopardy. In 1974 we came to Christ at the same crusade, and the marriage began to heal and grow because of our new foundation in Christ. I don't see how any committed Christian would entertain going into a marriage with a non believer. Light and darkness cannot successfully thrive. Gary

We dated for almost 3 weeks before getting married. I was on boot leave from the Marine Corp. She was quiet and I was mouthy and impulsive. She is not as quiet now, and I am less mouthy and impulsive. When we married we were non Christians. When I returned to my unit that was getting ready to deploy, I told them I had gotten married. They very condescendingly said to me, "it will never work out. She has only married you to get the insurance money when you get knocked off, and if you do come back she will leave." That was 53 years ago, and our marriage is stronger now than ever. She has stood by me through thick and thin with all that accompanied the effects of my time in Vietnam (PTSD). Don't know if this is what you are looking for, but hear it is anyway. Gary

There are a lot of people that say they believe in Jesus. But unless the life and actions of a person are affected by the one they say they believe in (Jesus), it is no more than an empty confession. The demons believe and tremble. Gary

Trials are great opportunities for spiritual growth, if we go through them God's way "counting it all joy." Gary

The bible makes it plain that stubbornness is sin. 1 Samuel 15:23 (KJV) 23 For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the word of the LORD, he hath also rejected thee from being king. Gary

This is something that the Lord has really been working out in me. When going through dealings with difficult, prideful, narcissistic people, I have a tendency to think about how I am going to answer them. What the Lord is pointing out to me is that my thoughts reveal a measure of the same characteristics as I am seeing in them. I think about things to say to them to put them in their place with sarcasm and condescending remarks. The Lord has made it clear to me that even though I may not verbally release those remarks, that essentially I am still guilty of pride. As He has shown me this, I have been engaged in a real struggle with myself, asking Him for His grace and power to overcome, but then at the same time still holding on to those thoughts and feelings. It is like a tug of war with myself. I gain the victory at times, then the thoughts arise and the battle is on again. But deep inside, I know that I already have the victory in Christ. I need to become more meek and lowly. Thanks for your post. Gary

It appears that you have the right attitude as you go through your trials. You have experienced the value and growth that comes as a result of trusting God in the midst of them. That is a sign of true spiritual maturity. When I go through trials, as I am going through right now, I try to remember James 1:2-4 where he says under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, "count it all joy when you encounter various trials." In the midst of our trials God will work out our defects, build our endurance, and perfect in us whatever is lacking. So with that in mind, I look at trials as opportunities for spiritual growth and character building. However, Satan endeavors to destroy us. But we know that "greater is He that is in us than he that is in the world," and "we are made more than conqueror through Him that loves us." Stay the course brother, victory is ahead. Gary