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I agree. We should "study to show ourselves approved unto God, a workman that needs not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth." I was simply addressing the spirit in which we are to speak the truth. Gary

The scriptures teach us to speak the truth in love. If we resort to condescending posts or replies, we disobey God. We are also admonished by scripture to "prefer others better than ourselves." What we need to remember is to "love mercy, and to walk humbly with our God." Being mindful of this should greatly affect how we treat others. Gary

I think we should all endeavor to live in unity, unless that endeavor leads to compromising the truth of the Gospel. And if opposing views arise, we should obey the Lord by speaking the truth in love. Too many times people don't know how to handle someone when disagreements arise. Our main purpose as Christians is to always reflect Christ. Gary

You are right. If Christians would look at people through the lens of scripture, we would be making more of an impact for Christ. Gary

A Message For All Of Us! The Window Through Which We Look A young couple moved into a new neighborhood. The next morning while they were eating breakfast, The young woman saw her neighbor hanging the Wash outside. 'That laundry is not very clean,' she said. 'She doesn't know how to wash correctly. Perhaps she needs better laundry soap.' Her husband looked on, but remained silent. Every time her neighbor would hang her wash to dry, The young woman would make the same comments. About one month later, the woman was surprised To see a nice clean wash on the line and said to her Husband: 'Look, she has learned how to wash correctly. I wonder who taught her this.' The husband said,'I got up early this morning and Cleaned our windows.' AND SO IT IS WITH LIFE. What we see when watching others Depends on 'The Window Through Which We Look.'

Mine is banana splits. Not only do they taste good, but they are very healthy, as they are loaded with pineapple, strawberries, bananas, and wholesome dairy which is loaded with vitamin c. Gary

Speaking directly to the context, according to verse 10, 1 Corinthians 2:10 (KJV) 10 But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God. verse 9 is speaking more of the things that God reveals to His people in this life such as the wonders of His Great Salvation, His Great love, His amazing grace, His undying mercy, His powerful forgiveness, etc. Gary

Another great lesson in regard to trials: 1 Peter 1:7 (NLT2) 7 These trials will show that your faith is genuine. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold—though your faith is far more precious than mere gold. So when your faith remains strong through many trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world. Gary

If a person is strong enough in their walk with Christ to visit the past and learn from it, then it could be productive. But too many times when we visit the past we wind up experiencing negative emotions, anger, hurt etc., especially when it comes to PTSD events you mentioned. I know that from personal experience. In this case visiting the past can hinder our spiritual growth and even affect our relationships with others. I know we can't wipe out the memory of past events, but we can keep them from weighing us down by living out the passage of scripture in the OP (Phil. 3:13-14). Have a good evening Gary

Many years ago I heard a pastor tell of a story about a young man who had gotten saved and was doing his best to live for the Lord. He came one day to this pastor and asked him this question: “Pastor, I’ve been saved for six months now and it seems that the devil is fighting me and tempting me almost daily. When is it going to end?” The pastor told us “I didn’t have the heart to tell him.” The enemy is out to steal, kill, and destroy, and he is always on the job. There can be a number of reasons why people do not share their struggles with temptation and sin. They may be ashamed to talk about it. They may not know if they can trust the person they tell to keep it confidential. The list can go on. But we can do something to resist the temptation to sin. Paul taught the Galatians that the key to overcoming the lust of the flesh was to walk in the Spirit. And the lust of the flesh is what will ultimately lead to sin. Galatians 5:16 (NKJV) 16 I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. King David hid the word of God in his heart, that he might not sin against Him. Have a great evening Gary

The moment a person becomes a Christian the battle is on. I heard a song one time concerning the Christian life that goes like this, "It's a battlefield brother, not a recreation room, a fight and not a game. Run if you want to, run if you will, but I've come here to stay." I believe that every believer needs to do an in depth study on Ephesians 6:10-17. It will acquaint the believer with the armor and the weapons we need to effectively defeat the enemy at every turn in our lives. I would encourage you to study this and meditate on it until you become the effective spiritual warrior that God intends for all His people to become. Study it so well, that spiritual warfare becomes second nature to you. You'll never regret it, and in the process you will glorify and please the Lord, which is what He wants. Gary

I don't know what you are going through, but it must be a heavy burden to carry all these 36 years. You said that the only thing you receive from the Lord, is a no answer. I believe that God truly answers prayer, assuming the conditions for answered prayer are met such as, forgiving those who offend you, doing those things that are pleasing in His sight, asking in faith nothing wavering, abiding in Jesus and allowing His word to abide in you, etc. I'm sure that this is not what you want to hear, but NO is an answer. It isn't an answer we want to hear let alone accept, but it is still an answer. I believe He answers all prayer, if we keep on asking, seeking, and knocking. His answers are yes, no, or wait. I especially don't like the latter. I hope this has possibly helped in some way. Gary

Mine was around $7.500.00 and I live in the KCMO area. BTW, that was the prepaid plan. Gary

You're right about that. All we have to do is turn on the news to see how blessed we are as Christians. Gary

You are right about that. It's all about perspective. As Christians, we have everything to be thankful for, because even in the worst of times God still has his best interests in store for us; "in everything give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning us." Gary

I was walking through the VA hospital here in KC complaining about the pain in my knees, then I walked by another veteran in a wheel chair that had no legs or knees. I began to praise and thank God that at least I had knees that would hurt. This is a true event. Gary

What I have learned through the years, is that we are our own worst enemy. I know that has been true for myself. There are at least three areas that I know of where guilt comes from: 1. Satan 2. Other people 3. Myself If I listen to these sources, I have difficulties too numerous to mention, let alone not being able to experience the complete forgiveness and peace of God. But when I listen to what God has to say in His word, such as: Micah 7:19 (KJV) 19 He will turn again, he will have compassion upon us; he will subdue our iniquities; and thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea. I have learned that since God has cast all my sin into the depths of the sea, that I need not go fishing for them. And also: Philippians 3:13-14 (KJV) 13 Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, 14 I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. The apostle Paul had wasted the churches in the beginning, causing havoc and turmoil, putting many into prison, and even gave his approval to have Stephen put to death. I guess it would be correct to surmise that he had a lot of bad in his past that could have destroyed him, had he kept looking back. If a person keeps looking back at their past, they are unable to make any forward progress and may run into a lot of roadblocks and obstacles. I used a true story on more than one occasion about my grandmother to illustrate the danger of always looking back, because if you are looking back, you may not be aware of what is in front of you. My grandmother was a talker among all talkers I had ever met in my life. One day she was walking down a street in downtown KC with some friends of hers. As she was walking, she was looking to her left towards her friends, talking as usual, and not paying attention to what was in front of her. And low and behold, there was a light pole in her path. When she run into it, well, the pole did not move. However, my grandmother moved. She moved from an upright position on her feet, to a position on the sidewalk on her back, and was knocked out cold. The point is, looking back on our past will keep us from seeing who God really is and what He has in store for us. Trust the Lord, that according to His word your sins are forgiven and out of His sight. Gary P.S. My grandmother came out of it just fine and resumed her talking.

Thank you. Gary

This link went to this minister's teaching mp3, but I am unable to find his website. Do you have a link to this site? Thanks! Gary

As Christ's disciples, we are to look at people through His eyes. That being said, all people are people for whom Christ died regardless of their sin. If they are important enough for Christ to die for their sins, they should be important enough for me to treat them in like manner as He did. I do believe also that fellowship cannot be attained while the sinner is still living in sin. To have fellowship (partnership, common bond) with unbelievers is too risky, seeing that we have no common ground in which to fellowship with them. But the main reason is that the scriptures teach us not to. Gary

Ephesians 2:8-9 (KJV) 8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: 9 Not of works, lest any man should boast. The above verses plainly declare that salvation comes by God’s grace through faith, period. Works, in no way contribute to the work of salvation. All the work has been done by Christ, and Him alone. Philippians 2:12-13 (KJV) 12 Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. 13 For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure. These verses talk about working out our salvation, the word work meaning, to apply our salvation. Even the works we do are God working in us to will and to do of His good pleasure. Again, the work of salvation has been done by Christ, and Him alone. Our works do not contribute to our salvation, but rather are the effects of our salvation.

While most of this chapter deals with this subject, these 2 verses pretty much get to the point on the generational curses, as far as I can see. Ezekiel 18:19-20 (NLT2) 19 “‘What?’ you ask. ‘Doesn’t the child pay for the parent’s sins?’ No! For if the child does what is just and right and keeps my decrees, that child will surely live. 20 The person who sins is the one who will die. The child will not be punished for the parent’s sins, and the parent will not be punished for the child’s sins. Righteous people will be rewarded for their own righteous behavior, and wicked people will be punished for their own wickedness. And Romans 8:1 (NLT2) 1 So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus. So if there was a generational curse, Jesus broke it at the cross. Gary

It may not have anything to do with Christians thinking they must wear a cross and carry a bible. It may not have anything to do with drawing attention to themselves. It may simply be that they are newly saved, and in their excitement of their newfound love for Christ, do these things. If this is the case, there is nothing wrong with this. However, I remember an instance where a person many years ago had a bumper sticker that said “HONK IF YOU LOVE JESUS.” One day someone was in back of her and began to honk. After the 3rd or 4th time, this woman got irritated and, well, expressed with sign language here disapproval of all the honking. She did not realize till much later what had really been the reason for this person’s honking. On another occasion, I was walking through the mall and seen a man with a t-shirt that said “JESUS SAID HE WOULD VOMIT YOU OUT OF HIS MOUTH IF YOU ARE LUKE WARM.” Both of these instances are obviously a negative testimony for our Lord, but they do not speak for all Christians. If a person so chooses to wear a cross, or carry a bible, or wear Christian apparel, they need to remember who they represent. And if they live in a close relationship with the Lord, this will not be a hard task as they will always want to exalt Him. All that being said, I do not engage in these things and probably never will. Gary

The scriptures speak of gods that are made of stone or wood, which have eyes but see not, ears but hear not, and have mouths but to don't speak. These are gods that were made by man's hands and not God's. And I believe that the only spirits that man deals with that are not of God, are of our enemy Satan. Gary

Thanks for your service Dennis, and welcome home. Gary