unworthyservant

I remember the kick. I believe he was with New Orleans. I remember seeing it on the news but didn't know that anyone complained or that there was a rule change. Don't follow those kind of things very closely.

This is an interesting subject. I've been watching the replies and I have another angle on the subject. I have noticed that Liberals in the US seem to have social beliefs that are more compassionate, so more in line with Christ's teaching on that matter. That said, I am of the belief that while most Christians have an opinion on politics, I don't like to get involved with coming down on one side or the other politically for this simple reason. In this polarized political environment, if I claim to be a liberal or a conservative, I've probably alienated half the country based on a political view and thus cut in half the people who might listen to what's really important, the Gospel of Christ. I don't want anyone, liberal or conservative, to be jaded to my testimony based on my political views.

Well, that's where free will comes into play. You have the free will to do what you will with your time AND money. God gave us free will and then gave His directions as to what to do with it. So, as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord. You quote the Ecclesiastes passage out of context. I'm familiar with the text and here's verses 2-12 to add a little context 2 It is better to go to the house of mourning, than to go to the house of feasting: for that is the end of all men; and the living will lay it to his heart. 3 Sorrow is better than laughter: for by the sadness of the countenance the heart is made better. 4 The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning; but the heart of fools is in the house of mirth. 5 It is better to hear the rebuke of the wise, than for a man to hear the song of fools. 6 For as the crackling of thorns under a pot, so is the laughter of the fool: this also is vanity. 7 Surely oppression maketh a wise man mad; and a gift destroyeth the heart. 8 Better is the end of a thing than the beginning thereof: and the patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit. 9 Be not hasty in thy spirit to be angry: for anger resteth in the bosom of fools. 10 Say not thou, What is the cause that the former days were better than these? for thou dost not enquire wisely concerning this. 11 Wisdom is good with an inheritance: and by it there is profit to them that see the sun. 12 For wisdom is a defence, and money is a defence: but the excellency of knowledge is, that wisdom giveth life to them that have it. (Sorry, went to get a bite to eat and mistakenly sent the message without finishing the thought) I also find it problematic to quote the Old Testament on a subject without a mention that Christ Himself elaborated in much detail on the subject.

Amen! In Matthew 6:21 Christ tells us " For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also." "Christ said it! I believe it! That settles it!" As Christians, our time, our money, our talents and our resources are not our own but are gifts from God and he expects us to use them for His will and FOCUS only on serving Him by serving our fellow man.

Well, you mention a hobby that you spend thousands upon thousands of dollars on but don't mention if you have profited or only spent on it. All I'll add is that I believe that everything God said or Christ taught applies to everyone. Else we could pick and choose which apply to us and which don't. I find that a very slippery slope. I know it's happening every day but I believe it's a mistake to choose to do something other than what Christ taught because of the belief that His teaching isn't for you. As to your hobby, I believe that if you're profiting from it then the hobby isn't the issue but what you do with the profits. If you're only spending and not profiting then I would suggest that you might want to look and see if there's not a better way to spend the money that God has blessed you with on doing the things that Christ commanded and I've never seen where He taught to use our money for hobbies but on many occasions He told us to use it for the poor and less fortunate. So, I just find that if I do with my time and money what Christ taught , he'll provide me with everything I need to be happy. "If Christ said it, then I believe it and that settles it" is the way I see everything that Christ taught.

Personally, I don't think that part of the decision making process is necessarily either. It's like not seeing the forest for the trees. It's looking at a microcosm when the real question is what were the alternatives. If you throw Frisbee with the dog instead of attending worship at your church or instead of comforting someone in need (you get the picture) then it is of Satan. However if you throw Frisbee with the dog instead of going to the bar or engaging in adultery, then it may well be of God. So, why not just pray, God is there anything that you have for me to do today and if there's nothing forthcoming, then by all means throw the Frisbee with the dog. When we apply the same scenario to the idea of motivation being man's nature to choose based on either fear of something bad or desire for something good for himself, it only assumes that all motivation is for our own good and doesn't take into account that most of things that God asks of us are to make something good happen for someone else despite our fears for something bad on our part or our desire for good things for ourselves. When we follow Christ our motivation should be on whether we are doing everything in our power to do His will with the faith that if we're doing His will then God will see to the end result, whether or not it gratifies our personal desires or fears. The Bible tells us that if we will make our decisions based on the good we can do for others, God will do what's good for us so we shouldn't worry about the bad results. That said, lets look at the conundrum that comes from making the decision based on our personal desire for good things and fear of bad things. So, in throwing the Frisbee we have to weigh the good against the bad possibilities. The good possibilities might be 1. Having fun with the dog. 2. Getting a little exercise. 3. Finding a lost item in the yard. 4. If you're single, you might meet a nice person of the opposite sex when retrieving the Frisbee that got out of the yard. 5. The dog will be too tired to chew the furniture. and on it goes. Bad possibilities might include, 1. Throwing too hard and breaking the neighbor's window. 2. The dog might break a leg while jumping to catch the Frisbee. and so on. Now on the surface this absurd scenario seems to lean towards the good possibilities. But to come to that conclusion you must first take into account the relative probability of each possibility and then compare those with the overall motivation to throw the Frisbee. I just find it a lot less confusing when I just rely on God and not my human nature for decisions in my life.

Hi, Still Alive. I have a little different view on why man does what he does. Your reasons are valid given the nature of man but here's another way of looking at the two reasons that man does what he does 1. To serve God and do His will. 2. To serve Satan and placate himself.

Very good, Walter! I will only add that I don't believe it is wise to either modify or control our sinful nature as that implies that we can modify or control it ourselves. That may not have been your intent. from what I've seen of your posts here I doubt that it is. I believe that if we will live for God and follow the teachings of Christ, we must GIVE UP or repent (turn away from) the old sinful nature and then when tempted, don't waste effort trying to modify or control, rather pray to God to "Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil." "Jesus said it all, all I have to do is listen".

Yes, God did give us ALL our senses and everything else for that matter. And yes he wants us to be happy. The question is does it require spending money on earthly pleasures to be happy? If so, maybe we ought to rethink our walk with God. I don't have to spend money or travel or go to a worldly music venue to be happy. I'm happy right where I am because God is with me. As for train companies, artists and musicians who "need to earn a living", if they are doing God's will, then He will see to their needs and if not, then they need to make a living from the followers of their master. And anything that Jesus did, He did it the best. As for the wine, it was the best but you forget to note that it didn't cost anything. I don't read in the scriptures where Christ charged them for "the best wine" whatever that price would have been. You say that you see "only pseudo humility, which is really pride" in those who deny themselves everything God has given them financially". Christ said in Luke 9:23 “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.” Notice He didn't say take in the local scene and follow me, He didn't say spend your money on earthly pleasures and follow Me, He said "Take up their CROSS and follow Me." Yes, you can be happy in the Lord even if carrying a cross! Even if you're not indulging in the pleasures of this earth. You mention that "there appears an outbreak of self righteousness around here right now". Now I'll assume that you're not talking about me, since you don't know me but I question how you can make such a judgemental statement about anyone. As for around here, I've not really seen anything I would classify as self righteous and if I did, I would certainly do as Christ taught and counsel with them in private. The prophet Isiah said: "He who walks righteously and speaks uprightly, who despises the gain of oppressions, who shakes his hands, lest they hold a bribe, who stops his ears from hearing of bloodshed and shuts his eyes from looking on evil, he will dwell on the heights; his place of defense will be the fortresses of rocks; his bread will be given him; his water will be sure. Your eyes will behold the king in his beauty; they will see a land that stretches afar." That land that stretches afar in my opinion, refers to Heaven. You say that the enemy doesn't want us to be happy or enjoy the blessings that God has given us. For myself, I don't care what the enemy wants. I live for Christ and He'll see that I'm happy and He has already told us what to do with the blessings that God has given us. I have a simple theory. It's an old saying I'll paraphrase. "If Christ said it then I believe it and that settles it." Then you state "To stop ourselves using the gift of God, including financial ones, to have wholesome pleasure in this world, appear to me to be ungrateful and rejecting the things He gives us to give us happiness." Your premise that it's ungrateful assumes that God gave you those gifts for your own pleasure. That's where I disagree. I think God gives us gifts to see if we'll use them for our own pleasure or for His will. Which would Christ choose? Then you state 'He loves us, He doesnt want us to be dragging ourselves around in a ragged condition, having little or no pleasure. If He did, why would He bless us with money?" The last question is answered above but at the risk of adding monotony to the situation, I'll repeat, I believe that God gives us money to see what we'll do with it. No,He doesn't want us "dragging ourselves around in a ragged condition" Not sure where that comes from as I never said He did. If not spending your money for earthly pleasures but for God's will leaves you feeling like you're "dragging around in a ragged condition" then I'd suggest you might want to remember that true joy is in SERVING THE LORD and not by being served by the pleasures of this earth. You then ask "why should financial blessings be any different?" They aren't, so I'll assume that you got the impression that I'm saying that they are. It's you and not myself who seems to focus on the financial aspect of the saying. The saying (and BTW it's not mine. It's an old saying that I was simply sharing) talks about TIME and Money. Notice, time is listed first. That said any blessing that God gives us can be used for one of two purposes. The work of God or the work of the Devil. God has clearly outlined His will, so everything else is the will of the devil. You close by saying that "what is in our hearts which counts, not the financial blessing and use of it". I say that what is in our hearts will guide what we do with our financial blessings. So, where your heart is there is where your finances will go. If your heart is on yourself and earths pleasures then your spending will show it and if your heart is with God then your giving will show it.

AMEN!!!!!!!

I know the feeling. I have come to the conclusion that we can never be sure what money will be used for so I suggest instead of giving money when you don't know what it will be used for go buy some blankets and white socks (so the local mission will launder them) and give them to the needy. Or if you have the means buy a bunch of burgers and pass them out. Just whatever you do, always to remember to give ALL the Glory to God. You mention feeding children in need. I happen to live in an area where there's plenty of those but I know everyone has their own situation so keep looking and praying. God WILL find a way for you and me.

You're right, hearing something doesn't necessarily make it true and serving God doesn't have to be "dreary chores'. I have a theory that even "Chores" if done for the Glory of God aren't going to be dreary. As for deciding if such a thing is true, I'd say try it for yourself and then let me know if it's true or not. The way you pose the question sounds like you have decided that it might not be true without even trying it to see. What if everyone who heard Christ said the same thing?

I say let the rich sinners buy new and then I'll buy second hand from the Goodwill.

In Matthew 6:4 Christ tells us "That thine alms may be in secret: and. thy Father which seeth in secret, himself shall reward thee openly.". So I totally agree that we shouldn't "give alms" in such a way as to call attention to our own giving but in a way so as to glorify God. So giving in secret is the best way to do that as Christ noted. You talk about the Pharisees and I'm not sure of your point but if you're implying that they didn't follow this teaching but made a big deal of their giving, then I agree. Otherwise I'm not sure what you are asking about the Pharisees. You say you'll ask Him at the nineteenth. I looked and assume you're referring to what the internet calls the "nineteenth hole", a reference to going to the bar after playing a game of golf. I would respectfully suggest that you've got it backwards, the nineteenth hole is too late. Ask Him first, I always say.

I was talking about Enoch, not Elijah, but I believe that they both probably were taken to Heaven.

You ask where do you find "that" in the Bible. Since the passage that you are referring to has several references to teachings of Christ (which of course all are from the New Testament) so I'm not sure exactly which you mean by "that". You also ask about a "law" in the New Testament. Personally, I don't refer to Christ's teachings or anything in the New Testament as "law" as I reserve the word for for the Old Testament laws. Even Christ seemed to do the same. So, if you could elaborate on what you're referring to when you say "where is "this law" located in the New Testament?" I'll certainly do my best to give you an answer.

I've actually heard quite involved disagreements on whether Enoch was actually taken straight to heaven. Genesis 5:24 KJV simply says "And Enoch walked with God: and he was not; for God took him.". Personally, I believe He probably took him to heaven but some say the phrase "for God took him" simply means he died.

Yeah, so it seems. But it looks like you're all over it so I'm gonna leave this one alone.

Thank you BeauJangles. Not only did you save me the trouble of looking him up, you've summed up the entire thing quite nicely.

What are you sorry for?

Thank you. I tend to paraphrase a lot.

Go for it. I was just quoting an old saying that I find kinda inspirational. Footprints in the Sand is a good one.

Actually, I didn't write the first one. It is an old saying and I should have placed it in quotation. Didn't mean to take credit for it, I was just sharing. I'll go and add the quotation marks now so no one else gets the same impression.

So, would you be so kind as to keep track and let me know when I'm closing in on him?