SpiritLedEd

This is an old post, but I'm new to the forum so I'm responding to it now. I have to disagree where you say, "In order to be Jewish, you have to reject Christ as savior". Jesus and all his disciples were jews...100%. Abraham believed in God and it was reckoned to him as righteousness. David was a man after God's own heart. I believe that when they died, they went through Jesus...he was the judge. "No one goes to the father, but through me" Abraham didn't "believe in God", he believed God (put his faith in Him). There is a big difference between believing IN God and BELIEVING God. "You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that - and shudder."(Jas 2:19). SLE

Hello Hannah, I like your name and well I am one of those who disagree with your opinion. First because murder is a sin and I'm sure every Christian would accept it as being a sin as willsmon said in her post "Thou shalt not murder" so this is a commandment and law of God that carries penalties or has consequences if you break it. We are told in 1 John that when we sin we have an advocate (lawyer) with the Father and if we are faithful to confess our sins then He is faithful and just to forgive us our tresspasses (sins). Well the advocate is Jesus Christ who interceeds between us and the Father as Jesus shed his blood on the cross so that we can obtain his mercy in times of need. And if we will faithfully come to God and confess our faults and failures which are our transgressions against the commands and laws of God. Then if we will do that it tell us that God will be faithful and just to forgive us of our tresspasses. Because of the blood of his only begotten son that was shed for the atonement of those sins. Now since that is the prescribe course for our sins, faults, failures, tresspasses, wickedness or whatever you want to call our wrong doings against the will of God we have to abide by that prescribed course if we want to be forgiven when we mess up and blow it. Now if a person kills themselves they are gone there is no time left for them to be faithful and go to God and repent of their sin of murder for it is over for good in that persons life when they die. One might say well I'll repent before I kill myself then I'll be forgiven and alright with God and everything will be all better for me. But that is only a lie the devil holds out for them to embrace because if they truly repented then they wouldn't willfully and knowing break the commandment of God that is not true repentance it's a Lie. God Bless Hannah Openly Curious

You cannot quantify God in such a way. He cannot be reduced to a certain kind of figure or shape. In Exodus 33:20, God tells Moses, "You cannot see my face, for no one can see me and live." I believe that the term "face" in that context refers to God's totality as it exists in the realm of the spirit. Since we do not yet live in the realm of the spirit, God does not allow us to see His totality (His total glory, if you will) because the innate power of His glory would blast us out of existence. In the Old Testament scriptures that speak of God coming to earth in OT times, It seems to me that the human figure shown is a shadow of Jesus in His body. SLE

Christianity is not simply believing in the existence of a Higher Power. Buddists have a Higher Power, Muslims have a Higher Power; all religions have Higher Powers. Simply put, Christianity is the religion of people who profess belief that Jesus Christ, the Son of God (2nd person of the Triune Godhead) took on human flesh, came to earth, and died for the sins of all mankind. You may want to start your investigation on the internet by logging into one of the non-denominational Christian cyberchurches. "Live chat" is also helpful for asking questions along with posting questions on message boards like this one. SLE

I'm sure you can do a Google search using the term Roman Catholic and get tons of info. As a former Roman Catholic, I would like to warn you that the Catholic Church is steeped in ceremonial practice and gives great weight to church tradition along with the Bible. They consider church tradition and Scripture to be of equal importance. SLE

Did you have a personal relationship with Jesus when th at accident occured? If the answer is "no", God may be testing your faith to see if you will really trust Him. And if the answer is "yes", the same might still be true. Take the job and take Good with you when you get behind the wheel. SLE

I watch the "supper bowl" when I'm hungry. If I watch the Super Bowl, it will be primarily to see a good football game and to root for Shawn Alexander, who grew up in my area; whose mom lives in the next town. SLE

"Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors" (Mt 6:12) "Then the master called the wicked servant in. 'You wicked servant', he said, 'I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. Shouldn't you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?'" (Mt 18: 32-33). To me, those two Scripture quotes say it all. To forgive from the heart is an act of Godly mercy. If we are followers of Jesus, we MUST treat those who offend us in any way with mercy. SLE

You know that the Holy Spirit is stirring your heart. If that wasn't true, you would not have made this post. You speak of going to Bible Study "now and again" and say that you "kind of" have issues. You know that you have serious problems. You know that you are indeed selling yourself short. Is your life style a sin? Maybe. Is it a potentially tragic mistake? Definitely. I think the Holy Spirit is pushing you to come out of hiding and move toward the life God has picked out for you. I think that you have established a routine for living (a rut) that helps you avoid dealing with issues. That routine is called "isolation" and isolation is deadly. Sure, you are physically around people, but you are shunning in-depth relationships. You don't want anyone to get close to you. You don't even want God to get close, hence the "now and again" attitude toward Bible Study. You keep everyone at arms-length. The fruit of a life style of isolation is loneliness and loneliness is, in reality, a miserable way to live.. I know. I'm a recovering alcoholic and, as an alcoholic, I kept myself numb. I was isolated for many years. My behaviors nearly destroyed me, my marriage and my family. How mistaken I was to think that I wasn't hurting anyone other than myself. I, too, was afraid of change. But I chose to let the Lord take my hand and lead me out of bondage. I chose to take off the mask of denial and let Him work in my life. And I tell you that doing so has brought about an awesome and wonderful change in my life. I suggest that you get good Christian counselling, as I did, and deal with the issues instead of trying to run from them. And get into the center of that Bible Study, open your heart to a couple of people. Share your lifestory with them and listen to theirs. You may be surprised to find that you have some things in common with them that will be healing to you. SLE

I think that the answer depends on how one defines "important". If one thinks of importance in wordly terms of being trained (or qualified) to perform a certain function, importance does come into play. In performing the work of pastoring, pastors are more important than janitors, but, in the matter of mopping a floor, the janitor may be pre-eminent if he/she knows more about proper floorcare, even if the pastor is the employer, too. In performing surgery, the surgeon is more important than, say, the actor. But, by virtue of his/her drama training, the actor would be the more important on a Broadway stage. In terms of training and skill levels, a person's importance is relative. In the Body of Christ, however, Jesus is the one who is of pre-eminent importance. The rest of us are all on the same level. "For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body-whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free-and we were all given the one Spirit to drink." (1Cor 12:13) SLE

I believe that, under terms of Exodus 20:3, anything that is more important to a person than God is an idol and idolatry is a sin. Thus a woman's concern for being beautiful CAN be a sin if it takes precedence over the Lord. A woman's pursuit of physical beauty becomes a sin if it is excessive. Of wives, Peter wrote: "Your beauty should not come from outward adornment. It should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God's sight." (1 Pt 3:3-4). SLE

Jesus said "I saw Satan fall like lightning from Heaven." (Lk 10:18). The name "Satan" means "adversary". Satan had once stood with the rest of the angels at the throne of God until deceit entered his heart and he tried to overthrow God. There must have been one heck of a battle in the heavenlies when he did that. To "fall like lightning" is to be given the heave-ho with great force. SLE

Excuse me, but you think that the translators DELIBARATELY meant to decieve us? Errrrr.......anyone? Lemme get a drink of water......... *sits down* Now. Lets see............anyone...... *sits waiting beside Leo* The notes in my NIV Study Bible for Isaiah 14:12 say that applying Chapter 14 to Satan is speculation only. vv12-14 could apply to Satan because of the enormous power described, bu none of the other verses in the chapter apply to him. The prophecy in Chapter 14 probably applies to the king of Babylon. "Lucifer" is a title that was applied to the king of Babylon.

According to the NIV Study Bible, "Morning Star, Son of the Dawn" in Isaiah 14:12 could be names for the kings of Assyria and Babylon, meaning that they will fade like the morning star fades when the sun rises. The "Morning Star" reference in Rev 22:16 means "Light of Salvation."

No, Paul was talking about what makes a Jewish person truly Jewish. He was speaking against the pride that he himself experienced as a Pharisee. Paul was speaking against the pride that caused some Jewish people to glory in their pedigree. Starting back at v. 17, Paul is talking to Jews. Paul has already demonstrated in the previous verses, that being without the Torah does not necessarily place the Gentiles at a disadvantage. Paul nows goes after Jewish pride that places its faith in the external practices, and boasts in the Torah/Law. In boasting and abusing their Jewishness, Paul says that they have become the very antithesis of what Torah observance, and Jewishness really is. In their foolish pride, they both dishonor God and instead of being a light to the Gentiles, the cause the Gentiles to blaspheme God, sending them further and further into darkness. Paul goes even further and tells them that those who are uncircumcised but have fulfilled the righteousness of the law (this is done by faith in Messiah), will sit in judgement of those to whom the law was given in the first place. The very ones who should have been glorifying God and being a light to world will, through their hypocrisy and pride find themselves judged by the very ones they presumed were in darkness. The Gentiles who, through the Messiah fulfill the righteousness of the Torah will stand as a continual judgement against those whose boast is solely in their legalistic performance of Torah, and not in God. Paul then tells his Jewish audience the Jewish person who wears his Jewishness on his sleeve, who goes about making an obnoxious, ostentatious display of his pedigree is, in fact, not a Jew. He commands others to keep the Torah while violating it himself, He takes pride in the advantages he has as if they were his own accomplishments, and not the provision of the Lord, and in doing so he has no place in the Kingdom of God. Paul tells his Jewish audience in these verses that their outward circumcision is not the essence of their Jewishness. It is the circumcision of the heart, the cutting away of the fleshly desires and attitudes that prevent them from living as those who praise is of God. Shiloh357: I think that you and I are pretty much on the same page. I did not mean to imply that Paul wanted jews to deny their jewish heritage. He wanted them to become jewish spiritually again. They had drifted off course and become mired in fleshly pride in the guise of pseudo-spirituality. SLE

Abraham, Moses, King David etc. were saved because they were faithful to the one true God under the Abrahamic covenant. Yeshua is God, the second Person of the Holy Trinity. Though he had not yet come to earth as the God-man, he was the pathway to God in their day also. As for the John 4:22 citation, Jesus was using the term "Jew" in the spiritual sense. He was not referring to nationality. Paul spelled out the spiritual definition in Romans 2:28-29, "A man is not a Jew if he is only one outwardly, nor is circumcision merely outward and physical. No, a man is a Jew if he is one inwardly; and circumcision is circuncision of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the written code. Such a man's praise is not from men, but from God." Thus true believers who are gentiles by nationality are jews spiritually and when Jesus told his listeners to remain jewish, he was challenging them to be jews spiritually.

Avidan: Ideally, the U. S. Government's passport system MIGHT reduce paperwork and speed up application processing time through RFID . This might be expected to streamline the system and protect against identity theft (since no other person will know what is on the chip, if I remember correctly). Efficiently streamlining the system could save millions of tax dollars annually. I say "Ideally" because nearly 32 years experience in the U.S. Postal Service taught me that bureaucracy works against increased efficiency, not in favor of it. And any new systems purchased might be outmoded before they are finally brought on line. SLE

Knight of Christ: I would advise you to stop badgering this fellow. He's just not ready to hear the Gospel and he's probably mocking you and your well-meaning friends behind your backs. Remember the words of Jesus: "Do not give dogs what is sacred; do not throw your pearls to pigs. If you do, they may trample them under their feet and then turn and tear you to pieces." (Mt 7:6) SLE

I personally find the chips "creepy" even without the prophetic element. It's way too much of an invasion of privacy for me. Even those GPS "locators" available in cars are not something I would have in mine. As for the "mark", I'm not sure how this fits together with the chip. If, for example (as one poster mentioned), your bank asks you to accept some sort of "scan-able" chip, how is that a cooperation with the beast? Not saying I like the chip idea....it creeps me out. But, for the sake of argument, shouldn't there be a clear choice being made by the individual against God? Can anyone give their thoughts on what ties it together? Thanks, Fiosh I don't think the business of the hand scan had anything to do with microchips being implanted on our bodies. Handprints are like fingerprints; each of us has a unique handprint. No human that has ever lived, lives now, or will live in the future can have a handprint that is exactly like ours. Therefore, hand scanning is a very effective tool to protect us against forgery and identity theft. I recommend taking advantage of it.

Irish Graham: I've been saved for 22 years and have done much Bible study, and, I must confess that that I still do not have a handle on the book of Revelation. I will tell you this, however. I was not drawn toward a personal relatioship with Jesus by someone giving me dire warnings out of that book. Had someone approached me that way, they would have been met with skepticism and sarcasm just as you have been. I was shown love and introduced to the power of the Holy Spirit. God has blessed me by allowing me to be instrumental in several people's coming to Christ, but they were all drawn by examples of God's love that they witnessed in me and in others. You can't frighten people into receiving Christ. The concerns you express are valid, but they are a poor evangelism tool unless you mix a small glass of them with a vat of God's love. SLE

As I posted earlier, there is a well known Scripture citation that speaks of repentence AND receiving Jesus: "Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest and repent. Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him and he with me." (Rev 3:19-20) Therein lies the origin and validation of the doctrinal term "receive Jesus", in my opinion. When we repent of our sin and receive him into our hearts, it signals the beginning of a deep, intimate relationship with him for us. SLE For years I viewed this passage the same way. Have you ever considered that Revelation 3:20 is not a salvation passage? The context seems to be that the passage is speaking to the church at Laodicea. Christ is standing outside the door of His own church and is being kept out. There were 3 wells near Laodicea. One was know for its hot springs that had healing power. The other was a cold well known for it's refreshment. there was a third that was warm and full of minerals. It was know to induce vomiting in the drinkers. John was aying that the church at Laodicea had lost its abilty to spiritually refresh and to heal. It had become like the third well which was good for nothing. Jesus stands at the door to discipline (3:19) His church. The church was not answering EriicH, Thanks for your input. You may very well be correct. However, since in verse 20 and in verse 21 the word "him" appears twice,"he" appears once, and "anyone" appears once (all singular), it seems to me that believing these verses to be salvation verses is still very much valid. The citation, then, would have a dual interpretation. I'm sure you will agree with me that the Lord is very good at "killing two birds with one stone." SLE

As I posted earlier, there is a well known Scripture citation that speaks of repentence AND receiving Jesus: "Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest and repent. Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him and he with me." (Rev 3:19-20) Therein lies the origin and validation of the doctrinal term "receive Jesus", in my opinion. When we repent of our sin and receive him into our hearts, it signals the beginning of a deep, intimate relationship with him for us. SLE

I'm amazed at the responses that have been posted regarding Larry T's simple question. It underscores a point my pastor once made about Christians bringing confusion into discussions by taking off on "Tangent Airlines." Larry wanted some Scripture references for the doctrinal term "receiving Jesus". He made the mistake of saying that he knew of the doctrine of repentence, but where does Scripture talk of receiving Jesus? And with that, a bunch of people raced to the Doctrinal Questions airport and jumped on the earliest Tangent flight. When will we realize the damage that can be done when discussions go off course, as this one did? Why can't we keep it simple? SLE

Itzomi: Here are two quotes I hope you will seriously consider: "Faith is by no means a mere act of choice, an option for a special solution to the problems of existence. It is birth to a higher life by obedience to the Source of Life: to believe is thus to consent to hear and to obey a creative command that raises us from the dead. And what can be a deeper motive for belief? We believe not because we want to "know", but because we want to "be". And supernatural faith responds to the mystery of that natural faith which is the core and center of our personal identity. The higher faith is the will not only to be ourselves, but to find ourselves truly in Christ by obedience to his Father." Thomas Merton Conjectures of a Guilty Bystander p19 Helping people to find themselves in Christ was the mission the Lord gave to Paul and those who worked with him. That is why Paul sent this message to Titus: " He saved us by the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Saviour so that having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life. This is a trustworthy saying. And I want you to stress these things so that those who have trusted in God may be careful to devote themselves to doing what is good. These things are excellent and profitable for everyone. But avoid foolish controversies and genealogies and arguments and quarrels about the law, because these are unprofitable and useless." Titus 3:9