SpiritLedEd

LarryT: The dictionary defines "receive" as "to welcome or to admit". Here are two scriptures that, taken together, should clarify the issue for you. Rev 1: 1-2 says, "The revelation of Jesus Christ which God gave him to show his servants what soon must take place. He made it known bysending his angel to his servant John, who testifies to everything he saw-that is, the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ." Rev 3:19-20 says, "Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest, and repent. Here I am! I (Jesus) 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."

Thanks so much, Fiosh! Unfortunately, I'm a little too far gone to think I could find Truth from the Bible, but one should never say never. It would be ignorant for me to assume I know what Truth is or isn't. In fact, the more I've learned, the more I realize I don't know. So far, my search has lead me away from the Bible, though. Itzomi. Aren't you, in effect, saying to God, "Answer my questions and then I'll believe"? You seem to be putting God to the test. Early in His ministry, Jesus had a spiritual wrestling match with Satan (who was also trying to put God on trial), which He (Jesus) won. He rebuked Satan by quoting Deuteronomy 6:16, "You shall not put the Lord your God to the test." It was a rebuke that had great spiritual power and pretty much put Satan on his fanny for a while. I've found that deciding to believe comes first. Only then does God begin to seriously grow us up in our understanding of Himself and His works. It is by faith that we are saved. "Trust in the Lord with all your heart. Do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make your path straight." (Prv 3:5-6) SLE

Yeah, I don't understand how some people can only believe in certain parts of the Bible and not others? You either believe it or you don't, you can't pick and choose. Like people who claim to be Christians but say it's OK to be gay. People like that, IMO, are only in it for the "warm fuzzies." They want just enough to make them feel good about themselves but not enough for it to be an inconvenience. I may not believe in the Bible myself anymore, but if someone else claims to be a Christian, I expect them to believe in it - all of it! I don't even know where to start as far as no longer believing. Just reading the first page of the Bible brings about a trillion questions, but I guess I can start with: How is it that God created night & day on the First Day and the sun & moon on the Fourth? I know you can't really answer that to my satisfaction - there's really no logical answer (there are "answers," but they're ridiculous ones) - but that's just one of the many head-scratchers I can't get past. Itzomi, May I suggest a couple of Scriptures for you to meditate on? Hebrews 11:1 "Now faith is being (deciding to be) sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not understand." Hebrews 11:6 "And without faith, it is impossible to please God. because anyone that comes to Him must first believe that He exists and that He rewards those who diligently seek Him." Isaiah 55: 8-9 "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways," declares the Lord. "For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts." God does not jump through peoples' intellectual hoops to win their acceptance. He is the Sovereign Lord of the Universe. He does not completely reveal Himself to us humans because we cannot handle it. It would literally blow us away. Exodus 33 speaks of Moses saying to God, "Show me your glory." "And the Lord said to Moses, 'I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you and I will proclaim my name THE LORD in your presence......but', He said 'you cannot see my face, for no one can see Me and live.'"(Ex 33:19-20)

Jhon, You remind me of my own attitude early on in my relationship with the Lord. Its true that God is not subject to time, but when He works in the earth, He works within the parameters of time because time is an essential part of His creation. Like you, I had problems waiting on God for some kind of response. I was keeping time with my spiritual "watch", anxious for something to happen. In 1st John,the apostle refers to believers as little children. Watch a litttle kid trying to get a grownup's attention when the grownup is speaking to another grownup.The kid will interrupt, say what he/she wants to say and allow the grownup all of, maybe, five seconds to respond before the badgering begins. Although we do wait longer than five seconds, that's how we treat God early on in our walk with Him. There are lots of factors, most of which we will never know about, that control the outcome and the timing of the outcome of our requests. I suggest that you study James 1:2-4: "Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance.Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything."

Ain't much sense in reading much further into this one, is there? Did little Kofi lose some pennies in Iraq (psssst- oil for food)? Go wash your hands, Mr. Secretary General, they smell like dirty money. t. International Law, as I understand it, is not binding on nations that do not sign the agreements involved, be they members of the UN or not. Viewing the UN as a world government is a pipe dream that I pray never comes true. If you think the U.S. Government is an inefficient and insensitive operation, try to imagine the size and inefficiency of a one-world government.

Yes, we do have guardian angels, but the reference to children is not literal. In MT 18, the apostles are arguing over who would occupy what VIP seats in Jesus' kingdom."He called a child and had him stand among them. And He said to them, 'I tell you the truth, unless you become like little children, you will never enter the Kingdom of Heaven'." "See to it that you do not look down on one of these little ones, for I tell you that their angels in Heaven always see the face of my Father in Heaven." (Mt 18: 2-3, 10-11) Jesus used the symbolism of a little child to help the apostles understand that the humility and simple faith of a child are needed for entrance into the Kingdom. Worldly ambition and pride keeps people out of God's Kingdom. So, you see, the reference to children is allegorical; it refers to believers recognizing that there are no "adults" in the Kingdom. We are all children. The apostle John was very aware of this truth. In all three of his epistles, he refers to believers as "little children".

In the last few days, there has been continuous debate on one or two theology issues that has been disturbing to me. The issue revolves around courtesy and respect toward others, particularly those who do not share one's point of view. Lately, debate often seems to degenerate into biting sarcasm and, sometimes, insult. Those of us who profess to be Christians need to keep in mind Jesus' words in John 13:35, "By this shall all men know that you are my disciples , that you love one another,"

Until not long ago, many biblical scholars thought the NT was written in some Holy Ghost Greek dialect. They thought this because the language style of the greek NT texts were different than other sources of ancient greek language. There has been some discoveries of ancient greek text in places like garbage dumps and homes of average joes. It turns out that the NT was written in common street language, not the high and mighty language of the elites. The letters of the NT were written for average Christians to read. Yet, the Catholic Church prohibited Christians from reading the Bible until very recently. The Catholic Church banned the Bible in school. The Catholic Church even executed people for translating the Bible. Mary is only mentioned once outside of the gosples. And, that, one time only in passing because she happened to be someplace in particular. Mary is unimportant to the Bible, beyond giving birth to Jesus. Of course, she's blessed for being chosen to be the mother of Jesus. Mary's own mother is blessed for being Jesus's grandmother. How about you pray to her? Some blind guy was blessed for being given sight by Jesus, why don't you pray to him? I'm blessed for being saved by Jesus. How about you... never mind.

Tubal Cain: You like to refer to Mark 16. There is a phrase in Mk 16:17 that you think means that these signs have to constitute a miracle-on-demand program - "And these signs will accompany those who believe: IN MY NAME THEY WILL......." Check out Luke 11:29 - "As the crowds increased, Jesus said, ' this is a wicked generation. It asks for a miraculous sign, but none will be given it except the sign of Jonah.' " That's another proof that no one can order up miracles like you would order a Big Mac at McDonald's. Also, in Exodus 33:19b, the Lord told Moses, "I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion." It may be that someone was resurrected in one of R. W. Schambach's meetings. If it did happen, it was not because God was required to do it. Nor was it a product of some kind of spiritual assembly line. It was a voluntary, sovereign act on the part of our Creator. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Yes, Luke 11:29 does say that there would be no signs, but you and I have both read that there were many signs. Signs accompany those with faith in God. In John 20:30 Jesus did many other miraculous signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. In Acts 2:22 "Men of Israel, listen to this: Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders and signs, which God did among you through him, as you yourselves know." It baffles me why people want to be known as christians, yet they do not want to put any effort into achieving the things that their god said they would achieve if they were true believers. You just want to pay lip service and make up excuses why the bible doesn't really mean what it clearly says. You don't want the truth, because the truth would require you to prove something...your FAITH! <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Tubal Cain, I have one more comment regarding this post of yours. The last paragraph begins with "It baffles me why people want to be known as Christians, yet they do not want to put any effort into achieving things that their god said they would achieve if they were true believers." True Christians are not after worldly recognition. We do not strive to climb some spiritual ladder of success for our own glory; we're not interested in engraved trophies to be put on mantelpieces to show spiritual prowess. The thing we want to "achieve" is eternal life with Him as promised in John 3:16. We see that as having a value far superior to any recognition of the kind you understand. SLE

Tubal Cain: You like to refer to Mark 16. There is a phrase in Mk 16:17 that you think means that these signs have to constitute a miracle-on-demand program - "And these signs will accompany those who believe: IN MY NAME THEY WILL......." Check out Luke 11:29 - "As the crowds increased, Jesus said, ' this is a wicked generation. It asks for a miraculous sign, but none will be given it except the sign of Jonah.' " That's another proof that no one can order up miracles like you would order a Big Mac at McDonald's. Also, in Exodus 33:19b, the Lord told Moses, "I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion." It may be that someone was resurrected in one of R. W. Schambach's meetings. If it did happen, it was not because God was required to do it. Nor was it a product of some kind of spiritual assembly line. It was a voluntary, sovereign act on the part of our Creator. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Yes, Luke 11:29 does say that there would be no signs, but you and I have both read that there were many signs. Signs accompany those with faith in God. In John 20:30 Jesus did many other miraculous signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. In Acts 2:22 "Men of Israel, listen to this: Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders and signs, which God did among you through him, as you yourselves know." It baffles me why people want to be known as christians, yet they do not want to put any effort into achieving the things that their god said they would achieve if they were true believers. You just want to pay lip service and make up excuses why the bible doesn't really mean what it clearly says. You don't want the truth, because the truth would require you to prove something...your FAITH! <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Tubal Cain, Thanks for responding to my post of last evening. The message of Jesus in Luke 11: 29 is that no miraculous signs will be given to those who refuse to believe. Jesus knew that the hearts of those Pharisees were frozen; that they had chosen not to receive His message despite the miracles that some of them had witnessed personally. You are correct in your citation of John 20:30; Jesus did do more miracles than it was possible for John to record in his Gospel, but the fact remains that no miraculous signs were shown for the benefit of those who refused to believe. You cite Acts 2:22, which does say that "Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders, and signs, which God did among you through Him, as you yourselves know." When you read the rest of Acts 2, you find that these words were spoken by the apostle Peter to a crowd of several thousand people and if you read through to the end of the story (verse 41), you'll see these words - "Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day." So, yes, miracles were performed, but, as the verse you quote confirms, they were performed only for the purpose of accrediting Jesus to those who would choose to believe. SLE

Tubal Cain: You like to refer to Mark 16. There is a phrase in Mk 16:17 that you think means that these signs have to constitute a miracle-on-demand program - "And these signs will accompany those who believe: IN MY NAME THEY WILL......." Check out Luke 11:29 - "As the crowds increased, Jesus said, ' this is a wicked generation. It asks for a miraculous sign, but none will be given it except the sign of Jonah.' " That's another proof that no one can order up miracles like you would order a Big Mac at McDonald's. Also, in Exodus 33:19b, the Lord told Moses, "I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion." It may be that someone was resurrected in one of R. W. Schambach's meetings. If it did happen, it was not because God was required to do it. Nor was it a product of some kind of spiritual assembly line. It was a voluntary, sovereign act on the part of our Creator.

He can't ?? Oh boy!!! Maybe you should tell Him, cause He's doing it. I love you, TC! And........He's right there beside you. Won't you invite Him in? I'm sure He'd love that. TC: To say that God is in every atom is accurate only in the sense that He puts his creative energy into that atom. His Spirit is quite separate from his creative energy, which is subject to his Spirit. When we Christians speak of God being within us, we refer not to His creative energy, but to to His Spirit being within us starting at the moment we asked Jesus to be our Lord and Savior. SpiritLedEd

He can't ?? Oh boy!!! Maybe you should tell Him, cause He's doing it. I love you, TC! And........He's right there beside you. Won't you invite Him in? I'm sure He'd love that. Peace to you, Fiosh <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Fiosh...If God is everywhere, then God is already within every atom that makes up the matter that is me. God is not invited anywhere, because God is already everywhere. It's your own realization of this that is your salvation. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> <{POST_SNAPBACK}> <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

He can't ?? Oh boy!!! Maybe you should tell Him, cause He's doing it. I love you, TC! And........He's right there beside you. Won't you invite Him in? I'm sure He'd love that. Peace to you, Fiosh <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Fiosh...If God is everywhere, then God is already within every atom that makes up the matter that is me. God is not invited anywhere, because God is already everywhere. It's your own realization of this that is your salvation. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

He can't ?? Oh boy!!! Maybe you should tell Him, cause He's doing it. I love you, TC! And........He's right there beside you. Won't you invite Him in? I'm sure He'd love that. Peace to you, Fiosh <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Fiosh...If God is everywhere, then God is already within every atom that makes up the matter that is me. God is not invited anywhere, because God is already everywhere. It's your own realization of this that is your salvation. <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

He can't ?? Oh boy!!! Maybe you should tell Him, cause He's doing it. I love you, TC! And........He's right there beside you. Won't you invite Him in? I'm sure He'd love that. Peace to you, Fiosh <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Fiosh...If God is everywhere, then God is already within every atom that makes up the matter that is me. God is not invited anywhere, because God is already everywhere. It's your own realization of this that is your salvation. <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

As to whether or not "Heaven" and "Hell" are real places, some clairification is needed. Just as there are physical places in the space/time universe we live in now, I believe that "Heaven" and "Hell" are spiritual places in the eternal realm that awaits us at the end of our time on earth. Whether or not these places have specific linear dimentions as we understand dimentions , is a matter of conjecture because of the imperfect nature of human reasoning. Also, remember that the Bible often uses hyperbole to stress a point.. Twenty-first cerntury writers do the same. Identifying "Heaven" and/or "Hell" as places in Scripture could be legitimate use of this literary tool.

There is some dispute whether the Greek preposition "entos" is being used to mean "within" or "among"---referring to Jesus Himself. In either case, not a state of consciousness-----a REALITY. That's the part many people, Christians and atheists alike, have trouble with. This stuff is real. Peace to you, Fiosh <{POST_SNAPBACK}>