Sgtazur

Although the saints seem to say animals perish, God can do anything, after all. I wouldn't be surprised if animals are in the new life.

I have a question about listening to music on Youtube / other video sites. Would you guys say it's a sin? Arguments for: -I didn't buy the music, but I'm enjoying it -The government calls it stealing, because I'd be taking another person's copyrighted property -I may be taking money from people by not buying the disk Arguments against: -Sounds can only be listened to, not stolen -The artist may have already released the video somewhere else online, or may not care that it's there The question also reaches out to movies / clips of movies / videos / etc. It's all up to speculation, but I just wanted to ask what you guys think of it.

I have a question for those who say, "God would not send a remote tribe in South Africa to Hell that's never heard of Jesus." I am not saying you're wrong, but while thinking about it in my head, I wondered: if they can be saved outside of the Gospel, then what reason do we have to preach it to them? What benefit is there, besides Salvation? Remember what Jesus said: "Go and make disciples"

I believe that Jesus died so that everyone could be saved, but only those who ask for His salvation will have their sins covered. For if ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins. (John 8:24)

Peace bro I've had the same thoughts at times - anxiety, panic, paranoia, etc. A good thing to try to do is simply not to give them power - when you find yourself starting to think about them, refocus onto something else. Like the Bible says, you could focus on Jesus: You can always choose what you think about - even if you start worrying, just tell yourself, "I'm not going to worry anymore, I'm going to think about ______." Eventually you may start worrying again; when that happens, just tell yourself the same thing. Second: keep active! If you are busy doing different tasks, and you put your focus onto them (even things like laundry or cleaning), you won't have as much room in your head to think about other things

When the name Esau is used, it refers to the Edomites, not Esau himself. http://www.gotquestions.org/Jacob-Esau-love-hate.html "When studying the Bible, it is critically important to always study the context of a particular Bible verse or passage. In these instances, the Prophet Malachi and the Apostle Paul are using the name

I believe this is true. A Christian can have a demon though: Mathew 16:22-23, Jesus rebuked the spirit of Satan speaking through Peter Acts 5:3, "Satan filled [the hearts of believers] to lie to the Holy Spirit" 2 Corinthians 11:4 - Paul rebukes believers for receiving "another spirit" 2 Corinthians 12:7 - Paul was tormented by a messenger (greek: angelos) from Satan If you think that you are being snared, rebuke the demon in the name of Jesus Christ! Just like Jesus did to the one inside Peter. If you think "they're still here" after you rebuke them, it won't work. Matthew 17:19 - Then came the disciples to Jesus apart, and said, Why could not we cast him out? And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief"

I wanted to post this topic especially for those who enter into Spiritual warfare, but for all Christians as well. It is a topic about the Armor of God, what it is, and how to use it. God gives every one of his followers a great amount of protection just because we are His sons and daughters, but He also gave us "The Armor of God" - it's purpose is to protect us and to keep us safe, and the Lord tells us to use so we can stand strong: THE SCRIPTURE: Ephesians 6:11-17, KJV Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; and your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God: God makes it clear that we're not just in a wrestling match with humans here on earth, but with wickedness and darkness of the world. Luckily God is much more powerful than anything that we'll come up against, and He will give us everything that we need to fight - and win. The armor of God consists of 6 pieces: The Belt of Truth The Breastplate of Righteousness Shoes to proclaim the Gospel of Peace Shield of Faith Helmet of Salvation Sword of the Spirit Every piece has a purpose, and every piece is needed. These are the tools which we use to fight for God. THE BELT OF TRUTH: The Belt of a set of armor holds everything else into place - it is the center of the armor, fastened around our waist (or as KJV says, "girt" about our "loins"). The belt also plays an important part in holding the sword and its sheath. For a Christian, truth must be fastened at our center. Jesus says that he IS the truth ("I am the way, the Truth, and the Life") -which means Jesus and His truth, if they are at our core, will hold everything else into place. Without the belt of truth, we wouldn't know what is right and what is wrong - our foundation becomes shaky, and the other parts of the armor become loosened. A good way to study the truth, therefore, is to read the Bible. Know the difference between Gospel truth and Satan's lies, and know what "sin" constitutes - if you know these things, everything else will be fastened together. THE BREASTPLATE OF RIGHTEOUSNESS The Breastplate protects the upper-torso of the soldier, and covers many of the major organs - including the heart. God's cover for your heart is righteousness. and this is for three reasons: 1) The bible says that we should desire righteousness (and desire God) with all our heart, soul, and mind. (Matthew 22:37) 2) If we don't protect our hearts, we leave them open for attack through guilt. Evil will try to bring up your past sins, your former mistakes, perhaps even times you turned away from God, and will make you feel the shame of those things all over again. But God covers us with righteousness - reminding us that our past mistakes are taken away by Christ's triumph, and the guilt can no longer hurt us. When Righteousness is so close to your heart, you cannot be pierced by guilt or shame. The tough, metal breastplate will not allow these things to go through. SHOES TO PROCLAIM THE GOSPEL OF PEACE: Shoes cover our feet, which are the part of us that get us from one place to another. Shoes come in all different styles and sizes, even in armor, but they all serve one purpose: they help/enhance our feet, which direct our physical body. I am not sure 100% about the significance of this part of the armor, but I believe that God means "take some shoes that your feet, and use them to go out and spread the Gospel." This may mean that if you have a talent unique to you (something that is "fitting to you" - writing, singing, drawing, dancing, teaching, leading, explaining, et cetera), then use it to further the good news of Jesus! When you put on the armor, you're taking up your talents for God - you're proclaiming the Gospel of peace through whichever pair of 'shoes' may fit you! THE SHIELD OF FAITH The Shield is the outermost part of the armor, and probably the most protective. Without the shield, the body is left open to attack at almost any point. In his letter, Paul says that we should take up the shield "above all" - meaning that our shield, FAITH, is the most important part of our armor. Jesus always stressed belief: Faith can cause trees to be uprooted and mountains to be moved (Luke 17:6). By the greatness of our faith, we can do great deeds - but the reverse is also true: if we do not believe, we limit what we can do. The Disciples discovered this when they tried to cast out demons and were unsuccessful "because of [their] unbelief" (Matthew 17:20). An important thing about the shield of faith: if you pray while believing that your prayer won't be answered, then it won't be. You've got to BELIEVE that God will help you (and scripture says He will: "For I am the LORD, your God, who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear, I will help you" (Isaiah 41:13)). So when you are fighting and you feel like things are going badly, continue to believe! This is IMPERATIVE! By doing so, you are blocking and "quenching the firey darts" - allowing them no power over you. The Helmet of Salvation The Helmet of a set of armor covers the head of the fighter - in essence, the helmet covers the most important part of our physical body, which is our brain (and from there, our mind and our reason). The Helmet of Salvation covers our mind - perhaps the most needed place for cover. The devil will try to put wrong thoughts into your head: most commonly it may be a thought of fear, anger, lust, or pride - these can do greatest damage, and Jesus specifically warns against them (check out the Sermon on the Mount to see what He has to say about them). Fears - like "God is not listening to me" or "I'm still going to Hell" - are completely untrue, going against what salvation stands for. Anger against others stops us from spreading the forgiveness we received when we were saved. Lusts turn us away from God by making us serve fleshy desires. Pride makes us believe "I did something great" instead of "Christ working in me did something great" So remember: continue to keep your mind on salvation, and don't give in to the thoughts which contradict it! The Sword of The Spirit: The sword is the weapon of the armor, and the only part of all six which is used for fighting instead of defending. The sword of the Spirit, according to Paul, is the Word of God. We are called to fight by using our knowledge of His commands - by doing this, we discern what we should cut down with the sword, and what not to. The sword can be used in two ways. First: it helps us to discern who is telling the truth and who is a "false prophet." If another's message does not link up with what the Spirit or the Word of God lays upon us, then we know that the message opposes us. Seondly, the sword of the spirit will help you discern which thoughts you have are true and which ones are false. The devil will try to sneak in a wrong thought into your head. Sometimes the thoughts will even come in the form of an "I" statement - "I hate this person" or "I think God is angry at me" etc. For this reason, God tells us: 2 Corinthians 10:5

This is true - however, I pray that nobody will slip into pride when thinking about this, because I definitely did... If you say, "I will go to church and I will read the bible for an hour every day, and I will lead many people to Christ, and pray during my car ride and in the shower" - these are all good things which certainly have spiritual gain to them. However, be careful. If you start thinking "God has made me a great person, I'm doing so much for other people!!" then you start slipping into pride (self-love). Eventually you put blame on other things ("oh I can't stop thinking about sex - it must be a demon tempting me!") when in reality you are the SINNER who needs to ask for God's forgiveness. I'm telling you all this because I did it myself, and fell into the trap - remember that we can do NOTHING without Christ, and we should never boast about our acts.

I have a question: How do I know that it's the will of God for me to do things like taking a shower, or hanging with friends, or playing a board game, or doing anything which people normally do in a day? Is it enough to say, "The bible doesn't say anything against this, so it must be fine" ? I know that we should always seek the will of God first and foremost, but I get confused: does this mean we should ask whether it's the will of God for us to do every action in life?

God didn't put a lying spirit into their mouths: the spirit said "I will go and do this". God didn't order the spirit up, but because he petitioned God, God allowed it. "And there came forth a spirit, and stood before the Lord, and said: I will deceive him. And the Lord said to him: By what means? 22 And he said: I will go forth, and be a lying spirit, in the mouth of all his prophets. And the Lord said: Thou shalt deceive him, and shalt prevail: go forth, and do so." This is nothing new - Satan petitions God all the time for things. Remember Job? Satan petitioned God for every tangible thing that Job had. The same is true of 1 Sam 16:14, in which it says: "and he was tormented by an evil spirit sent by the LORD." This doesn't mean God conjures up evil spirits to just send down to people - they come to God, and God allows them to go. You may be thinking, why does God allow it? Because God's power is always stronger than that of demons. Therefore one only needs to TRUST IN GOD to help him against the spirit, and you will have no problem: 1 Corinthians 10:13There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.

I thank you guys for your speedy replies during this holiday. I was so scared today, thinking that I was going to Hell with absolutely no chance of salvation. My faith was tested because of it - because of a simple lie from Satan that I could not be saved! But I affirm to you now and forever that Jesus Christ is my savior - the son of God, whom no death could overcome. I'd like to ask you guys to please pray for my faith in God and in Jesus; so that God may continue to build me up. I pray for all of you, that God may do the same! Thanks, and blessings. -Tom

Hello Worthyboards, I have a question which is making me absolutely shudder right now. I'm not sure where else to turn, but I have to ask it somewhere. In Hebrew 6:4-10 it says, 4

"And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire." (Rev 20:15) "And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name." (Revelation 14:11) "And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet [are], and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever." (Revelation 20:10)

Our God does not send people to Hell. They send themselves to Hell. God is good. However, He is also just to all people/creatures, including Satan. When Satan says, "that person died without being saved, by Your law you must give them to me", God has to be just to Satan just like God is just to us. Remember that The Lord always kept His side of the bargain: eternal life If we don't keep up our side, Believing in Christ and being saved, that is our fault.

Well, after 22 pages I think I can say that this is a really good question..... <{POST_SNAPBACK}> After 22 pages the topic has changed quite a bit

The NIV is God's word on drugs... I could throw it farther than I can trust it. http://www.av1611.org/niv.html ...And there's a difference between a state of consciousness and having the holy spirit inside of you. The whole consciousness/awareness ideas came from Hinduism - and they should stay there! Keep idolator ideas with the idolatrous religions. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Sgtazur,,,you're probably right about the NIV. I've found many places in it where the translators intentionally covered up contadictions and absurdities. But the KJV has so many forged passages that you can't even begin to trust it. Which translation do you prefer? Er, where was it forged from? What did they do, did translators take the original greek scrolls and erase part of the 1500-yr-old parchment?!?!?!?!? Remember that these people were VERY strict God-loving christians who wouldn't dare take liberty with God's texts.... Many of them knew the bible very well, and they probably feared to make the slightest error because they knew this passage at the end: Rev 22:18 For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book: Rev 22:19 And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and [from] the things which are written in this book. They feared the Lord.

The NIV is God's word on drugs... I could throw it farther than I can trust it. http://www.av1611.org/niv.html <{POST_SNAPBACK}> That is just totally ignorant! I read the NIV daily and I love it and don't you DARE say I'm not saved-remember, the KJV is a TRANSLATION only. Jesus and Paul did not speak Ye Olde English. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> "don't you DARE say I'm not saved" er, where did I say that?

They lived during the Old Covenant, and followed it's rules. So yes, they're saved. Today we're in the New Covenant, though, because Jesus is now raised from the dead. If King David/Abraham/Moses were alive today, they'd have to follow the rules of this time.

The NIV is God's word on drugs... I could throw it farther than I can trust it. http://www.av1611.org/niv.html ...And there's a difference between a state of consciousness and having the holy spirit inside of you. The whole consciousness/awareness ideas came from Hinduism - and they should stay there! Keep idolatory ideas with the idolatrous religions.

Arnold better not get cold feet now.

To back up the author of this thread: I corinthians 1:10 I urge you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree in what you say, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and in the same purpose.

ach, lad that doesn't sound too good t' me

Jhn 8:44 Ye are of your father the devil.... He was a murderer from the beginning. As well, it's satan's territory.

exactly. Rev 22:11 He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still: and he that is holy, let him be holy still.