Catsmeow

Isaiah 53: 4,5 4 Surely our griefs He Himself bore, And our sorrows He carried; Yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken, Smitten of God, and afflicted. 5But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, And by His scourging we are healed. That's a baptism of anguish. That's pain for love's sake...for no greater love hath any man than to lay down his life for his friend.

Paul taught in Ephesians 4:14 14 Then we will no longer be infants,tossed about by the waves and carried around by every wind of teaching and by the clever cunning of men in their deceitful scheming. You evidently think David WIlkerson was a deceiving schemer. I'm not going to waste time debating this with you. I'll let Apostle Paul do that... Romans 14:3 The one who eats everything must not belittle the one who does not, and the one who does not eat everything must not judge the one who does, for God has accepted him. 4Who are you to judge someone else’s servant? To his own master he stands or falls. And he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand. 5 One man regards a certain day above the others, while someone else considers every day alike. and finally Jesus's own words: Matthew 7:2 “For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you. Haughtiness is a snare I avoid. G'night.

After a painful 15 years of losing my husband, stumbling, falling and finally being delivered from fear and despair, God has liberated this captive and set me free from many burdens. The fruit of which has been to delight in the Jewish people, the chosen ones in whom I delight in since the Father also delights in them. For that reason, I've been pursuing Jewish art and creative expression. Here's a few pieces I thought you might enjoy..

Whoa! Stay strong, my sister. Stay strong. I have young person who just turned 16. Sometimes I'll stay up very late to counsel him and pray....but now he's wanting to start in with an online romance with friend (if you 'get' what I'm saying). I've spent over a year praying on chat and encouraging him in his faith but he's stubborn about reading a simple version of the bible (New Living Translation) and I'm a special ed teacher so I'm especially patient. So much for patience - after a year, he's still not showing interest in learning God's word even though I reach out to him regularly. I think God's getting even with me ( just kidding ) when he sends me someone as hardheaded as myself to mentor. Seriously, He is a wonderful and patient Father. There are those of us who have to learn the hard way. I'm one of them.

The text implies or suggests his sensitivity to their sorrow. Jesus considered Mary, Martha and Lazarus friends and he visited them regulalry. I don't see belief to be an issue but it does appear he longed for them and grieved as an ordinary person might under such circumstances.. yet he willed that all would know that he was the "resurrection and the life".

I pray this will be shared with you -- an investment of 11 minutes of powerful and passionate plea for the lost and forsaken.

Thank you, friend. I finally learned I can't "do it" apart from God... it's humbling.

Hey, thanks for sharing that. Everyone has different experiences I guess. In college I was agnostic but by graduate school I'd had a red hot conversion Christ. Jesus said he'd rather one be hot or cold rather than lukewarm.. and I was on fire for Him. In my final semester of grad school my philosophy professor thought it his duty to mock Christians and denigrate our Lord. I confronted him privately about this and he stopped. I had the same problem with a social community online. The owner was posting vulgar images of Christ with naked prostitutes and I confronted him. This guy didn't back down or remove his post so I left. We'd been friends before that. It's when you take a stand with a "friend" you sense their hatred of God and those who follow Him. I show kindness towards unbelievers but if they cross the line I won't remain silent. If anyone speaks blasphemously about the Sovereign of the universe, I'll confront them. Matthew 10:33 (ASV) But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father who is in heaven.

I took sociology in my freshman year of college. Chapter 1 of the text showed a normative study comparing "religious"and non religious persons with respect to longevity. Statistics were skewed to suggest religious persons tended to be poorly educated dullards with little regard for their own safety. Looking back, it reminded me of Uncle Tom's Cabin and portraying people of color as racially inferior to whites. The halls of learning tended to be overtly hostile, with unabashed intimidation towards religion. I suggest you watch, "God Is Not Dead". It drives home the point and it's exactly what I experienced in college. For me personally, I entered my freshman year a self-avowed atheist and finished graduate school a firm believer. Liberals insist they're interested in "truth" which ironically is just what I wanted and found in Jesus Christ. He is the truth and apart from Him there is no other.

That answer was EPIC! .... sweet ( ahhhh.... )

I'd like to see a comparative survey on suicides and depression between atheists vs Christians or how many atheists gamble their paychecks in Vegas, betting on Lady Luck on the roll of the dice.

Lpstr, I got my Bachelors in Science in Business with a chemistry major; I switched from bio chem as my primary because jobs for chemists were few and far between at that time. I did work for a firm in the field of organic chemistry as a lab technician working with highly carcinogenic materials and chose to leave. I majored in business administration and worked as a stockbroker, facilitating stock and option trades for a major bank. I left the field to go back into college and rec'd my master's degree in Special Education. The field is different from a regular education degree. Special education at the master's level involves considerable work with the DSM V (at that time it was the DSM IV) and a substantial amount of medical training. My first job with a MS Ed. license was in a special facility was at a school for the blind. In my BS program I was an atheist. In my graduate program I was still an atheist but towards the end of my graduate program I'd become a Christian. In both graduate and undergraduate programs I graduated Magna Cum Laude -- so you're point is... ?

Hey Neb. I haven't talked to you in a million years! Sheesh.. it feels like an eternity. You're still alive and kickin' and I'm just -- here. I chose this goofy panda character because that's how foolish I feel. I just got in way over my head. I don't even think God is able to use me in this life. I've let him down pretty bad. But I'm glad you're still among us. How are things for you?

Also my new profile pic should suggest to you how I see most google members.

I've really turned over a new leaf now. I realize the battlefield is not only in the mind ---- it becomes the mind. It takes over. I've seen how bad it can get. I finally said, "That's 'nuff for now" -- People are insane - 'm sure of it. Just hang out at Google + and you'll see ... On the flip side, I have three family-friendly communities that are thriving and people there on my communities are very nice (no drama). One is for the pet lovers, another is a nature site and the third - a tribute to the Native Americans. All I want to do is chill out and hang with nice, normal people. I'm enclosing a post from my petlover site.