Karen C.

I'm not trying to belittle her. I'm sure she has many excellent qualities, and is a valuable person. But, the brutal fact is that not all of us are equally knowledgeable about the Bible's doctrine of salvation. The important thing is that we know where to find the knowledge, and have a 'teachable spirit'. Tho one thing I do know is that all the knowledge in the world couldn't save the Pharisees. Yes, I KNOW all the salvation scriptures, but some people pull a 2 Peter 3:16-18. But 1 Corinthians 1:26:30 should bring the point home. I didn't have a "RELIGIOUS" upbringing, I thank the LORD for that. I read His word, believed it ALL, and was saved, delivered and changed. I've had demons cast out of me, I've been healed PHYSICALLY, mentally, and SPIRITUALLY (ALL before ever attending a church service). ALL to the glory of GOD!!!! Could I come to your Church and tell them of the wonderful things the Lord has done in my life??? I cannot tell you how many people that I have led to Lord. (Not braggin', it's the Lord, not me) I was called to help a lady who was being demonized. I've seen a lady raised out of bed healed... Many other things that His word says shall follow those who believe:Mark 16:15-18. Yes, I even speak and pray in tongues... As far as knowledge, well I'm currently studing for my Pastoral license...OOPS. Sorry I don't agree with your doctrine. Because if it would make me compromise what the LORD has taught me. Because I stand on Phil 3:12-15. Sorry I will post no more rebuttals. In Christ, Karen

Hello Everyone-I would like to speak of personal experience of Signs and Wonders. First off, I'm a Spirit filled Pentacostal. Nope, I don't drive a Lexus and I probably never will. I believe in the whole Bible, front to back. Matter of fact, I read the Word first, then was saved and then believed the Lord would put me where He could use me when I was released from prison. I was raised unchurched and went through a spiritual battle.(unless you read my testimony you could not imagine what is going on in the spiritual realm, www.alienresistance.org/ce4casefiles.htm. This is the only place I found that had any IDEA of what I had been through). I was a strung out paranoid schizophrinic (demon driven), delusional drug addict. I finally ended up where the Lord could reach me and teach me about what I had experienced, JAIL. Ten months in a 10'X10" cell. No denomination theology being hammered in, just between me and the Lord! I used to set around and wonder if everone was reading the same Word I was. If so, why wern't they experiencing it?? Through this time the Lord had given me a gift of "child like faith", I read it and believed it. Before I was busted, I had went to an E.R. for some extreme abdominal pains (felt like labor), when they found out I was a junkie they treated me terrible. Gave me a shot of demerol (?) and sent me on out. Told me it was probably a V.D. I told myself I would never go back back to the Doc again.I suffered with it every mid -month. While I was in jail it hit me HARD. All I could do was curl up in a fetal position and cry. I covered my head with a blanket and prayed for God to heal me and I brought Him to rememberance of His word on healing. After I quit crying I noticed that I wasn't in pain any longer. First I wiggled my foot, then slowly streached out, then jumed out of bed. I HAD been instantly healed, Praise God!!! A few months ago I was sent for an Ultra-sound and the technician was stumped by what he was seeing. He said it looked like a sac of fluid all around my left ovary. Hummm. My Doc it turn orders a catscan (?) Still there, they don't know what it is. I tried to tell my Doc, " that was where I was healed"! No pain, no problem. So, I witnessed to my Doc. I'm supposed to go back in 6 months... Funny, I even seen my healing. Isn't that awesome? I can tell you guys I was looking at 20 to life in prison, but I recieved a 3 year sentence. Or I can tell you of the time that the Lord set me free of the demons that were in me, by laying on of the hands!!(No show there in jail) The time He intervened in my mothers behalf, through dementia, the Lord woke-up a lady from my church in the middle of the night, and told her to go to my mother the next day, gave her a time of soundness in mind and saved her before she died... By faith....Hebrews 11... Read it, re-read it. Faith comes by hearing, hearing by the word of GOD! not opinion...The Lord confirms His word as I have preached and witnessed to others.That is the Lord I serve. Not mammon. May you all be blessed.. :inlove:

From "The Spirit Helps Us Pray", R.L. Brandt and Z.J. Bicket. Human reasoning proposes that since God is sovereign, He has everything under control, and since He knows everything, everything must be predestined in advance. This led to the idea that those predestined to be lost cannot be saved, and those predestined to be saved cannot be lost.This makes the warnings of Scripture; John 15:6, Heb. 2:1,3; 6:4-6; 10:26-29, meaningless. When God created Adam and Eve He limited Himself by giving them the ability of choice. The presence of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil in the garden of Eden shows that. God could have programed us so that we would always do the right thing--but we would have been puppets, machines. He wanted us to be freely responsive to His love and care. Love must be freely given or it is not love. Similarly, salvation is a gift (Eph.2:8)freely given and must be freely recieved. We can choose to accept God's way of salvation through Jesus Christ or we can reject it, but we cannot choose some other supposed savior or way of salvation and make it to heaven. That option is not open to us (Acts 4:12) Nor is a one time choice to follow Christ enough. We must continue to make daily choices and keep on following Him (Luke 9:23). For individually we are not predestined to do so. (Robert Shank, Elect in the SON: A study of the doctrine of election). What IS predestined is the WAY of salvation and the fact that the Church IS an elect, or chosen, body. When we do believe in Jesus we enter into a fellowship with the Father and with His Son, Jesus Christ (1 John 1:3). God has given us a part. We must come to Him, and we must come in faith (Heb. 11:6). There is much biblical evidence that God often waits to act until we do our part. In the ministry of Jesus we He came to Nazareth "He could not do any miracles there, except lay His hands on a few sick people and heal them. And He was amazed at their lack of faith.(Mark 6:5-6). Many other examples can be given from Scripture and experience that God works when people ask. God has also chosen that believers should be His agents, His servants, in the spread of the gospel and the building of Christ's Church, both spiritually and in numbers. God still deserves ALL the glory. As Paul said, "What after all, is Apollos? And what is Paul? Only servants, through whom YOU CAME TO BELIEVE-as the Lord assigned to each his task. I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow" (1 Cor.3:5-6) This does not mean that what we do is not important. The man who plants and the man who waters have one purpose, and each one will be rewarded according to his own labor. For we are God's fellow workers"(1 Cor.3:8-9) We are also "Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making His appeal through us (2 Cor. 5:20) What a privilege! What a responsibility! In giving us this priviledge and responsibility God has chosen to make prayer the means of communication and the means by which we express our faith. Jesus said, "Ask the Lord of the harvest....to send out workers into His harvest field" (Luke 10:2). He wants us all to be "God's fellow workers"; and that means He works with us and we work with Him. Prayer is the God-chosen means to make this possible. May you be blessed

Elect, Just happened (?) to open my Bible in revival service tonight to Acts, and read 27:31. Paul said to the centurion and to the soldiers, "EXCEPT these abide in the SHIP, ye cannot be SAVED". The message tonight was on the wedding supper of the Lamb. Matt 22:1-14. How appropriate. The main thing is the wedding garment...For many are called, but few are chosen.. The Lord reveals Himself in so many ways. I love John 14:21, He that hath my commandments and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him. That is awesome!! Bless you. In Christ.

Full Life Study Bible; Election to salvation in Christ is offered to all (John 3:16-17; 1 Tim 2:4-6;Titus 2:11; Heb. 2:9) and becomes actual for paticular persons contingent on their repentance and faith as they accept God's gift of salvation in Christ(Eph 2:8; 3:17; Acts 20:2; Romans 1:16; 4:16)At the point of faith, the believer is incorporated into the elect body of Christ (the Church) by the Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 12:13), thereby becoming one of the elect. Thus, both God and humans have a decision in election(Rom. 8:29; 2 Pet. 1:1-11) PREDESTINATION. (Gk. proorizo),"to decide beforehand" and applies to God's purposes and objectives comprehended in "in Christ" of a people (the true church) for Himself. Predestination comprehends what will happen to God's people. God predestinates His elect to be: called (Rom. 8:30); justified (Rom. 3:24; 8:30); glorified (Rom. 8:30); conformed to the image of His Son (Rom. 8:29); holy and without blame (Eph. 1:4); adopted as children (1:5); redeemed (1:17); recipients of an inheritance (1:14); for the praise of His glory (Eph. 1:12, 1 Pet. 2:9); recipients of the Holy Spirit (Eph.1:13; Gal 3:14), and created for good works (Eph.2:10) Predestination, like election, refers to the corporate body of Christ (i.e., the TRUE spiritual church), and comprehends individuals only in association with that body through a present living faith in Jesus Christ (Eph 1:5,7,13; Acts 2:38-41; 16:31) The election to salvation and holiness of the body of Christ is always certain. But the certainty of election for individuals in the body remains conditional on their personal living faith in Christ Jesus and preserverance with Him. Christ will present us "holy and without blame before Him". (Eph. 1:4), only if we continue in the faith. "If ye continue in the faith grounded and settled, and be NOT moved away from the hope of the gospel" (Col.1:22-23) May you be blessed, in Christ, Karen

Hello Everyone! I would like to tell of my first hand experience with that particular scripture, Matt 20:16, 22:14. I was raised Unchurched and never even gave God a thought of existance.(Scared to with the lifestyle I was living). While I was strung out on meth I was going through some definate supernatural interference in my life. To put it plainly, I was being demonized. I moved from place to place trying to escape the torment, but it followed me everywhere. After I left my house for a couple of days trying to get cleaned-up thinking that would make the fear and freaky stuff stop. I returned to my home after a couple days. I had left in such a hurry I had thrown alot of my clothes over a barstool in my room. There on top was a T-shirt that I had never seen before. It wasn't there when had I left. The front was a regular NO FEAR shirt, but what it said on the back was, "Many are called, but few are chosen". I KNEW it meant something. I packed that shirt and took it with me and it disappeared. I never seen it again. About a year later I read that scripture in jail...I knew then it had been the Lord that had left that for me. Yes, I serve the Lord with all my heart. I'm so thankful that He called me. I read a good analogy about pre-destination and election. The ship (the church) is chosen by God to be His very own vessel. Christ is the Captain and Pilot of this ship. All who desire to be a part of this elect ship and its Captain can do so through a living faith in Christ, by which they come on board the ship. As long as one is on the ship, in the company with its Captian, he is among the elect. If he chooses to abandon the ship and Captain, he ceases to be one of the elect. Election is always only in union with the Captain and His ship. Predestination tells us the ships destination and what God has prepared for those remaining on it. God invites everyone to come on board the elect ship through faith in Jesus Christ.