seraph

:oww: W E L C O M E to the boards Scrip!!! :hug: Amen We should pursue things that make for peace and the building up of one another... not tearing down the work of God for the sake of non-essential things. (Romans 14:19-20) Ephesians 4:19-22 (NAS) 2:19 So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints, and are of God's household, 2:20 having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the cornerstone, 2:21 in whom the whole building, being fitted together, is growing into a holy temple in the Lord, 2:22 in whom you also are being built together into a dwelling of God in the Spirit.

lol...eh...I brush it off to a point of forgetting about it. But yeah, I definately hope to see new believers popping up soon and just offering us their opinions. One thing I've discovered is that even with the education I've undergone, I am still baffled and amazed and in awe at things new believers say. They have such an insight into God's love because they just expirienced it. They can remind us or teach us things we've long forgotten. I agree with both of you, SJ and George... I think we also need to not assume a new Christian understands a term or topic we speak about. I remember as a new Christian I was in a Bible study... I don't remember the topic, but I do remember how I felt about something that was said. The teacher began speaking and mentioned some story in the Bible. She said, "Well, we all know what happened in that story." She assumed we all knew the story, so she only mentioned it and moved on. I was too embarassed and intimidated to ask her to explain the story since "we all know" the story already. I think it's very important for the new believers to know they can ask us any question or to speak up when they don't understand something. As we learn the Word... the Truth... we grow spiritually... and I believe that comes from both the giving and the receiving of teaching. So we can all help each other. :il:

"Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world." ---1 John 4:1 Christian denominations can differ in opinion on interpretations of non-essential issues (see Romans 14) but they agree on essential issues (only Jesus... the Jesus of the Holy Bible saves). The JW's are not a Christian denomination... they preach a different Jesus. The Jesus of the Bible is not the same jesus that JW's are taught to believe in. They believe Jesus is "a god" but not "God..." they believe before Christ came to earth that He was the created archangel, Michael and became the Messiah at His baptism, etc. See who they say Christ is. And who you say He is.

Ephesians (NAS) 4:3 being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. 4:4 There is one body and one Spirit, just as also you were called in one hope of your calling; 4:5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism, 4:6 one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all. and that's all i got to say about that.

This 'splains it: No More Picture Posting?

I'm wondering where the Bible differentiates between 'heart' knowledge and 'head' knowledge, other than to differentiate between "Godly wisdom" and "worldly widsom". Is that what you mean? I would agree then that 'worldly wisdom' is not really beneficial in the big scheme of things. However, "Godly wisdom" is something that we should strive for. If I'm reading you correctly, I just don't know where it says that we should block this 'Godly wisdom or knowledge' out for any length of time. I'm not sure I understand. I'm not here to argue either, but to learn and ask. If we are supposed to do this, I just haven't seen it yet, so I'd appreciate learning where it is found in the Bible. James 2:19 You believe that God is one. You do well; the demons also believe, and shudder. Romans 10:9 that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; I've hear it said that the distance between heaven and hell is a mere 12 inches... the distance between your heart and your head. Believing with your heart takes faith. It's a personal, loving relationship. And of course we must study... gaining wisdom and knowledge. But, those who ask for proof of God... it seems they are seeking to believe with their head. Many can believe God exists, but they need to ask Him into their heart... to believe with their heart.

"Beyond all these things put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity." --Colossians 3:14

There is oppression here in the US, but of course not as severe as in countries where Christians are martyred... yet anyway. Although some are killed for being a Christian, like Cassie Bernal, that is obviously not the norm. Our oppression most often tends to be mocking or harassment. Discrimination against Christians is certainly increasing here... such as when they are called "intolerant" and "hateful" for not supporting gay marriages.... a boss specifically making a Christian employee work on Sunday when they have requested that day off to attend church even when it would not have created some undue hardship on the employer. Christians are oppressed in the US when they are not allowed to pray in certain locations or are harassed when expressing their belief (our students were not allowed to have a Bible study after school on grounds and our Christian hardrock band was denied to play at a battle-of-the-bands when all others were allowed). Of course Christians who are oppressed by Communist or Islamic Nations may have severe persecution... so if by comparison you choose to call what Christians deal with here in the states as discrimination, fine. dis

"He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous." --Matthew 5:45b Bad things do happen to both the redeemed and the lost just as good things do. We allowed evil into this world by sinning... that is our fault... but God brings good into this world. Az, were you talking of oppression against Christians as a group or against individual Christians? You might find this interesting... I was speaking to a pastor in a communist country (Christianity is restricted there). He had said communism was the best thing for Christianity in that country. Why? The oppression made their faith stronger. Nonbelievers would see their strength in the Lord and they too would come to faith in Christ, so Christianity had begun to spread more rapidly under communist persecution (the persecution varies including harassment, severe fines, arrest, torture, murder). This pastor was arrested again about a week after this meeting. Also in this same country I went to a leper's village (the government also puts AIDS patients, drug addicts and orphans in the leper's village hoping they will all die and not have to be bothered with them anymore). The people in the village do not leave... tombstones are all around their one-room shacks they live in. Christian churches are normally censored, but since the officials are afraid to catch a disease if they entered, they pretty much leave them alone. So... instead of having each censorship, the pastor is free to teach right from the bible... the village was Christian. Even in their oppression they could see their blessings and feel God's love. One of the lepers told me, "Even though we are lepers, God saved us. He gave us a new life." Oppression happens, but God is always with us and He will not give us more than we can handle... His grace is sufficient to get us through. Affliction can help strengthen our faith, develop patience in us, prove our faith is genuine. And it is temporary. Jesus Himself suffered in this life... why should we expect to be spared? There are no perfect lives. It is not to be assumed that when affliction comes it is punishment for some sin (although we can have consequences to live with and discipline). Trouble can happen for choices we make or choices others make... or they happen for reasons beyond what we can see. I am personally suffering a lot of affliction right now, but God is worthy of praise in ALL things.

Godcore.com is a site for Christian hardrock... the genres are listed at the lower, right of the page. There are M A N Y bands to choose from, and you can access some music samples and reviews through this site. You may want to try Tourniquet or Mortification .. they are Christian Metal and have had CD's out since 1990. Demon Hunter is newer, but you may want to try them.

http://www.worthychat.com/chatlite.html ROFL.... some are getting in the old chat and not believing it has changed. yes... worthychat is the same chatsite but the format is different as the server has changed. some come chat with us!!!!!!

:suspect: *growls intimidatingly* am too tough! *stomps foot and pouts* Drew is a darling! How can anyone who promises to eat maggot cakes brought home from my mission trip not just totally rock?!

Bunky... don't let the word "us" in Genesis 1:26 trouble you. Note that from John 1:1 (

Teri, these things are occuring now in many places of the world. Jedi4Yahweh: Yeah... I added the word 'copyright' in there because I was wondering what a Christian would do if they could not purchase legal music in their country. I guess it would have to be smuggled or downloaded. Or option three... write their own, lol.

I chose that I would disobey any laws restricting Christianity. I would not lie to the authorities if asked straight up, but I would not be flippant either.

God is Light

neb

God created men with a free will to choose to become Muslim. Do Muslims and Christians worship the same God? Personally, I don't think so. God is God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. So if Muslims or Jehovah's Witnesses or whoever deny who God is by denying who Christ is, how can their partial idea of God be the same as the God that has been revealed through the bible and Christ?

I did? Well, I completely appologize! :x: Nooo.... I was not offended... don't be sorry... I was only kidding... note the " " in my post. And I hope you caught my lame attempt at a joke and were not offended... after all... a nebula really is basically a gas cloud... hehe. Have you seen a photo of the Helix Nebula??? It's beautiful!

Oh Nony! Tell me how to store images... then I can stop bugging you and do it myself Maybe I should consider changing my avatar... some have said it looks like me but nebula called me a 'he' I could either change it orrrr I could keep my avatar, stick out my tongue, call nebula a 'gas cloud' and be done with it

Oh, I most certainly used "nor" when using "neither" in a balanced construction that negates two parts of a sentence. I neither kept a record nor expected any reason to. Did this person post his jokes, NAY they were instant messaged.

I commonly use "nor" and someone ridiculed me for that. But after seeing his post using the word "nay," he has no justification to make fun!!! LOL Note: When using neither in a balanced construction that negates two parts of a sentence, nor (not or) must be used in the second clause: She is neither able nor (not or) willing to go. Similarly, when negating the second of two negative independent clauses, nor (not or) must be used: He cannot find anyone now, nor does he expect to find anyone in the future. Note: Before the time of Henry VIII. nay was used to answer simple questions, and no was used when the form of the question involved a negative expression; nay was the simple form, no the emphatic.

Currently I am reading the through Gospel of Mark as well as wherever studies take me in the Bible, Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis, and First They Killed My Father by Loung Ung. First They Killed My Father is a memoir about a girl who survived the atrocities inflicted by the Khmer Rouge (an estimated 2 million {30% of the Cambodian population} died by starvation, torture, or execution during the Khmer Rouge

mY eYeS! mY eYeS! iF i c0uLd sEe i W0uLd TeLl u tHaT wAs a Co0l L1nK! tHaNkS!

Thank you, Butterfly, for posting the article. I shared a similar account with my youth group that I had read in