Nyoka

There was a second explosion at the mine. It is very unlikely any of the trapped miners survived it. Please pray for their families.

Praying.

I mean accepting Christ for salvation - forgiveness of sins. You don't have to accept Him as your lord - that'd be adding works to salvation. Salvation will produce fruit though and when someone genuinely accepts Christ they usually end up making Him their Lord too, but it all doesn't have to happen in one day.

Yes the bible does link confessing Jesus as Lord with our salvation: Rom 10:9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. The reason we do this is shown clearly in the next verse: Rom 10:10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. Read that underlined piece very carefully. It is telling us that when we confess Jesus is Lord and believe Jesus was raised from the dead then we also are showing our salvation. Also there will come a day when everyone will confess Jesus is Lord: Php 2:9 Therefore God has highly exalted Him, and has given Him a name which is above every name, Php 2:10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of heavenly ones, and of earthly ones, and of ones under the earth; Php 2:11 and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. So we see it is very important to God that we confess Jesus as our Lord. If He is not your Lord then you have no reason to follow Him or listen to Him.

I am against abortion but rape is very traumatic for a woman so I would not decry those who did opt for abortion. I would try to love and help them as they are so confused and distraught. I was raped and got pregnant from it and opted to keep my son. He became a real joy and frustration in my life. He was a real joy in that I came to love him for himself, watched him grow into a wonderful young man and have him come to me and hug me and tell me he loves his mummy. He became a frustration with all the things children do as they grow and then when they hit the teen years - when all they want to do is stretch their wings and fly. I will be ever glad I kept him but the first few years of his life weren't easy for me as I had to keep reminding myself and relying on God to remind me that is wonderful little boy was innocent and it didn't matter who his dad was or how I got him but that he was my wonderful little boy full of joy, laughter, love and frustration.

And loving him did give me healing to love again and trust again.

ty God has healed me completely from the rape and given me a wondeful, godly husband and more children. After what I went through though I can understand why some woman opt for abortion. After a rape your thinking is, to be blunt, screwed up. You have no self confidence nor any belief that you could look after yourself let alone a child. You also keep thinking the child will be a daily reminder of the rape. You blame yourself often and think that you must have done something that caused the rape and don't want a reminder of that shame and gulit of what you did. Instead of decrying woman who have abortions from rape we need to realise they need support and encouragment to at least carry the baby through to full term so they can adopt it out or keep the baby - whichever they decide. This is not an easy time for them as they are not only dealing with the pregnancy but the rape too and the more support they get the better they can make wise choices.

I am against abortion but rape is very traumatic for a woman so I would not decry those who did opt for abortion. I would try to love and help them as they are so confused and distraught. I was raped and got pregnant from it and opted to keep my son. He became a real joy and frustration in my life. He was a real joy in that I came to love him for himself, watched him grow into a wonderful young man and have him come to me and hug me and tell me he loves his mummy. He became a frustration with all the things children do as they grow and then when they hit the teen years - when all they want to do is stretch their wings and fly. I will be ever glad I kept him but the first few years of his life weren't easy for me as I had to keep reminding myself and relying on God to remind me that is wonderful little boy was innocent and it didn't matter who his dad was or how I got him but that he was my wonderful little boy full of joy, laughter, love and frustration.

And loving him did give me healing to love again and trust again.

RGR if she is thinking of leaving him then there may be some small shred of hope for her. Have patience with her as it is a huge scary thing to leave an abusive spouse. You are doing the right thing by being there for her and encouraging her to leave. Also if she leaves him she is going to need lots of help as she will be demoralized and hurting and the temptation to go back will be great. She will actually need more help after she leaves than before as she is totally rebuilding her life and the lives of any children. As others have suggested have a safe word for her and have the information she needs ready so that you can just give it to her. I suggest this as I know that I was in no physical or mental state to find those things out for myself and was so grateful to my friends who had taken the time to do this for me. Another thing to be aware of to is what happened to a friend of mine. She left her abusive spouse so to punish her he committed suicide - he left a note telling us this. So now as well as helping her rebuild her life we have had to help her deal with the guilt his suicide caused her to have.

Praise Jesus you got out when you did sister

As an aside, I have always been interested in your name... It has a Zulu meaning, just with an i in front but pronounced the same, (iNyoka) and is the word for something here. I just wondered if there was a South African connection?

Amen Fez. It was all thanks to Jesus I got out alive with my children. As for my name I had no idea it was from Africa. My husband saw the name in a comic book, as a child, and told me about it when I was looking for a name to use and I liked it lol. I had no idea what it meant lol.

Fez you are very right. I suffered from this in my first marriage. My ex husband was very abusive and unfaithful to me. I denied it at first and then moved on to the guilt stage. I tried to rationalize his behavior and tried to live up to the impossible expectations he had of me. I rationalized this by thinking it was my fault and that I was the one in the wrong and if I could just learn to be the perfect wife and do what he expected of me then everything would be heaven for us. I even thought that there must be something wrong with me. While I only saw the problem as affecting me and not affecting my children I was willing to keep trying to "fix" the problem with me. What woke me up was when I found out my husband thought I was leaving him for another man so he decided to kill my children and myself to stop us leaving. It wasn't until I left and got help that I saw the real damage that he had done to my children.

RGR all you can do is have lots of patience. Your friend is very beaten down and lacking any real self confidence. She probably believes as I did - that without him she is nothing and worthless and can't raise her children alone. The abuser gets you to the point you don't believe you can do anything without them and if you left you would make a worse mess of your life. Because of this belief being drummed into you, day in and day out, then you end up staying with the abuser. So have plenty of patience and do what my friends did. They found out places I could get help and shelter and what I needed to know if they could get me to leave him. Above all be patient with her as she truly is blind to what is going on and really can't see what you see - I know I never could when my friends tried to tell me. And pray heaps. i will be praying for her.

It's the same here, Nyoka; lots of people find ways to cash in on what's supposed to be nutrition assistance. I know families that have been receiving this type of aid since the 70s. It's disgusting when it becomes a lifestyle.

It is so sad to see when people rely on food assistance as a way of life or as a "right". My husband and I are on a welfare benefit due to ill health and we see this often. The few times my husband and I have tried to get a food grant we get told we should have been able to save to cover this so we aren't eligible - the other one we get told is "you have a payday soon so you can survive until then." Yet I see many get it and spend it on smokes, alcohol, etc even though it isn't supposed to be for those things.

Where I live we don't have food stamps or cash. If you qualify you can apply for a food grant. If it is approved then you get a letter to give to the shop with the amount you are allowed to spend on it, the name of the shop it can be taken to and what it can be used on. It is a one time grant though and not ongoing. It often doesn't get approved though. I have seen it abused as you aren't supposed to get smokes, sweets or pet food on it but I have seen people do it. I have also seen some shops who are willing to let you get part of the amount in groceries and the rest in cash - which you aren't allowed to do either.

You have said you repented and meant it when you prayed so you are saved. Joshua gives the Israelites some advice that is equally valid to us: Jos 24:14 Now therefore fear the LORD, and serve him in sincerity and in truth: and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the flood, and in Egypt; and serve ye the LORD. Jos 24:15 And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD. Whom we believe and serve is our choice. God gives us this choice just as, through Joshua, He gave the Israelites the same choice. Right now you have a choice to believe the doubts and fears or believe God. Which you choose to believe is entirely up to you. The doubts and fears say: you didn't really mean it when you prayed, how can you be saved when you don't deserve it, etc. Jesus says: Joh 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. Joh 3:17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. Joh 3:18 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. From this verse we see that if you believe on Him we will not perish but have everlasting life and that we who believe on Him are not condemned. Who do you choose to believe?

The bible says: 2Co 10:3 For though walking about in flesh, we do not war according to flesh. 2Co 10:4 For the weapons of our warfare are not fleshly, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds, 2Co 10:5 pulling down imaginations and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought into the obedience of Christ. This tells us several things. One we can't fight against sin with our carnal fleshly thoughts and ways - we must use God's ways. Two we must bring every thought into obedience to Christ. We use God's weapons by slowly allowing the Holy Spirit to transform us to be more and more like Him. How we do this is by putting the scriptures into us and choosing to believe what God has said no matter what our feelings, circumstances or whatever tell us - even if we are just doing this to honor God.

My sister lives in Christchurch and lost her house in the quake. Praise the Lord they have found a rental and 30 people showed up to help them get their stuff from the broken house. Basically it is in 3 pieces, with a 2 metre crack diagonally from one corner to the other and the kitchen broken off the rest of the house.

My niece said they just suffered another 5.1 aftershock a while ago. The aftershocks are coming like every 30 minutes. It's very nerve racking.

Praise God your sister is safe and has somewhere else to live. It is very nerve wracking for them all. Praying for them all.

Please keep praying as the earthquake affected region has, so far, had 150 aftershocks. People in the area are getting tired and nerves are getting frayed due to the fears of another aftershock. People are not sleeping well as each aftershock is waking them. Children also have been badly affected due to fears the aftershocks are causing. Please pray for the children. Below is a link for more information: http://www.stuff.co.nz/

Thank you all for all your prayers.

http://www.theaustra...6-1225914084668

I just heard about this. It doesn't look like there was any loss of life though, thank the Lord for that.

The news reports, here in New Zealand, are reporting one death. It seems someone had a heart attack during the earthquake. The loss of life and injuries could have been so much worse than they have been so God is still to be praised for the lack of serious injuries or death. Only two other serious injuries occured and the rest was more minor injuries - broken bones, scratches, bruises, etc. The damage to buildings, sewer pipes,properties and waterpipes is extensive with about 20% of homes, in the affected area, expected to be uninhabitable. They are still getting aftershocks and those may go on for some days yet. Please pray for those in the area affected by this earthquake.

I like the fellowship you get in a physical church but due to illness I am unable to go to one. For me the online fellowships give me a chance to mix with other believers that I would otherwise be cut off from. If it wasn't for the online fellowship, I go to, the only believers I would see from day to day are my husband and children so for me online fellowshipping is invaluable. I don't believe that the online churches and fellowships will ever replace physical churches and meetings but they are a good resource for those that are housebound, handicapped, live in isolated areas, etc.

If I have these panic attacks how will I stand in the end times without being fearful? Is fear a sin? I feel like a coward.

I would say that you are not a coward as you don't let your fear stop you and you keep striving to do what our Lord wants and be what our Lord wants you to be. Something I learnt long ago is that true courage is doing what is right or you need to do even though your scared. True courage is admitting something scares you but not letting it stop you. I would say you are a very couragous person as you have fear but you don't let it stop you

I slept like a baby last night! Praise God!

I am glad you slept so well last night. Praise God. God is placing people in your life, such as this counselor, so you don't have to deal with it alone. Dealing with the problem of this fear is not becoming involved in yourself. To me becoming involved in yourself is becoming prideful and thinking your all that and the best. You definitiley are NOT doing that. You are dealing with a problem and part of that is going over things in your life, past and present, that may have caused the problem to start. This is not being into yourself but it is just examining your life to find the origin of this fear - nothing more. it may even be something that at the time seemed so innnocent that let the fear in. For example I have always been scared of spiders. I could never work out why as I never had any bad experience with them that could account for it. A few years ago I found out that, when I was a toddler, dad used to pretend he had a spider in his hands and chase me round with it. It was an innocent game, with no intention by dad to scare me, but it left a fear on me that I am still dealing with. Praying for you

Is it okay to see a therapist? I mean, she's a Christian therapist but she wants to talk about my childhood and me. I think that's selfish for me to talk about stuff like that and I don't want to dishonor my parents. She made me feel much better after talking to her. Should I keep going? Is this the right way out of this?

If you have found a good christian therapist then definitely keep seeing her. You are not dishonoring your parents by going to see her and talking about your childhood because you are not talking about your childhood to run your parents down or to blame them for anything but to see if there may be a problem there that might be the cause of what is happening to you. If she is helping then that is good. Sometimes we just need a bit of help to deal with things in our lives and there is nothing wrong with seeking it when we need it

I am not an American but if America is Babylon then so is my country as we are having the same problems that America is. In fact many western, and possibly other, countries are also having the same problems so they would have to be Babylon too. I know I am blessed by God as my husband and I are buying a house and we have our bills paid and are able to bless others all on an income that is below the UN"s world poverty level. All this guessing that this country or that country is Babylon is just that - guessing. When the time comes for Babylon to be revealed there won't be any guesswork involved in it as people will know that it is.

I agree with the posters opposed to burning books. Burning books just makes the book burner look like a bigoted idiot. Jesus never told us to go burn our enemies books but He did tell us how to treat our enemies: Mat 5:44 But I say to you, Love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who despitefully use you and persecute you. How does burning a book follow what Jesus said here? As fromIslam2Christ said so very well, why should a Muslim listen when we have shown hatred by burning their book and insulting them. Where is the love of God in this?

This question I am about to ask may seem silly but it has always bugged me. If May the 21, 2011 is the date, as an example, then it begs the question: whose timezone? For example my country is about 12 hours ahead of GMT so we get May the 21, 2011 about 12 hours ahead of other countries.

I am asking as this never seems to be considered in date setting and as I said it bugs me lol.

I do volunteer work with people who have been hurt very bad by people in their past. If you mention forgiveness to them the first thing they say is "why should I forgive them as they aren't sorry for what they did." They refuse to forgive and you can see the anger and bitterness residing in them toward those that hurt them. The sad part is that you can see it destroying their lives but they can't see that and refuse to let go of the unforgiveness, anger and bitterness. They start to hurt people so people don't hurt them. All you see in their lives is a continuing cycle of revenge, anger and bitterness. In most cases they can't get revenge on the ones that hurt them so they take it out on others thereby hurting others.

Jesus said: Mat 6:14 For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you; Mat 6:15 but if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses. If you mention how God has forgiven them they can't accept it. If we can't forgive then how can we accept forgiveness offered to us? Most of the people I help can't forgive those who hurt them and they can't accept forgiveness from God. They really can't see how God can forgive them so therefore they can't accept forgiveness from God. They can't see they need forgiveness too - I get told a lot that "I didn't do anything wrong so I don't need forgiveness." They can't see that the need for revenge is wrong and the need to hold on to the anger and bitterness is wrong to. They can't see that forgiveness is, mainly, to help us to let go of the need for revenge and the bitterness and anger in us that would destroy us and so we can walk in the love of God toward others and toward God.

stormy612 I use esword to help me determine what the original words are. If you use it as a guide to help you then it is a good resource to have. It is a free download and most add on's to it are free: http://www.e-sword.net/

Butero I read those verses in Hebrews differently than you do. I don't want to get into a big debate over them. This is not an issue which affects our salvation so we can agree to disagree on it.

God's blessings upon you

No it won't. The only sins that will cost you your salvation are those done wilfully that you don't repent of. Part of the Lord's prayer says, "Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our tresspasses, as we forgive those that tresspass against us." If what you are saying is true, then the prayer Jesus gave us to pray has flaws in it, because God won't forgive us for those things we forgot. Wilful sins that we commit and don't repent of are not automatically covered by the blood, but sins done in ignorance are till they are brought to our attention by God. If he brings them to our attention, then we are to confess them specifically.

The Lords prayer nowhere says it is only talking about willful sins. It says "trespasses" with no mention of only willful sins. Saying that this means only willful sins is reading into the scripture that which isn't there. Also I am not the one who believes that a successful suicide means you automatically go to hell. You do so please don't attribute to me what I haven't said or implied. Self murder is a forgivable sin. If a successful suicide can't be forgiven because the person has died then nor can any other sin that you have forgotten to confess before you die. Also please show me where in the bible it says that if you forget to confess a sin, or are unable to, before you die you automatically go to hell.