bigape

A verse of Scripture, about Donald Trump’s presidency..... Proverbs 28:2 “For the transgression of a land many [are] the princes thereof: but by a man of understanding [and] knowledge the state [thereof] shall be prolonged.” ------------------------ “For the transgression of a land” When a nation sins, by turning away from God, this causes the kind of public disorder that brought our country to the idolatry, profanity and immorality, that we find it in today. ------------------------ “many [are] the princes thereof:” The result of a Godless society, is many will be pretending to be in authority over us(the bureaucracy of little dictators that we have in Washington DC and all over the country); Causing the people to lose their national identity and to brake off into parties and factions. This is where we have come, with the Obama presidency; With more racism, division and political corruption than we have ever seen. ------------------------ “but by a man of understanding [and] knowledge” But wise leadership, can solve this problem by a man of understanding and in his right mind, who chooses wise counselors. Things are brought back into the right order again. And the right methods of healing the nation are put into place. ------------------------ “the state [thereof] shall be prolonged.” Therefore the nation will be strong again and be prolonged. Praise the LORD he gave us Donald Trump for a president. We should be praying for his success and safety every day.

My wife and I regularly sing in Church; And there is a song, that she has suggested that we sing called, “just one more soul”; But I have been against the idea, because I just didn’t like this song. And this morning the Lord has shown me why “I don’t like it”: Because it is UnBiblical; In several ways. Here is a line from the first verse.... “The preachers are weary, the singers are tired”: For one thing, if this is the case in your Church, than the preachers and singers, need to either find some other ministry to do(one God is calling them to), or they need to get saved. Because doing things in the Spirit, will not be wearisome. But the next line, just might be right.... “The Church as we know it, is losing its fire” For sure, when members of a local Church are “laboring in the flesh”, they will lose God’s fire! And the last line of the first verse, gives the wrong response to this problem..... “But we must determine to keep pressing on”! If your laboring in the flesh, “more labor” is not the answer! Jesus said...... "Come unto me, all [ye] that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." (Matthew 11:28) ------------------------ Sure enough, there is some “work” involved, in staying close to the Lord; Such as Prayer and Bible study and Church attendance! But, the fruit of this labor, is learning to follow the Lord’s instructions: And His instructions are not Burdensome! They are fun!

I felt the need to post this warning, because I just posted a thread that made the statement that, “our Spiritual lives start out with the knowledge that we need Jesus to pay for our sins and take us to heaven”. This is a true statement, but it is not complete! Yes, “knowledge” is needed to get saved, but WE ARE NOT SAVED BY KNOWLEDGE! Billions of people will end up in hell, because they had a knowledge of who Jesus was and an understanding of the “method” of the way of salvation, but were never “born again”! No one is saved, by “knowing how to get saved”! Being saved is a Spiritual act, initiated by God. ------------------------ In life, we can only be born again, when the Lord is “convicting our hearts”, that we need to be saved. Jesus said.... “No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day.” (John 6:44) We can only be saved, when “God is drawing us”! Then, once you are Saved, you are in God’s hands and can never be lost again. And, God promises to “draw” everyone. Jesus also said.... “And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all [men] unto me.” (John 12:32) But, just being “drawn” doesn’t get us saved; We must respond to this drawing, by asking Jesus to save us. ------------------------ Therefore, if your salvation is based upon something you “know” or something you “have done”(like water baptism or church membership), than you do not have a “real(biblical), salvation”. Jesus said.... “ye must be born again”!

This morning early, I woke up and intended to go back to bed and get some more sleep, but while I lay there I started to pray and I started to thank the Lord for all that He had done for me and my family over the years; And I realized the great victory that He had given me over the “fear” of “tomorrow”; That is, the fear of wondering how we were going to be provided for.... in the future! This is a real victory that God can bless us with. And as I began to consider this victory; I realized how it all boiled down to, a victory over “the pride of life”..... 1 John 2:16 "For all that [is] in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world." This is a very old(primal), temptation.... Genesis 3:6 "And when the woman saw that the tree [was] good for food, and that it [was] pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make [one] wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat." ------------------------ This is a “place”, where the Lord wants every Christian to come to! A place in their Spiritual life, where they are placing EVERYTHING in their life, in the LORD’s hands; and trusting Him to totally take care of them! This place is more difficult to arrive at, if you have been blessed with material wealth; Such as, a lot of money, or a good job, or a respected career, or an exceptional ability etc. Any of these things, tend to make a person consider themselves, “independent” and not in need of anyone’s help. But every human being, is in total and complete dependence, upon the Lord, every day of their lives! Our Spiritual lives start out, with the “knowledge” that we need Jesus, to pay for our sins and take us to heaven. Then, after we are born again, this knowledge should grow to an “understanding”, that we owe everything that we have, to the Lord. Then, this understanding should grow to a “deep trust”, in the LORD to provide for our every need, for as long as we are living on this earth........ Matthew 6:31-34 V.31 Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? V.32 (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. V.33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. V.34 Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day [is] the evil thereof.

Amen!!

When you look back to the days of Ozzie and Harriet and Leave it to Beaver: These television shows worked, because they accurately reflected the real lives that most American families were living during these years(1940-1960). The vast majority of people, were generally decent people who had been taught the value of a good character. For those of you who don’t even know who Ozzie and Harriet were, this makes it even easier for some scoffer, to convince you, that things have “always been this way”..... 2 Peter 3:3-4 V.3 ¶ Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts, V.4 And saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as [they were] from the beginning of the creation.” ------------------ There was a time 50 years ago, when you NEVER heard homosexuality or any kind of sexual sin even mentioned on television. But this wasn’t only, true in the secular realm. Back in the 1940s & 1950s, most Christian Churches used the KJB; But the pressure was even then, being put on pastors and Churches, to stop doing things, in the “old ways”! Today, the PRESSURE for every Christian to compromise their Biblical principles, is greater than it has ever been; And every day that Jesus doesn’t come back, this pressure is increasing. The decisions(both political and religious), that otherwise sane and well adjusted people are making today, are being seen as crazy, by anyone who hasn’t got their head in the sand. -------------------------------------------------- It is obvious, that we are living in the “last” of the last days and that this “sin sick” and “self destructive” and “self consuming” world, that we are living in, is just about to collapse down upon itself....... 2 Timothy 3:13 “But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived.” Praise the Lord, Jesus is just about to come back and take us out of this mess! But until He does, we need to remind ourselves every day, of the fact that this world is becoming more and more deceived and that we need to keep our feet, solidly grounded upon the Word of God!

Jesus did speak in Hebrew..... “And when we were all fallen to the earth, I heard a voice speaking unto me, and saying in the Hebrew tongue, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks.” (Acts 26:14) In fact being God, He was able to speak in any language He chose! ------------------------ And He chose to use whatever language worked best for the situation(to get His message across to whoever He was talking to). This explains why, during this time in history, the Bible was translated into Greek and Jesus(by His actions), tells us that it was still God’s Word, even though it had been translated into a different language. This is significant.

: If you speak English, it’s “Jesus”; But over the years, I have seen some people trying to convince us, that the Lord isn’t pleasedwhen we use that name, because 2000 years ago, in the language of the time, it was different. In Greek, Jesus was called, “Iésous”. Now, I know that you may not have ever see this name used for Jesus, but I bet you have seen the name “Yeshua” used. This is an English transliteration of the Hebrew name for Jesus. And although Jesus did speak in Hebrew, he also spoke Greek, in His ministry here on Earth. The reason we know that Jesus spoke and ministered using the Greek language, is because during the time that He was here,Greek was the official language of the world, and therefore God’s Word in every Synagogue was written in Greek. ------------------------ The Lord Himself, demonstrated to us, that the language we speak or worship in, makes no difference to Him at all. The way He did this,was by arranging(in His providence), for the Greek Old Testament, to have subtle differences in it(from the Hebrew),so that we would know(2000 years later), that when Jesus was reading from the Old Testament, that He was actually reading a Greek Bible, not a Hebrew one. Look closely at..... Luke 4:18-19 V.18 The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, V.19 To preach the acceptable year of the Lord. This is a quotation from Isaiah 61:1-2, but as we can see in our Bibles(that were translated from the Hebrew Old Testament), that it’s not exactly the same.This quote in Luke 4:, is the LORD’s way of telling us not to be overly concerned about the language that we are using, because it’s all GOD’S WORD! (As long as some modern Scholar hasn’t removed words or verses from it!) ------------------------ My point: If you want to call Jesus “Yahweh” or “Yeshua”, praise the Lord! But be careful to examine your heart and make sure that you aren’t considering yourself more Spiritual because you do!

God has made it clear in Scripture, that He deals with individual nations or peoples on the earth, according to their rejection of Him..... “And thou, Capernaum, which art exalted unto heaven, shalt be brought down to hell: for if the mighty works, which have been done in thee, had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day.” (Matthew 11:23) ---------- Although America was a great nation for 200 years, "God takes sin seriously"! And no matter how great a nation is, God will not allow it to get away with it’s sin! “Righteousness exalteth a nation: but sin is a reproach to any people.” (Proverbs 14:34) There are lots of examples in Scripture, where God uses his Judgement upon “great nations” or cities, as an example of His hatred of sin!

Hello Pamelasv This is talking about the Jews, who are “already God’s people”, but are being blinded for a season(so that they will not have to be judged), until the mid-point of the tribulation, when the LORD will save the whole nation in one day. (Most of this truth, can be found, in a detailed study of Romans 11:1-ff) ------------------------ One of the main keys of interpreting the Bible is to determine, who is being talked to or about: There are three groups of people talked about in the Bible. (The Jews, the Gentiles and the Church of God!)...... “Give none offence, neither to the Jews, nor to the Gentiles, nor to the church of God:” (1 Corinthians 10:32) Grasping this one fact, brings light and understanding to much of the New Testament!

God’s judgement(upon individual nations), is real, because God is real...... “Righteousness exalteth a nation: but sin is a reproach to any people.” (Proverbs 14:34) To doubt God’s judgement, is like “doubting God”. ------------------------ Yes, America is being JUDGED BY GOD right now, just as other nations of the world have been and are being judged. But our judgement is going to be more severe(it’s going be get worse than most), because of all the great blessings God has bestowed upon us..... “But he that knew not, and did commit things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few stripes. For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required: and to whom men have committed much, of him they will ask the more.” (Luke 12:48) ------------------------ One of the evidences of God’s present judgement upon us, is the “blindness” of God’s people.... “For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?” (1 Peter 4:17) As seen in almost every “Christian” forum on the internet(& they do show the state of the Church). I am seeing people “blinded” to the most basic truths, clearly stated in God’s Word. The first few responses in this thread are a good example.

Oh boy I am not even going to go there. Bigape, I am going to go there. Did you know that women are everywhere? Yes I did. This statement(although very Biblical and correct), was said kind of tongue-in-cheek! I knew that it would get a reaction out of people, but IT SHOULDN’T, on a Christian site! Therefore, I added, that we don’t live in a “perfect world”: But this is something that we should be praying for...... Matthew 6:9-10 V.9 ¶ After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. V.10 Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. This is God’s will for Christian wives! You sure don't know NOTHING about a virtuous woman. Well I do know, that she had a good “work ethic” and that she sold her homemade cloths etc., in town and she was a wise in the area of business. But, she was a STAY AT HOME MOM! So she could be there for her husband when he got home.

Ignorance at it's best. Study to show yourselves approved unto God a workman that needeth not be ashamed. Please show me, where I am not “rightly dividing the Word of truth”!

But why is the wife not giving him her love?That needs to be answered, Are we at the mercy of our feelings? Does scripture instruct us to love when someone makes us feel good? Or is love a decision to follow God's instruction even when we are wronged? Amen!! This is exactly what we are told in 1 Peter 2&3...... 1 Peter 3:1 “Likewise, ye wives, be in subjection to your own husbands; that, if any obey not the word, they also may without the word be won by the conversation of the wives;” 1 Peter 3:7 “Likewise, ye husbands, dwell with them according to knowledge, giving honour unto the wife, as unto the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life; that your prayers be not hindered.” Notice, that both instructions to husbands and wives, starts with the word “Likewise”! This refers to....1 Peter 2:23 “Who, when he was reviled, reviled not again; when he suffered, he threatened not; but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously:” When Jesus was “wronged”, He still did the right thing. Just as in marriage, when we are “wronged”, the Lord tells us to do the right thing, in spite of what the other person may or may not do! ------------------------ This OP has less to do with blaming the wife for the husband’s sin: And more to do with, WARNING HUSBANDS, that this danger is REAL! And that regardless of how committed they are to Christ, they are still in grave danger! (If their wife, isn’t fulfilling her duties!)

Oh boy I am not even going to go there. Bigape, I am going to go there. Did you know that women are everywhere? Yes I did. This statement(although very Biblical and correct), was said kind of tongue-in-cheek! I knew that it would get a reaction out of people, but IT SHOULDN’T, on a Christian site! Therefore, I added, that we don’t live in a “perfect world”: But this is something that we should be praying for...... Matthew 6:9-10 V.9 ¶ After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. V.10 Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. This is God’s will for Christian wives!

If women would stay home “where they are suppose to be”(Titus 2:5), then there would be no women in the workplace, for the disaffectioned husband to be attracted to. Therefore women are to be blamed in two ways. But we don’t live in a perfect world! Therefore wives should do all they can to please their husbands and husbands should do all they can to please their wives and stay true to them.

Hello bopeep1909 In answer to your question.... No, not when abuse is in the home. (But you may need to talk to your pastor about it!) And study 1 Corinthians 7:10-ff This seems to cover the area you are talking about!

Hello, bopeep1909 and Davida, and thank you for your responses. As I have made it clear in all that I have already said in this thread, this charge, is aimed at both husbands and wives, who for any reason refuse to give themselves to their spouse. And this is not, “an excuse for sin”! It is clearly and repeatedly stated in the Bible, that this is a “cause of sin”! For instance 1 Timothy 2:9...... “In like manner also, that women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with shamefacedness and sobriety; not with broided hair, or gold, or pearls, or costly array;” Now, the reason God tells women to dress in “modest apparel”, is so that they will not be a temptation to men. Is God making an excuse for sin?!? Of course not! He is stating a “cause of sin”! ------------------------ Now I knew that this thread would cause some to get upset, because “today’s society”, in our lost and dying and darkened world of sin, is attacking everything that promotes healthy marriages. But the Scriptures that I have used in this thread, do just that.

But why is the wife not giving him her love?That needs to be answered, Why does anyone sin? Selfishness, Lazyness, Willfulness! The "why" isn't all that important. Repentance is all that is important. As for Health reasons(this may be what your talking about), this is covered in 1 Corinthians 7:4 & Romans 1:27.... “The wife hath not power of her own body, but the husband: and likewise also the husband hath not power of his own body, but the wife.” (1 Corinthians 7:4) “And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman,.....” (Romans 1:27a) God, has placed in “most men” and “some women”, a natural desire for “sexual intimacy”. And this desire can only be fulfilled by loving and consensual physical contact. The fact is, that all that is needed, for “consensual physical contact”, is a loving partner(wife or husband), that is willing to “lovingly give their bodies to the other”! According to 1Corinthians 7:5, it is a problem with a persons “will”, if they refuse to give themselves to their husband or wife!

Even a man who is pure of heart and prays to the Lord above Can fall into sin, when temptation burns If his wife, doesn’t give him her love. (1 Corinthians 7:5)

Hello Hall7 Thanks for the thread and I also like the definition you found....... "The human body is made up of materials found on the surface of the ground. Oxygen, being the most abundant element on the earth's crust or on the ground, makes up 65 percent of the human body, and carbon, also abundant on the top soil of the ground, is 18 percent, and hydrogen is 10 percent. The 59 elements found in the human body are all found on the earths crust. This is amazing because what the Bible says perfectly match the scientific composition of a human body." I don't see any problem, with the LORD, using soil that He made, to create a human body!

Hello Matthew T. (Great response.) I would add, that the way the Lord Jesus would put your second paragraph, is..... “The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.” (John 10:10) (Satan comes to lie to us, about our relationship with the Lord; And try to convince us not to look to closely at it, so we won’t see that it’s nothing but pretense.) (While Jesus.... comes, to give us, “...life, and that they might have it more abundantly.”) You did a good job of describing this “life”, that all Christians have in Christ. Just yesterday, I ran into a young woman and as I started to talk to her about the Lord, she quickly responded with... “My husband and I are the youth ministers at our Church”. I responded with.... “Well praise the Lord! But, I still feel that I need to ask you, “Are you born again?” Because there are plenty of preachers, that aren’t really saved!” She seemed to be “taken aback” by my question/challenge! Lord willing, she will do some deep “self examination”, and come to the truth.

This question points to the possibility that a person’s faith in Christ, can be “dead”! Now I know, the first Scripture that comes to mind with this statement is James 2:17... “Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.”(Talking about how our “faith in Christ”, is only proven to “others”, by our good works.) The point in James’ epistle is a message to believers, to take a stand for the Lord....“But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.” (James 1:22) But the point being made in this thread, is the serious possibility, that our faith in Christ, is not a living faith; As the Lord talked about in...... Matthew 7:21-23......... V.21 ¶ Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. V.22 Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? V.23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity. It’s not that “Salvation” is “hard to find or to get”: It’s just that, according to the Bible, there are a lot of “professing Christians”, who are not truly saved. Each of us, need to have the courage to honestly question ourselves, about the genuineness of our “salvation experience”; Like this....2 Corinthians 13:5 “Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates?” No one is saved by being religious or gaining religious knowledge.... “For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe.” (1 Corinthians 1:21) Biblical Salvation, is a supernatural event, that changes a person on the inside. And at the moment of that change, the Lord starts a gradual transformation of that person, that will continue the rest of their lives. ------------------------ I am aware that this might cause some Christians to doubt their salvation: There is nothing wrong with that(as long as it causes you to make sure your saved). God doesn’t want us to “doubt our salvation”, but it is important for us to “make sure” of it.

Note the context....... Matthew 11:16-19 V.16 ¶ But whereunto shall I liken this generation? It is like unto children sitting in the markets, and calling unto their fellows, V.17 And saying, We have piped unto you, and ye have not danced; we have mourned unto you, and ye have not lamented. V.18 For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, He hath a devil. V.19 The Son of man came eating and drinking, and they say, Behold a man gluttonous, and a winebibber, a friend of publicans and sinners. But wisdom is justified of her children. Jesus was pointing out the hypocrisy of the pharisees(who are just like a lot of people today), who didn’t seem to be satisfied with any kind of “solid Bible preaching”, but only want some smooth sounding teacher, that always makes them feel good.(2Tim.4:2-4) Comparing his own style of preaching to that of John the Baptists. You could say that John preached in a mournful style, while Jesus preached in a more loving way, but both preached repentance. But the religious hypocrites of that day, were critical of both of them! Not being truly interested in the truth and drawing closer to the Lord!

Hello Pamelasv Satan wasn’t “using God’s Word”, he was “mis-using it”... God’s Word says.... Psalms 91:11-12 V.11 For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways. V.12 They shall bear thee up in their hands, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone. But in Matthew 4:6, Satan said..... “And saith unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone.” Satan left out the words..... “to keep thee in all thy ways”. ------------------------ Wicked people can make the Bible say anything they want it to say, by simply leaving a word or two out or twisting it slightly. -------------------------------------------------- As to “the sword of the Spirit” (Ephesians 6:17), this is talking about the powerful and supernatural quality of God’s Word. A Christian can use God’s Word to minister to others, in a wonderful way, because God’s Word, is always true and His promises will always be kept. And His Word can also be used by a Christian, in the same way that Jesus used it in the wilderness. Three times, in his battle with Satan, Jesus said “it is written” and quoted Scripture. We can do the exact same thing today, by saying “the Bible says”... But we must first faithfully study God’s Word every day and memorize it. Then as God opens it up to us, we can Boldly say, “the Bible says”, and use it for God’s Glory, to minister to ourselves and others.