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We must overcome the influence of the Spirit of lawlessness (iniquity) Matthew 24: 12 And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold. 13 But he who endures to the end shall be saved. As a matter of fact, it isn't even that subtle. In the five years I have spent on line I would venture statistically based upon internet forum sampling that there are millions of Christians who have taken "not under Law, under Grace"to an extreme of essentially ignoring the Holy Spirit and doing "whatever seems right in their own eyes". Lawlessness includes ignoring Christian unity for personal preference. This occurred when Israel was at its worst state when "there was no king in Israel". Unfortunately, the Lord was the King, and was being rejected. Is Yeshua ruling over His Body, or is His Body doing their own thing? There are people who will drive across town to their church of preference, but not attend services with their neighbor, who attends fellowship down the street because it is "one of those groups", what ever that might mean to them. Judges 17:6 In those days there was no king in Israel, but every man did that which was right in his own eyes. This is anomia=iniquity, lawlessness [G458] Matthew 7:23 And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’ Hosea 4: 6 My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge, I also will reject you from being priest for Me; Because you have forgotten the law of your God, I also will forget your children. 7 The more they increased, The more they sinned against Me; I will change their glory into shame. 8 They eat up the sin of My people; They set their heart on their iniquity. 9 And it shall be: like people, like priest. So I will punish them for their ways, And reward them for their deeds. I know that I am walking in obedience for this reason, I take no pleasure being in online forums. When the Lord approved of my taking early social security at 62 and stopped working, it was on the caveat that I started writing down my daily devotionals. I argued, "Lord, does the world really need another daily devotional?" He laughed at me! And then said, "Oh, you won't be publishing a book". Haha. Then covid struck and I was already prepared, "sheltering in place" in retirement and isolation, and was led to my first forum. What I receive from the Lord each day, I have presented faithfully, in spite of consistent hostility the moment I post anything that rubbed against someone's pet doctrine. I am being totally honest here. Before my retiring from "servile labor", I never heard of Calvinism v. Arminism. I heard of the rapture, but having read such things as "I will gather all mine on the last day and lose nothing", and "endure to the end to be saved", I just ignored it, seeing how it provoked such division. I am astounded by some of the ideas that are expressed, and when I post verses that call a persons belief into question the response is tepid at best. Here's the good news. After presenting more than 700 threads in that time, I have learned more in five years that I had previously, and I was already highly committed to the Word of God, and would not have even considered writing down anything if I did not feel I had a strong foundation. Then the Lord told me to consecrate myself to the task, and gave me an Anointing from Matthew: 13:52 Then said he unto them, Therefore every scribe which is instructed unto the kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that is an householder, which brings forth out of his treasure things new and old. I have learned that there is an Anointing on "every Word of God", if we will apply ourselves to experiencing every Word possible in our lives. I had read the Gospels, the Law and Prophets, Acts at least a dozen times, the epistles several dozen. And yet, when I came under this Anointing, I found something new every time I opened the Book. Nearly every thread consists of things I had known for decades, but also something not only new, but also applicable to many other circumstances I had not considered before. This is why I add very few comments, and just lay out the scriptures we discuss and let the Spirit do the talking. Sure, I could teach and write extensively, as I am doing now, but it is not about me, and I am surely not interested in all the debating. What drove me to continue was when the Lord pointed out to me that there is often guests numbering 10 to 1 over signed in members. I no longer get heart palpitations from hostile responses. And how did I consecrate myself for the task? I cancelled my subscriptions to chess.com and Spotify music. The chess was particularly expensive and I needed to tighten my budget to stop working. As I spent less and less time playing and studying chess, and listening to music for hours, I was "renewed in the spirit of my mind", and started hearing the Voice of the Lord with astounding clarity. Now, I actually love silence, which I had always avoided before. I was alone sooo much with my children far away and divorced, that I also gladly accepted the Lord's call to be a watchman/intercessor for the saints and Jerusalem. I know many of you think of me the way Festus spoke of Paul: "much study has driven you insane!" I can live with that, for the joy that is set before me. I spend hours daily alone with the Lord, talking and listening to Him. Did you know that the Lord laughs a lot? I don't know, maybe I am funny, but He sure seems to take pleasure in chuckling over many of my comments. I also should point out that during my years of ministry and dealing with people directly, I could quietly listen to what a person would say, read their body, and discern their spirit and 'see' underlying issues to address. This I could not do in this format. Now, I can easily tell when someone is responding to the title of a thread without bothering to read the post. When people who have been doing this awhile cut and paste old, saved responses from their hard drives, often adding unnecessary tangents to the discussions. And I can sure tell when someone has had formal theological instruction, or is "well read" in outside sources, with their rigid dogma and self-confident dismissals. I could say more, but it would be inappropriate. You can rejoice now, because this is the last time (hopefully), or at least it will be awhile before I take time to write out my thoughts and feelings like this morning. When I was new, I proposed seeking ways of being more open and not just chat. I assure you that I was ostracized for making the suggestion. So now, back to the scriptures, with as little of me as possible. I close by praying that all who frequent this forum will grow mightily in the Truth of God's Word.

Hello! The Coffee Shop thread is a place where we can hang out and talk about anything! =3 ^-^ Bring your Coffee, Tea, Iced Coffee, Iced Tea, and relax! ^-^ =3

We as Christian should be concerned about who attends a Christian fellowship, and more importantly who takes on the roles of elders, leaders, advisors, etc., in a Christian Fellowship Let's start off with the following given premise: -Nation of Ancient Israel ---could be viewed as-----a modern day church congregation In the 2 Samuel 13:2-5 bible passage, we as Christian could view Amnon & Jonadab engaging in fellowship with each other as members of the Ancient Israelite Hebrew congregation. To put it in a modern perspective, it's like 2 Christians engaging in fellowship with each other regardless of whether they are in a cell group, bible study group or if they just are having 1-to-1 fellowship together at a cafe. However, Jonadab's advice to Amnon that involves giving into Amnon's fleshly desires for his Tamar is scary. More importantly, it should be a severe warning to us Christians about being concerned & cautious about who attends a Chrisitan Fellowship, and maybe even more importantly who is taking on the roles of elders or leaders in our Christian fellowship. Christian leadership ( especially Church leadership) need to be firmly guided by The Holy Spirit when they appoint church elders, leaders, advisors etc.

We as Christian should be concerned about who attends a Christian fellowship, and more importantly who takes on the roles of elders, leaders, advisors, etc., in a Christian Fellowship Let's start off with the following given premise: -Nation of Ancient Israel ---could be viewed as-----a modern day church congregation In the 2 Samuel 13:2-5 bible passage, we as Christian could view Amnon & Jonadab engaging in fellowship with each other as members of the Ancient Israelite Hebrew congregation. To put it in a modern perspective, it's like 2 Christians engaging in fellowship with each other regardless of whether they are in a cell group, bible study group or if they just are having 1-to-1 fellowship together at a cafe. However, Jonadab's advice to Amnon that involves giving into Amnon's fleshly desires for his Tamar is scary. More importantly, it should be a severe warning to us Christians about being concerned & cautious about who attends a Chrisitan Fellowship, and maybe even more importantly who is taking on the roles of elders or leaders in our Christian fellowship. Christian leadership ( especially Church leadership) need to be firmly guided by The Holy Spirit when they appoint church elders, leaders, advisors etc.

Thoughts I am hoping that I can give you, some insight into my thought process. I am also hoping to tie together this part of my blog, although I might add to it later. I am going to throw out some ideas here. I am a deep thinker. So before I finally get to the Word studies I want to do, I need to give you an idea of how I think. It us quite a lot today. But that can't be helped at this point. I believe that a person's worldview is strongly dependant on a mixture of background, education and personality. I also think that a lot depends on how you build trust. One is especially inclined to trust your own eyes. And many people, quite correctly I think, initially trust their parents (unless your parents were abusive or absent). It is something I don't think we can prevent. We are so vulnerable that we can't ever entirely depend on ourselves, so we are forced to look for outside help in order to survive. And we are forced to belong to something or Somone or we will be alone. I have gone deep into existialist thinking, pondering why life is what it is. And whether what we see is really real. I did this all on my own. No one told me to ask these questions. They just came up as a result of my natural curiosity. I find that there is a lot of competing ideas in the world. Many with more merit than what we might want to admit. And it doesn't usually take us long, when growing up, to realise that there are choices to make. And the question I have often come to ask myself is: on what basis do I trust what I trust? I know the Holy Spirit leads us to truth. But at the time it happened I could not have known that it was the Holy Spirit. Unfortunately, we are far too easy to fool. Our knowledge is always limited, even when we do actually have a little knowledge. We walk around with biases which are based on experience and impressions. And both can mislead us. So can feelings. So can intelligence. I often find I need to try to take myself outside my biases and try to consider reality objectively. I don't often succeed . I have rarely been able to shake the feeling that my faith in God has a lot to do with the fact that it is the culture I grew up in. So I've always felt the need to be able to verify what I believe with what I see around me. I guess that's what Romans 1 is talking about. Therefore I have, in the past, done my best to check my assumptions. Down to the most basic assumptions. Even asking myself if there is truth. And the interesting thing is that once I was done with the process of examining my assumptions, I realised that I found the Christian faith the most consistent with the reality as I am able to see it. To me, this was an important breakthrough. So then I realised the Bible must be true. I suppose that was also the Holy Spirit guiding me in the right direction. So then I made the decision that I would make Scripture the basis for what I understand to be true. I would only believe something is true if it didn't clash with Scripture in any way. It would act like a filter for what I could accept. But there is a basic problem with this. The Bible requires interpretation. But I'm long jumping the gun. Before this realisation, after my initial childhood experience with children's Bibles, I started reading the Bible in my early teens. And at first I had very little input to tell me how to read it. So I generally accepted it as literal because I had no reason to see it otherwise. But as I grew older, got saved and started following the Holy Spirit's guidance, I came to realise that it isn't always that simple. There are some things that need further reading, there are translation issues, there are things that need to be inferred and also there are things that are true that aren't necessarily said in Scripture. I'll be quite honest that much of what I learned early on was a mix of considering my dad's position on things (he can be very persuasive, being a rhetorician) . Other influences on me are classical writtings, my grandmother, authors like C.s Lewis and G.k Chesterton, and the Charismatic church movement that I was part of. Also, of course, the friend who led me to the Lord and acted as my source of information for quite some time. More recently I find I like Tim Kelly, and Tim Mackie from the Bibleproject. On Facebook I know a guy called Objective Believe and he impresses me with his clever reasoning, although I am also convinced that one can make good arguments for things that are actually false (another result of experiences I've had) . On the one hand I find I am open to hearing from a wide variety of people because I'm going to filter what they say anyway. I often talk to God about what I hear long afterwards, in order to help understand things better. It helps if I can see that the person cares. It's easier to trust someone who shows true compassion and gentleness. On the other hand, I just don't do blind faith.. I don't put limits on where truth will come from, but I do still use my best understanding of the Scriptures to filter what I hear. At this stage, I am again in the process, of rethinking who and what I should believe. Not around the basics. More around hearing God, hearing the Holy Spirit, what choices to make and where to stand on important issues. I have some frustrations in my church due to these questions I have. They are not helping me at the moment. I am thinking about what my next moves should be, given my circumstances. And I want my decisions to be based on faith rightly applied. I feel that so much of what I have been taught could be wrong and it scares me. I try to push that away. Ignore my misgivings. But I can't anymore. When I get scared I withdraw. I'm especially weary of manipulation. If I'm going to believe, what someone claims is biblical, it should be able to stand on it's own. My way of reading and studying Scripture is pretty simple. I mean, unless something is obviously meant not to be literal, I accept the most obvious meaning of the text. Given what I've said here I have a few great needs at the moment. I have great need for healthy fellowship. I often feel alone. My friends are mostly living elsewhere, my church is filled with a lot of people I struggle to relate to (and I really have tried to relate to them) and my current occupation means I spend most of my time at home. My second need is to have some sort of direction for my life and for breakthroughs in terms of my career and financial position. A serious prayer need. But probably my biggest need is the need to seek God's overall direction for my life. And especially for how I use my time, since I have so much of it. I need to be dure I am the best I can be for Him. And that is why I've also had to rethink how to pproach my online presence. This includes how I spend time on Worthy and this then led me to the need to do this Bible study. Also I will be trying my best to broaden my involvement in more threads (but I can't promise anything yet) and to make the most of the fellowship side. I have some plans. They will soon be revealed. Comments and questions are welcome.

Some of God's People are easy to get along with, others are difficult. This is something I have been greatly exercised by. I have found Romans 12:18 welcome relief in the fray because it implies it is not always possible to get along with certain people and therefore not entirely due to one's own fault as the devil might try to persuade. Rom 12:18 If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men. My wife is part of a ladies group that periodically has the husbands join in, mainly for socialising with a quiz, or board game, or watching YouTube clips, and always with a meal. While it can be a lot of fun it comes with the expectation that we will all get along with each other because we are all God's People. One of the ladies is a caregiver for people with disabilities and she brings one or two of them along so that is an added dimension that my wife and I are familiar with, having done the same thing in the past. Christians who are deaf, or blind, or schizoid, or Asperger, or early Alzheimer and needy in some way, these we have befriended and cared for according to the need and our ability to help. These people can be difficult and demanding at times but worth ministering to under the anointing of the Holy Spirit. It was insensitive of me to upset a man who identified here on Worthy with Asperger Syndrome and took exception to my mention of the elders confirming a call on my wife and I to minister to the unloved and unlovely, and it occurs to me that insensitivity can be something that makes getting along with people difficult. My apologies to him, now gone, for that insensitive post. Back to my wife's ladies group and it's dynamic. Three couples are immigrants with South African and Asian ethnicities, once again, not an issue, but one of these ladies actually started the group to do craftwork which she is very good at and has taught the others to a high standard. However, when the other ladies decided to incorporate Bible Studies in their meetings it became obvious this lady was not an appropriate leader as she is not well-versed in Scripture and prone to the light use of profanity, something which I have addressed with her and them as a group. The rub is that potentially I have now caused humiliation and made myself a target for all sorts of criticism, since unfortunately there is a strong culture of leadership prestige in the congregation and denomination this group is a part of. There is also a defacto leader who is very nice but dominating and controlling as well. My wife has to stand up to her on occasions. 1Pe 2:19-21 For this is commendable, if because of conscience toward God one endures grief, suffering wrongfully. (20) For what credit is it if, when you are beaten for your faults, you take it patiently? But when you do good and suffer, if you take it patiently, this is commendable before God. (21) For to this you were called, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that you should follow His steps: I hope you are not finding me too difficult to get along with . . . if so we maybe can work something out in the spirit of meekness.

My fellowship preference is for mutually comforting faith among those who have "a yearning to fellowship with those of like faith, in order to liberally share something given freely by the Holy Spirit to reinforce them." Rom 1:11-12 (11) For I long to see you, that I may impart unto you some spiritual gift, to the end ye may be established; (12) That is, that I may be comforted together with you by the mutual faith both of you and me. This preference for mutually comforting faith is both a deal maker and a deal breaker when it comes to my fellowshipping decisions. For something to be mutual there must be some reciprocity, or beneficial exchange between those concerned. If there is no comforting cooperation and participation from those I am assembling with for edification I soon part company with them, as Paul did with those who refuted his preaching in the synagogue at Corinth. Act 18:4-7 (4) And he reasoned in the synagogue every sabbath, and persuaded the Jews and the Greeks. (5) And when Silas and Timotheus were come from Macedonia, Paul was pressed in the spirit, and testified to the Jews that Jesus was Christ. (6) And when they opposed him, and blasphemed, he shook his raiment, and said unto them, Your blood be upon your own heads; I am clean: from henceforth I will go unto the Gentiles. (7) And he departed thence, and entered into a certain man's house, named Justus, one that worshipped God, whose house joined hard to the synagogue. Rather than forsake assembling anywhere with anyone because of a Scripture-based fellowship preference mature Christians prayerfully seek out like-minded companions who encourage one another and form supportive relationships. Heb 10:23-25 (23) Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful. (24) And let us consider one another for the stirring up of love and of good works, (25) not forsaking the assembling of ourselves, just as is the custom for some, but exhorting one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near. I hope your fellowship preference is among those who share mutually comforting faith in Christ.

Act 2:42 And they continued stedfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers. Sometimes people ask "Where do you fellowship?" Also they ask "Who do you fellowship with?" But it would be a rare thing for someone to ask "What is your fellowship for?" An unbeliever might ask "What do you do at your meetings?", not knowing how the term "fellowship" is applied among Christians. I sometimes mention who I am in fellowship with and comment on what matters we discuss, and occasionally describe someone as being "out of fellowship", but still the question remains, "Ideally As Christians What Is Our Fellowship For?"

When the word worship is mentioned in a Christian context I wonder if playing music and singing are the only things that come to mind. Of course there is a lot more to worship than music and singing. In addition to doxa referring to honour in Luke 14:10, five other Greek words used in the Bible variously translate into the English word worship as follows:

Blessings Brothers & Sisters..... Lately I have been hearing a lot about the desire to be "top poster",I have had a couple of private conversations where one member is actually taking a little "time off" from posting because he/she got so caught up in trying to accumulate posts that their purpose for being here at Worthy ,in the first place,became blurred,,,,,,I have not heard this from just one member but this particular one prompted me to begin this Thread,,,,,,,as we are always happy to see that Worthy Christian Forums is a very active and lively place,we must always be mindful of the True Purpose of our Calling,,,,,,,, As a new member it is always exciting to see our number of posts increase,we start out a "newbie" & soon a junior,senior,diamond etc,,,, I remember I was just thrilled to become a "Royal Member" but at that time I barely understood how it all worked,BTW,,,,I'm still just as excited to be here & very grateful to God for leading us all here,,,,,,,Praise the Lord,may we always be excited going about our Fathers Business & fellowshipping with one another! How many "posts" we have is not what is important but our motives are and the substance of what we are posting,,,,,,,, There are many Forums here ,outside of the Inner Court,where we can have some fun,let our hair down & just chit chat,,,,,,,, we enjoy the time we spend together and & that is fantastic.,,,,there is a time & place for everything & it is fine for Christians to take time out to just relax,,,,,,but are you just relaxing or trying to "post"?Your goal should not be "I want to have more posts than this one or that one" It is not a competition,it is a Blessed Place that God has Provided for us,,,,,He should ALWAYS be our number ONE priority,it is not about us,it is ALL about Him,,,, There is nothing wrong with having the desire to be productive,to give as much as you can,to do as much as you can but sometimes it is a good idea to re-think your position,your motives,the desires of your heart I hope to encourage everyone to keep on striving to be the very best you can be and continue to participate,getting to know one another & doing what we came here to do,,,,,,just don't lose focus or get distracted by the things that are not important,I know some people that say very little (like my husband) but when they do speak ,they speak volumes The speak volumes because they are grounded & rooted in the Word of God,mindful of their words,prayerful and in Relationship with the One they love,the One they rely on to give them the Words,,,,,,,,,don't get side tracked,keep your eyes on Jesus,not your posts,,,,,,,,,,,,,, When I first came to Worthy so did Oakwood,we became friends & we were both here a lot in the wee hours of the morning when very few people were on,one day he brought to my attention that he was trying to catch up to me and it almost became a race for points,I had to pause for a moment & remember why I was here,,,,,,,,I never again looked at how many posts I had,I don't care,I want to say what the Holy Spirit prompts me to say,,,,,,,& then there is also my time to goof around but never to be anything more than the humble servant I am,let us boast for CHRIST,,,,,,,,,To God be the Glory With love-in Christ,Kwik

Can some one please explain -Church Home Groups- a few friends from 3 different Churches invited me to thier "Home Group" I ask whats it about? and all my replies are come to find out. I want to check them out ut don't want to walk into something I am spiritually unprepared for, is that a true reason to stay away?

Dear beloved Worthy family, My opinion of myself is that I'm a flop at fellowshiping...that perhaps I don't fit in here and some would prefer that I leave. I seem to have a knack for rubbing people the wrong way. And I need to know why... My purpose for this post? I desperately seek the truth! This is the only site that I have sought to socialize with folks on. I am an invalid with time on my hands. Handicapped & lonely, ever since I became homebound...Worthy has been my church interaction for 8 years. Please tell me how I strike you. Do I come across as abrasive or offensive? Turn people off in the way I word things? Too boring? Do my medical conditions repel people? Or am I seen as a phony? I've noticed that some here do seem to view me as negative by their responses. But is it really God's will I conform to others personalities or beliefs or their judgings of me? Am I to people-please? Some may dislike that I'm straight out & 'tell it like it is.' But is that such a sin? I have read others here pouring their hearts out, too... In negative ways. Yet they seem to be better accepted when they vent or present their prayer requests. I'm sure you agree there ought not to be any favoritism in the family of God. Not accusing. Just saying cliques do form easily. We must beware of Satan's devices to divide. Please do help me out, my dear brothers and sisters in Christ. Tell me your honest perspective on this issue, so I won't keep on analyzing what wards people away from me. I really DO need outsider's opinions. For my peace of mind and our unity here at Worthy. Thanks so much. GBU. I love you all in Jesus. P.S. When you reply ( I'm praying you will!), please do keep in mind "Speaking the truth in love", as Scripture puts it. Or as I'd say: your opinions of me stated in gentle, respectful ways.