Hansc Posted December 30, 2012 Group: Members Followers: 0 Topic Count: 4 Topics Per Day: 0.00 Content Count: 29 Content Per Day: 0.01 Reputation: 5 Days Won: 0 Joined: 12/12/2012 Status: Offline Author Share Posted December 30, 2012 (edited) gdemoss It is all about speaking what I hear and trusting it to be the right thing at the right moment for the right person. I am simply a servant who serves from the heart. My hope is that I clearly hear the voice of God that tells me what to say in any situation and not sin or some devil who seeks to persuade me to speak on their behalf. What I say, just like what I shared above, depends wholly upon what God reveals to me as the need in the hearers life. Once, I was standing before a man and I was told that he was born and raised Catholic. I inquired if it were true and share that God had shared that with me so that we might find common ground to discuss and grow in Christ. It had its intended affect. Afterward, I sat down for break and was led to John 4 where the Spirit bade me to understand what just happened with my encounter with Art. I smiled and studied the passage with a greater joy than ever before. I spent and hour on the phone today with a recovering alcoholic that has been sober for 2 months this time around. The subject of the bible came up. I was led to say certain things that led to the man becoming inspired to improve his relationship with God and his ability to understand what the bible teaches. I seek to sanctify the Lord God in my heart that I might be ready an answer to any man that asks the reason of the hope that is within me. Though the context of that verse is about being harmed while doing good, the message is quite clear. The Word of God plus the Spirit of God equals the voice of God within my heart. He and He alone knows what needs to be said at any given time. When a person needs to 'know' that the bible is the Word of God, they need to hear first my declaration of the truth, which is I met Jesus at the well and he told me that the bible was the Word of God, followed by hearing Him for themselves as did the Samaritans who believed upon the word of the woman at the well. The truth is in Jesus. The truth is in me as Jesus is in me. I think you show good insight and wisdom here and have a solid approach. As a general guideline, I usually say that I wont talk to a person about Jesus, until I have FIRST talked to Jesus about that person. For me, taking the approach to first talk to the Lord about a person before I talk to the person about the Lord has been a fruitful approach. I think you also mentioned how we need to be sensitive to the context of the situation. That was one of the reasons I posted the question. I spend much of my time around university professors who are strongly indoctrinated with Marxist ideology. Many of them are also much better versed in Christian beliefs, than is commonly believed. Naturally, with such a crowd, I have to present a pretty solid case as to why I believe the Bible is the inerrant Word of God and why I believe Jesus is God. gedmoss, thank you being a nice person and welcoming. God Bless, you Edited December 30, 2012 by Hansc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
enoob57 Posted December 30, 2012 Group: Worthy Ministers Followers: 35 Topic Count: 100 Topics Per Day: 0.02 Content Count: 41,251 Content Per Day: 7.98 Reputation: 21,498 Days Won: 76 Joined: 03/13/2010 Status: Online Birthday: 07/27/1957 Share Posted December 30, 2012 Why do you believe the Bible is the Word of God? Upon what grounds do you believe the Bible is the Word of God? The best proof I have for validating God's Word as being so 'IS' the slavery I was in is now gone and now I am free to live Life as God has written it... Love, Steven Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gdemoss Posted December 30, 2012 Group: Royal Member Followers: 8 Topic Count: 59 Topics Per Day: 0.01 Content Count: 4,402 Content Per Day: 0.99 Reputation: 2,154 Days Won: 28 Joined: 02/10/2012 Status: Offline Birthday: 04/26/1971 Share Posted December 30, 2012 gdemoss First let me state that I received your confession of faith, that Jesus is Lord, and found it to be clear. Thank you gdemoss, yes, Jesus is my Lord. I think you have a real good spirit about you and offer some clear and insightful comments. As I mentioned earlier, I'm on Christmas break from school and will go back in about a week. When school starts I am really busy so have a limited amount of time to discuss matters online. Because I teach in a very liberal secular university, people are often surprised that I am a Christian. Many of my fellow professors are often hostile to the Christian faith. Consequently, I am often asked to defend my belief in Christ. Two of the most common questions I am asked are: Who is Jesus and Why do you believe the Bible is God's Word. I posted these two questions because it is what I am most often asked. I did want to comment a little more on the rest of your post which I thought was excellent, but I have to run. I'll be back. gdemoss It is all about speaking what I hear and trusting it to be the right thing at the right moment for the right person. I am simply a servant who serves from the heart. My hope is that I clearly hear the voice of God that tells me what to say in any situation and not sin or some devil who seeks to persuade me to speak on their behalf. What I say, just like what I shared above, depends wholly upon what God reveals to me as the need in the hearers life. Once, I was standing before a man and I was told that he was born and raised Catholic. I inquired if it were true and share that God had shared that with me so that we might find common ground to discuss and grow in Christ. It had its intended affect. Afterward, I sat down for break and was led to John 4 where the Spirit bade me to understand what just happened with my encounter with Art. I smiled and studied the passage with a greater joy than ever before. I spent and hour on the phone today with a recovering alcoholic that has been sober for 2 months this time around. The subject of the bible came up. I was led to say certain things that led to the man becoming inspired to improve his relationship with God and his ability to understand what the bible teaches. I seek to sanctify the Lord God in my heart that I might be ready an answer to any man that asks the reason of the hope that is within me. Though the context of that verse is about being harmed while doing good, the message is quite clear. The Word of God plus the Spirit of God equals the voice of God within my heart. He and He alone knows what needs to be said at any given time. When a person needs to 'know' that the bible is the Word of God, they need to hear first my declaration of the truth, which is I met Jesus at the well and he told me that the bible was the Word of God, followed by hearing Him for themselves as did the Samaritans who believed upon the word of the woman at the well. The truth is in Jesus. The truth is in me as Jesus is in me. I think you show good insight and wisdom here and have a solid approach. As a general guideline, I usually say that I wont talk to a person about Jesus, until I have FIRST talked to Jesus about that person. For me, taking the approach to first talk to the Lord about a person before I talk to the person about the Lord has been a fruitful approach. I think you also mentioned how we need to be sensitive to the context of the situation. That was one of the reasons I posted the question. I spend much of my time around university professors who are strongly indoctrinated with Marxist ideology. Many of them are also much better versed in Christian beliefs, than is commonly believed. Naturally, with such a crowd, I have to present a pretty solid case as to why I believe the Bible is the inerrant Word of God and why I believe Jesus is God. gedmoss, thank you being a nice person and welcoming. God Bless, you Thanks for the nice words. I think the best and brightest are usually pretty well versed in matters pertaining to faith but usually their intellect gets the best of them. There is no coincidence between the rise in education and the decrease in faith, as it is written, not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, [are called]. Though there are those who are. I know of a few college professors here at Purdue who are professing Christians. The biggest problem is that knowledge puffs up and God resists the proud but give grace unto the humble. God likes to take some poor schmuck like me who will admit before him that he is nothing without him and knows nothing unless He shows him and fill them up with what is necessary when it is needed. I have received more knowledge, wisdom and understanding from praying for others than in any other way. Intercessory prayer works wonders. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OneLight Posted December 30, 2012 Group: Royal Member Followers: 22 Topic Count: 1,294 Topics Per Day: 0.21 Content Count: 31,762 Content Per Day: 5.22 Reputation: 9,763 Days Won: 115 Joined: 09/14/2007 Status: Offline Share Posted December 30, 2012 Closed for review Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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