Israel

[boblandis]

affairs          THE 103-PAGE report, based partly on documents captured by Israeli forces in Palestinian cities and offices last month, is the most painstaking effort yet by Sharon

[JohnS]

I saw Arafat on CNN last night and he said those documents were all 'big lies'. He even called for the suicide bombings to stop...in Arabic...for the first time! He better have eyes in the back of his head.

[Prime Number]

I saw that too John. I could hardly believe it. Hopefully Arafat is on the way out. I was watching some program the other night(nightline I think), and one of the Palestinian negotiators was on discussing the peace talks. Anyways, I'm rambling, he seemed like a good choice to replace Arafat. I'm doing some research on him tonight, to see what kind of background he has. He is a diplomat, instead of a former(or current?) terrorist. I used to think Arafat could be trusted, but I don't anymore. The sooner he is out of power, the better(IMO).

Prime#

[Teri Mc]

Did anyone see the movie Ghost Busters. The whole thing ended up being these wacky guys using a big marsh mellow man to stop Gods plan of destruction of earth as we know it. I remember walking out of the theater years ago with my date and telling him how offensive it was to make a joke out of Gods word and to think that human beings could possibly stop the hand of God. We seem to be on our last prophetic leg and it appears to me that some still think we can stop the ball from rolling. I myself have had a few thoughts in this direction. Some days it hits me that this is real, this is the deal and I wonder will I see my grand daughter grow up. Will I experience more. Will this hang on long enough to experience great grand children. Part of me wants Christ to return tomorrow and another part wants to hang on just a little longer. And part of me is just afraid, afraid that everyone I love will not find Christ, afraid that all the confusion Satan has created has taken it's toll. And afraid of going through the tribulation. And then theres other days I am filled with strength and would gladly give my head (literally) for Christ. Do you guys ever think about all of this. Are we in denial hoping a peace process will work. Will we recognize a peace treaty as the hand of the antichrist. Just wondering.

Love in Christ

Teri

[JohnS]

Sure have missed reading your posts! Yes to everything you asked! I've been thinking it can't possibly go on any longer for years now. Could it possibly go on for 50 more years?

[Prime Number]

It could go on a lot longer than that John.

[Teri Mc]

John I was remodeling my kitchen. Even in that I was laughing at myself, thinking well what if we have an earth quake tomorrow and all this turns to tinder. Oh well keeps me busy. And Prime you are correct so what do you suggest. I'm praying that Gods will be done, which ever way that goes. I would not even think to interject my will in there or decide the out come.

As to the Fifty years who knows. It seems like a stretch though. When I stop and do a reality check there is alot of prophecy getting lined up here. I like to think this is unreal, this can't be happening but in reality it has to happen in someones life time. The jews have been pouring into Israel for 40 years now, we have gone from Dick van Dyke and separate beds on tv to well you know, All the countries speaking out against Israel, the blindness in the media, the revivals going on here in the States is incredible, the move towards a one world religion, a one world government I could go on but you get the picture. With the rage that is sweeping across the globe we are either headed for armeggedon or a miracle. Something has got to give. I can't personally think of a thing I can do about any of it outside of prayer. I thought of writing a well thought our letter to Arafat but I'm not sure he would get it and of course I might say something I would have to ask forgiveness for later. Other than that I don't know. So seriously Prime you have some ideas throw them at me.

Love in Christ

Teri

[Prime Number]

Well Teri, I won't pray for "God's will be done", as you said. To me it's a waste. God will do what he wants and my approval or disproval means nothing to him. He doesn't need my 'backing' to get the job done. I won't condemn anyone for not believing as I do either. I don't look down on them, pity them, or consider them less qualified spiritually than me. For me to claim I know God(truth) and you don't is ridiculous in my opinion. God is not here in my living room for me to ask what's truth and what's not. I don't claim to know anymore about God than anyone else. Those who act as if they hold some 'higher' truth than me, or anyone,..........well I won't finish that statement, you fill in the blanks.(they're full of it)  That's a great start.

  I don't look down on a Muslim(as so many of you do) for believing as he does. I think he is wasting his time trying to rationalize the brutality in the Quran. If he asked me my opinion, I would tell him to not follow its teachings literally, and stick to the broader messages it contains. But I feel the same way about all religious books. I can't rationalize every statement and act contained in the Bible. Nor would I try. I do believe the Bible holds many truths but not all. For me to say, "I know" because God says so in the Bible", doesn't hold water in most situations. If that were the case, then we would have little to debate about on this board. We've all seen the 'scripture wars' on this board. Going back and forth with one scripture against the other. Need I say more.

  This idea that it's all God's plan is correct. Everything is God's plan isn't it? Otherwise he wouldn't be God. Though, it's a dangerous statement to believe, in my opinion. We've seen what "God's Plan" means to terrorists. I've seen personally what God's plan means to 'one' anti-abortionist when he attacked a friend of mine. The point is, we still need to do what is right according to the laws of the land. We still need to participate in society. We have to make some contributions to solving societies problems. Whether it's writing a (well intentioned) letter to Arafat. Speaking out against the suffering of others. Donating time(not just money) to a cause. Or even speaking your opinion on this forum(a small contribution I admit) can expose people to new ideas and take them in new directions. I can go on, but pick a problem and you see the point.

  In the end, it will depend on the person. Some of us are followers(sometimes blind followers). Others are leaders, who will take charge of a situation and try to change things(not always for the best). I would think most are in the middle somewhere. Throwing out their quiet opinions. Sometimes taking action when the situation calls for it. ETC.

  What YOU can do Teri? It's not my place to make suggestions as I don't know you well enough. The bottom line I 'try' to follow is: What's best for society? I work to better myself everyday, In a hope that by improving myself and my 'outlook' on things, I will 'positively' impact the lives of those I meet in life. Perhaps inspiring others to improve themselves and their 'outlook'. The first thing I did was write down all the faults I have. Then I thought back to what others had said about me in past conversations. I was looking for anything 'negative' they had to say. I.E. "You're not listening", you're being stubborn", and so on. I wrote all these down. Then I stood in front of a mirror, read the list, and took a good long look at myself. The story gets a lot longer from here but you get the point.

I hope some of this make sense to you. I apologize for the lack of detail in my explanations but I'm short on time.

Prime#

[JohnS]

Prime,

   I've been sitting here wondering how to respond and not be 'offensive' to you. As my wife and I were eating lunch yesterday, a man I had never met before walked up to us and asked us if we loved Jesus. We ended up talking for a while. After he left, I smiled at my my wife and said 'not very subtle, is he?'. That little exchange lifted me up for the rest of the day. The point is, times are changing. None of us has ever been guaranteed another day, or another hour. Those that don't know Jesus as their personal savior WILL GO TO hell. The way has been made, the price has been paid and the only question left for everyone to answer is 'what will I do about Jesus?' It's very simple, no debate is necessary. You either accept Him or reject Him. Muslims are hellbound unless they repent and accept Jesus. Sorry, I guess I turned my reply into a sermon again. You can know the Truth, His name is Jesus.

[Teri Mc]

Sorry Prime I have to agree with John on this one. If I truly believe in God then I have to truly believe in His adversary Satan. Satan is who I hate not the Muslims, not by any stretch of the imagination. Satan has done one heck of a job decieving many. I have often thought if I could decide what to do about this situation in the Middle East I would flood the place with missionaries. There would be millions of acts of kindness going on everyday, they would help people rebuild and show them it can be different. I would put two of Gods people there for every one who are in darkness, the gospel would be preached from every corner and every alley and every rooftop. I could go on but of course I'm not in charge but it's a nice idea. I feel very sorry for these people because I realize I was born in a nation where at that time Christ was the rule, not the exception. As we know the poor sweet babies born in that region don't even have a chance, they are fed a constant diet of hate for christians and jews. I do believe in scripture and I do believe the only way to the Father is through His Son. Going to other religions and saying well ok lets just pick out the nice things in your book and follow them is not helpful, it still does not give them salvation. As for praying for Gods will, think about how Christ instructed us to pray in the Our Father. One of the reasons I pray for His will is to remind myself there is a difference between mine and His and it is His that matters not mine.

But seriously here, if I can not recognize the difference between the truth and a deception what good can I bring to people living under a deception. I guess it comes down to believing in scripture or not. I grappled with that when I left the Catholic Church. There was something so wrong with what the church was teaching and at the time I didn't know what it was except the feeling was so strong I couldn't ignore it. Now I recognize it as the Holy Spirit. Once I got into scripture I discovered alot of what the church teaches is not in scripture and I felt relieved because I wasn't just being weird. I feel bad for the Muslims because I know what is like to be caught up in a system that you are taught from birth on and to try and realign all of that later is a tough job. But because I felt I was called out of that system I have hope and will continue to pray that others will be brought to see the truth before it is too late. Scripture tells us that the Holy Spirit will be poured out in the end days and hopefully we can pull many from the grip of Satan. We have a book it is called the Bible and when the trib hits we can say look at this world wide earthquake, it is written of here, thousands of years ago. Now will you listen to me?

Love in Christ

Teri