Question regarding "magic"

[Trust & Obey]

Well,

thank you all veyr veyr much for those who replied and read and prayed, Trust & obey I found your information very insightful as it really addresses a great many of my kind of questions/concerns so thank you very much for the info, my next question would be what do you do with the free time? I don't really find anythign else all that interesting, I can't stand sports ( they bore me and seem pointless) and in tghe little country town where I live it seems that is really all there is. any suggestions? not sure what to do, TV is not overly interesting to me either not that I would consider that a very good option. I have considered reading the bible more but I find that, as much as I may get shot down for this, I get very tired of reading it after the first horu or so, so hope ya don't hate me on that one btu that seems to be the truth of it heh. any info would be great thanks =)

Josh

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

How old are you, bro?

I agree that TV is a bad option. It, too, is a time-waster and is bad for your mind as well as spiritual condition.

D.L. Moody once asked himself, "It remains to be seen what God will do with a man who gives himself up wholly to Him."

D.L. Moody went on to be one of the greatest preachers of all time.

Now, I'm not saying that this is what you are to do. This is something that you need to seek the Lord on. But, time is your most precious commodity. It is something that you can never earn more of. And, it is something that, once spent, is not reclaimable. You cannot go back and do things over.

Only one life and soon it will be past. Only what's done for Christ will last.

The only things that you are going to take to heaven with you are the Word of God and the souls of men. All else is wood, hay, and stubble.

Recreational activities are not wrong. I, myself, like to work out at the gym, run, swim, and do many active things. There is nothing wrong with these. As a matter of fact... the Bible says that are beneficial... but, only a small bit.

1Ti 4:8 For bodily exercise profiteth little: but godliness is profitable unto all things, having promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come.

I would say that you should spend this time of your life seeking God. Build a solid foundation for your life by surrendering your all to God and presenting yourself to Him during your single years.

Rom 12:1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.

Remember... you are not your own.

1Co 6:20 For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's.

There is an awesome degree of joy and pleasure in the Lord. And, when you are in the center of God's will you will wonder why it took you so long to get there.

Develop a love for the Word of God. Become a man of prayer and be committed to His will for your life.

I'm not saying you need the read the Bible every waking moment of the day. But, I will say that Bible study and prayer should be the cornerstones of your day. Followed by time spent with other believers and also sharing what Christ has done for you with others. These are the pillars of the Christian walk.

Soon, the time will come when you are married. Then children will come. You won't have the time and freedom to pursue and serve the Lord to the degree that you do when you're single.

I'm not trying to lay a trip on you or anything, but I am trying to show you what the Christian life is all about.

To me... a Christian life that is nothing more than what wordly people do, minus the blatantly sinful stuff (sex, drugs, rock n' roll, if you will) is a carnal Christian life.

This may be radical. But, I know of no other way.

Joh 4:13 Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again:

Joh 4:14 But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.

There is joy in the Lord

There is love in His Spirit

There is hope in the knowledge of Him

There's a fountain I know,

Everytime I am near it

My heart overflows to the Lord

All blessing and honor are His

All glory and power are His

Let all wisdom and strength

Be the Lord's in this place

Let all glory be given to Him

There is joy in the Lord

There is love in His Spirit

There is hope in the knowledge of Him

There's a fountain that flows,

Like a river from Heaven

Abounding in love to my soul

[Trust & Obey]

Menegroth, one more thing that I wanted to add is that video games, TV, and media in general will diminish your hunger for the Word of God.

I think that after you have been off of the electronic diet for a while you will begin to hunger once again for the Bread of Life.

I remember than when I was playing I would hunger for the games a whole lot more than I hungered for God's word. That's because the flesh becomes dominant quickly and the spirit is quenched very easily.

It takes time to starve the flesh to the point where it no longer cries out to you, "satisfy me! satisfy me!"

Pray and ask God to give you a burning desire for Him and His Word.

It really is the only way to live!

It's an exciting thing... walking with the Lord. Not knowing where He's going to send you next... what's He's going to have you do... whom He is going to have you speaking with.

It's quite an adventure!

[menegroth]

Hi there,

well again thank you all for the advice also for whoever it was that asked I am 21. i have been giving it quite a bit of thought lately, atm I have uninstalled quite a few games, many that I started removing I kind of notcied how bad they really are after looking at them.

atm only ones on my comp are:

Age of Empires II

BattleField 2

Jedi Academy

these ones I am having more trouble getting rid of, not sure why exactly. Also of all the games I removed they have been uninstalled but looking for advice on what to do with them exactly, ( sorry i am really bad remembering names/handles) someone that had replied that they had had a similar problem with counterstrike and UO just curious did you just throw your games away after or give them away or what? kinda worried about giving them away, if i do would feel kind of guilty about giving someone soemthign to thicken the bondage you know? just curious and not sure about the 3 games i still have i just don't know what to do with those oens they dont seem so bad but not sure what to do.

Josh

thanks again, and the thigns i did do may not be exactly what your advice had said or maybe i am looking at it the wrong way but i kind of feel like its what i need to do.

[Trust & Obey]

Hi there,

well again thank you all for the advice also for whoever it was that asked I am 21.  i have been giving it quite a bit of thought lately, atm I have uninstalled quite a few games, many that I started removing I kind of notcied how bad they really are after looking at them.

atm only ones on my comp are:

Age of Empires II

BattleField 2

Jedi Academy

these ones I am having more trouble getting rid of, not sure why exactly. Also of all the games I removed they have been uninstalled but looking for advice on what to do with them exactly, ( sorry i am really bad remembering names/handles) someone that had replied that they had had a similar problem with counterstrike and UO just curious did you just throw your games away after or give them away or what? kinda worried about giving them away, if i do would feel kind of guilty about giving someone soemthign to thicken the bondage you know? just curious and not sure about the 3 games i still have i just don't know what to do with those oens they dont seem so bad but not sure what to do.

Josh

thanks again, and the thigns i did do may not be exactly what your advice had said or maybe i am looking at it the wrong way but i kind of feel like its what i need to do.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Menegroth, I just got rid of the games. No need to sell them and try and get a few bucks for them. Because, God provides all of our needs anyways. Once we realize that it takes a lot of the "I need to recover expenses" feeling.

Like in the Book of Acts where they burned their books of magic. So, too, did I throw mine away rather than sell them or give them away.

That's my opinion. But, you should seek the Lord on what to do.

God bless you for being honest enough with yourself to confront the issue.

[nebula]

that seems to be the difficulty atm, i love gods word but i can honestly say i get really bored reading it for the extra horus i have maybe thats wrong but i do. just not sure what to do really =/

Well, when I said reading, I meant reading other things.

There are Christian fiction books out there.

Here is a resource page for Christian sci-fi/fantasy books:

from christianbook.com

Some I've read and recommend are:

Monster by Frank Peretti (page 1) - he's the one who wrote This Present Darkness, also a good read

Shadowmancer (page 1)

its sequal Wormwood (page 6)

Arena (page 5)

The Singer Trilogy (page 7)

The Firebird Trilogy (page 10)

I haven't had the chance to read it yet, but another one I've heard rave reviews about is Oxygen - Click here

Hope this helps!

[Guest HugMePlease]

Okay, I might get flamed here, but I think Christians can play games, and without becoming a sinner, tempted or addicted.

If you are worried about gore and violence in games, there plenty of games which can entertain witout any gore, and very little violence.

Some games which avoid violence and gore are those of the Lucas Arts narratives from a few years back. Broken Sword 2 is my personal favourite. Alpha Centauri is another game which inspired me to learn a bit about science, taught strategy and, from a Christian perspective, is good too. There's actually a Christian Faction in it!!!

The three games you've retained for the time being:

AOE2, menegroth, is a brilliant game isn't it? I wouldn't call it evil or anything...it helps develop the mind, and teaches history at the same time. It's like chess, with history mixed in!

Battlefield 2, as odd as it sounds, could teach that war is an integral part of life, and will be for some time to come. War is occuring in several countries across the world right now. We can't hide from it.

Jedi Academy is a game where you can chose to be Good or Evil...just as in real life. It teaches how our choices define who we are.

A Christian Gaming Alliance:

http://www.cgalliance.org/index.php .

A Christian Gamers Ring:

http://e.webring.com/hub?ring=cgr .

Think of this:

Is it a sin to watch Star Trek?

I think most people would say no!

Soooooo, why would it be a sin to play a Star Trek game?

[Trust & Obey]

HugMePlease,

I don't think anybody was telling him he's sinning by playing video games. I know I never did.

Personally, I did feel that I was sinning... but, that is because I knew the Lord wanted me to be doing other things.

I believe God still wants His Church to fulfill the great commission. God saves us in order to use us while we're still here on earth.

Each Christian has to come to their own conclusion as to whether their video game playing is sinful in that it is wasting their time (Eph 5:16).

[menegroth]

I am not sure what God wants me to do exactly, which is why I have not played anythign since this past friday I know there were some where I felt I just really shouldn't be playing after some scripture refernces and such ( thank you for all those who posted i appreciate it very much) it helped me really get th full scope and confirm my concerns. My main thign atm is trying to find other things to occupy my time. and at the same time i do enjoy games i find strategy games to be a blast but nto a big fan of chess. I have just been prayign that God will show me what he wants me to do with the last few I have. If I feel he's saying ok, or whatever I will have to make sure I keep my priorities in line, as far as the wasting time thing, that's how I felt abotu EQ I didn't really play it anymore to progress I mostly played lower lvl chars because I enjoyed the old school game more. btu the time factor was my concern which is why I stopped playign and starting searchign thgins out. then I found out about other thigns etc which is the topic of this thread. which you all have been very helpful in. and of corse if I feel God has led me to stop it as a whole, well I am already on the right path to stopping so will be an interesting ride I am sure,one door closes another opens =D so I am excited.

thanks again!

Josh

[Guest Mr.E]

It amuses me when people say playing videogames is "A waste of time" yet they will sit and watch a sporting event for 3 hours and not even think twice. Upon analyzing our lives, most of us find that we do, indeed, waste a tremendous amount of time. I dont think there is anything wrong with watching a ball game, playing a video game, etc, as long as it is NOT EVEN CLOSE in terms of ammount of time spent with God. I am going through a HUGE change in this area right now.

You see, I'm a chess player. Anyone who has ever been serious about chess and chess improvement will know what i'm talking about when i say, it takes some serious time. I've spent countless (not a figure of speach) hours since i was about 13 (i'm 19 now) on chess, studying, playing, watching, listening, etc etc. But now i feel that God wants me to cut WAY back, i've even thought about quitting. Is there anything wrong with chess? Of course not, but i've got to put God first in everything.

You gotta do what you feel God wants for you. I've come to a point where i think i will almost quit chess soon, and spend the time reading God's Word, seeking Him, and other things.

[menegroth]

I agree we should put God first, the difficulty I was having as far as games was it was taking me away from Gods word and time I could spend with him, granted i was reading first but by playing its still time i could be spending with him. and it was nto just the time, for my case the bible totally condemns the situations that are contained in the games i was playing, as far as the sporting event thing, further up in the responses myself and another were talkign abotu ti as also not being a good option but rather to focus on the thigns of god rather than changing one bible reading deterrant for another.

Just my response to your reply, tho i do appreciate you replying and i am not trying to flame you by any means, just pointing out some of the conversation puieces you may have missed on peopels replies.

God Bless

Josh