Ask Me Anything About Christianity

[Dan Knight]

12 minutes ago, DeighAnn said:

We have to remember who Satan was.  God created him the full pattern.  He was a protector of the Mercy seat.  He was in charge of many kingdoms in Heaven.  God trusted Him.  (maybe God knew one day He would go bad, maybe He made promises to Himself that He wouldn't let Himself see the future, IDK, but you know He loved him)

The biggest betrayals come from those we love most.

This post is copy post:

No, God does not love Satan, and neither should we. God cannot love that which is evil and unholy, and Satan embodies all of that. He is the enemy (1 Peter 5:8); the evil one (Matthew 6:13); the father of lies and a murderer (John 8:44); the accuser of God’s people (Revelation 12:10); the tempter (1 Thessalonians 3:5); proud, wicked and violent (Isaiah 14:12-15); a deceiver (Acts 13:10); a schemer (Ephesians 6:11); a thief (Luke 8:12); and many more evil things. He is, in fact, everything that God hates. The heart of Satan is fixed and confirmed in his hatred of God, his judgment is final, and his destruction is sure. Revelation 20 describes God’s future plan for Satan, and love for Satan has no part in it.

[Dan Knight]

2 minutes ago, DeighAnn said:

Aren't all people who have evil come against them 'innocent'?  If the evil don't do evil things to innocent people then how is God supposed to Judge them to the lake of fire?  

 

2 Thessalonians 1:5 Which is a manifest token of the righteous judgment of God, that ye may be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which ye also suffer:

2 Thessalonians 1:6 Seeing it is a righteous thing with God to recompense tribulation to them that trouble you;

I will make this my last post on the subject as I don't want to upset anyone with my views on this.  Hopefully I haven't already done so.  God bless

No offense here.

The story of Job not about evil coming against him. It's about the evil with in him. Self righteousness. Does not say evil put it in him. It was in him prior to God allowing Satan to go after him.

And thank you for respones.

[com7fy8]

8 hours ago, kwikphilly said:

Thanks for sharing....

I think the real beauty of the Scriptures in the Wonderful Way it is Written is that there can be many personal applications taken from it.... As many people as you ask you can just see the Living Word at work- yesterday,today & forevermore?

Personally,I do believe Satan's messengers were Paul's persecutors but more importantly (to me) was God's Answer to why He Would not Deliver Paul from this " thorn"

I was diagnosed " terminal" 10yrs ago,I cannot begin to describe the daily pain I suffered for quite some time- I asked the pain be taken away but yet I knew I would be Delivered of the disease and all I could SEE with the Eyes of my heart was " My Grace is Sufficient"..... That was enough to keep me ABLE to bear it.....Christs Strength in me.... And here I am❤️

Thank You, God  ! ! !

And, yes Kwik Philly, I find that God's word is creative with each person.

Edited September 22, 2022 by com7fy8

[com7fy8]

8 hours ago, Starise said:

 

In this case, if the messenger of Satan is a being who is charged with oppressing Paul, it seems we can't win. We pray for God to keep us away from evil and He sends it. Why can't He send the good angels instead?

I think Paul means that the messenger could effectively mess with Paul, but only while Paul might act in the weakness of his own ego.

But grace could keep him from evil . . . within himself, by making Him strong in Jesus "and in the power of His might." (in Ephesians 6:10)

Evil can be around us, but love can keep evil's fear from getting the better of us > 1 John 4:18.

But yes there was Alexander.

Edited September 22, 2022 by com7fy8

[ayin jade]

48 minutes ago, DeighAnn said:

We have to remember who Satan was.  God created him the full pattern.  He was a protector of the Mercy seat.  He was in charge of many kingdoms in Heaven.  God trusted Him.  (maybe God knew one day He would go bad, maybe He made promises to Himself that He wouldn't let Himself see the future, IDK, but you know He loved him)

The biggest betrayals come from those we love most.

What is the scripture please for this:

He was a protector of the Mercy seat.  He was in charge of many kingdoms in Heaven. 

[DeighAnn]

4 minutes ago, ayin jade said:

What is the scripture please for this:

He was a protector of the Mercy seat.  He was in charge of many kingdoms in Heaven. 

Ezekiel 28:12 Son of man, take up a lamentation upon the king of Tyrus, and say unto him, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Thou sealest up the sum, full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty.

Ezekiel 28:13 Thou hast been in Eden the garden of God; every precious stone was thy covering, the sardius, topaz, and the diamond, the beryl, the onyx, and the jasper, the sapphire, the emerald, and the carbuncle, and gold: the workmanship of thy tabrets and of thy pipes was prepared in thee in the day that thou wast created.

Ezekiel 28:14 Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth; and I have set thee so: thou wast upon the holy mountain of God; thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire.

Ezekiel 28:15 Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee.

Ezekiel 28:16 By the multitude of thy merchandise they have filled the midst of thee with violence, and thou hast sinned: therefore I will cast thee as profane out of the mountain of God: and I will destroy thee, O covering cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire.

Ezekiel 28:17 Thine heart was lifted up because of thy beauty, thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy brightness: I will cast thee to the ground, I will lay thee before kings, that they may behold thee.

Ezekiel 28:18 Thou hast defiled thy sanctuaries by the multitude of thine iniquities, by the iniquity of thy traffick; therefore will I bring forth a fire from the midst of thee, it shall devour thee, and I will bring thee to ashes upon the earth in the sight of all them that behold thee.

Ezekiel 28:19 All they that know thee among the people shall be astonished at thee: thou shalt be a terror, and never shalt thou be any more.


Revelation 12:3 And there appeared another wonder in heaven; and behold a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his head

 

[Selah7]

My thoughts - -

The book of Job, imo, is a lesson and a great example for Christians living today.  Job is a “type”of the elect/saints, and it’s especially applicable for us in these end times.  When Satan appears at the 6th trump, his deception will be so strong that almost the entire world will be deceived by him. We have a great advantage over Job because we have the Bible (God's Word) that Job didn’t have.  See, Christ had not yet walked and been crucified on the Cross when Job lived.  As Christians today, Jesus gives us power and authority over Satan.  Job did not have the Holy Spirit or the authority to tell Satan to get out of his life; however, Job knew well the God of Abraham. He loved God and God was proud of him, as we can read at the beginning of the book. And at the end, God repaid Job double for his faithfulness.  So we need to put ourselves in Job’s shoes when we read this great book of Job.  Selah 

Then the LORD said to Satan, "Have you considered My servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, one who fears God and shuns evil?"

- Job 1:8 

 

[Marathoner]

Like so many of us, the Lord bid me to read the book of Job.

After untreated Lyme disease and a host of comorbidities (such as starvation and secondary infection) ravaged this body and damaged my brain, I wanted nothing more than to die so my torment would come to an end. I suffered for two years --- it seemed like it would never end --- and the steady decline took its toll on my adopted mother. She was my dedicated caretaker, and what was happening gave her nightmares.

Because of this, I understand Job's lament all too well. For me, sickness and disease weren't the root of my suffering; it was how these stripped me of everything so that my mother, who suffered from osteoporosis and liver disease, had to manage everything on her own. It didn't take much to break the vertebrae in her spinal column; all she had to do was bend over to pick something up on the ground. While I was bedridden, my mother broke her back on six different occasions. But this didn't stop her. She endured agony every day while she watched me wasting away before her eyes. 

She was made of stern stuff. She endured a heart attack as well, which was discovered a week after it happened by her team of doctors in Albuquerque. 

This was my own lament: I had given my life to protect and serve her, and now that life was being taken away from her; the Lord had brought us together in such an impossible way, and now I was failing her when she needed me most. Ah, but I was blinded by grief, my friends. I could neither see, nor understand, why I was afflicted in such a way. I had forgotten the words of the Lord all those years ago.

I was gravely afflicted so that the Lord would display His power in me to the glory of God. This was for the sake of my mother who had lost faith in Him long ago, and also for the sake of those people in the nearby village who knew what had transpired in those mountains. The Lord raised me up before their eyes and returned me to my mother when all seemed lost. 

Like our ancestor in the faith before us, the Lord didn't merely restore what I had lost prior to that long decline toward the grave; He increased what was taken away tenfold. I cared for my mother during her own decline and stood by her side until the Lord took her. Her final years on earth were spent in peace surrounded by love.

His ways are not our ways, nor are His thoughts like our thoughts.  

Edited September 22, 2022 by Marathoner
typo

[Sower]

9 hours ago, kwikphilly said:

Can we talk about Job a little?

I always thought Job was a sold out righteous man of God. Our Lord commended him many many times. And had confidence in his integrity/righteousness to take whatever satan could put on him. A man of God, not a whiner or quitter. I personally could never have stood the onslaught of the devil satan that Job went through.

There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job; and that man was perfect and upright, and one that feared God, and eschewed evil.

this man was the greatest of all the people of the east.

he would rise early in the morning and offer burnt offerings according to the number of them all. For Job said, “It may be that my children have sinned, and cursed God in their hearts.” Thus Job did continually.

the LORD said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil.”

God let satan have a hey day upon Job, and Job lost it all...(except the... wife)

Then Job arose, and rent his mantle, and shaved his head, and fell down upon the ground, and worshiped,

And he said, “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return. The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD.”
 

In all this Job did not sin nor charge God with wrong.

But again God confronts satan,

“Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil. And he still maintains his integrity, though you incited me against him to ruin him without any reason.”

Then comes the mental/physical anguish, his friends arrive..yet

that it would please God to crush me, that he would let loose his hand and cut me off!

Then I would still have this consolation— my joy in unrelenting pain— that I had not denied the words of the Holy One.

But I don’t have the strength to endure. I have nothing to live for.

Appears Job has reached his end..

This below is a better explanation than I could give of how people back in his day thought about people suffering was a sign of sin, and doing righteousness was rewarded with no suffering but blessing as proof.

Quote:
In the following passage in Job 42:3-6, we read Job saying “I abhor myself, and repent …”. To repent, you must first sin. So what was Job’s sin? Let’s first read the passage together:

The Passage

“Who is he that hideth counsel without knowledge? therefore have I uttered that I understood not; things too wonderful for me, which I knew not.

Hear, I beseech thee, and I will speak: I will demand of thee, and declare thou unto me. I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear: but now mine eye seeth thee.

Wherefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes.” Job 42:3-6.

The Lesson

The most important lesson of the book of Job is found in this passage. In these verses, Job reveals the transition from a religious experience shaped by tradition to an experience based on personal understanding to God. According to the tradition in which Job had been reared, the righteous were not supposed to suffer. Job believed that God would deliver the righteous from all evil in this present life. And when Job met suffering, he was thrown into confusion, and this is where we see Job’s sin come to question.

Behind the Scenes

Job, unaware at the time of the ‘behind the scenes’ dialogue between God and Satan, thought all his problems were a result of God’s discipline. He had stated that he had lived righteously before God and was undeserving of God’s punishment, as if God was unjust in His treatment of him. He had pleaded for an opportunity to appear in court before God. When God finally speaks, He primarily tells of the awesome acts of creation, and His love and care for all that He has made. In doing so, He shows how little understanding Job has of the “bigger picture.” How could Job argue his case with the Creator when he has such limited knowledge?

Job should not have questioned God’s goodness, justice and wisdom. This self-realization led him to deep remorse and repentance from his mistaken attitude toward God. Questioning God was Job’s sin that he repented of.

Job’s experience taught him the meaning of faith. His vision of God enabled him to surrender to the divine will. His commitment to God is now unaffected by his circumstances. He no longer expects temporal blessings as an evidence of Heaven’s favor. He now fully trusts in God’s wisdom and dealings"

Based on the traditions of Job's time, I can understand his confusion, even to the point of taking his case to court. I know I have had periods when God has given me great victory over sin, and was feeling good in my walk with allowing God to direct my path. Then came suffering. I wanted to question God big time, but kept my mouth shut. I remember John 15,1

“I am the true vine, and My Father is the vine dresser" (Pruner).

I found out God cuts off/prunes all the unnecessary branch (me)that is 'fruitless', so the nutrients from the vine are not used to grow bigger branch(me), but are used to bear much fruit. Less me, more fruit.

This also tell me an important lesson. Everything we suffer, every thing we may think is chastisement or punishment for wrong doing may well be simply pruning, by the vine tender, the Father who loves us enough to be tough. Lost a job-then later got a better one, or no need of one. Lost a friend-then received a Godly friend etc. Look what Job received after his ordeal. I learned more about trust, not as great as Job for sure, but in my own life when problems or pain and suffering arrives. I may not understand suffering, I may not like it, But I can decide to trust that God has my best in store.              Lord be merciful.....

Neat post kwik!

 

 

[Jedi4Yahweh]

3 hours ago, Dan Knight said:

No offense here.

The story of Job not about evil coming against him. It's about the evil with in him. Self righteousness. Does not say evil put it in him. It was in him prior to God allowing Satan to go after him.

And thank you for respones.

That simply does not line up with what God said about Job. 

And the LORD said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that [there is] none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil? - Job 1:8 KJV

I don't know what your understand of self righteousness means.  God calls all to live righteously.  My understand of self righteous is someone who pretends to be righteous outwardly but in their personal and private life they are corrupt and evil.  This does not describe Job.

God said he was a perfect and upright man, one who fears God and shunned evil.

 

Edited September 22, 2022 by Jedi4Yahweh