God's Minute

[davej]

Hey everyone, back from my vacation and it was GREAT! Went by way too fast but was a lot of fun... Be strong and of good courage, do not fear nor be afraid of them; for the LORD your God, He is the One who goes with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you." ( Deuteronomy 31:6 *NKJV ) Those words were spoken by Moses to all the Children of Israel. The Prophet David also wrote, In God I have put my trust; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me? ( Psalm 56:11 ) Our Savior Jesus Christ said; "And lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." ( Matthew 28:20 ) The Apostle Paul wrote; For He Himself has said, "I will never leave you nor forsake you . So we may boldly say:" The LORD is my helper; I will not fear. What can man do to me?" ( Hebrews 13:5-6 ) Those words are as true today as when they were spoken by Jesus, Paul, David and Moses! For our Heavenly Father is always with us, helping, guiding and protecting us as we walk the pathway of this life. With help like that why be fearful of the future or anything else? Therefore as a child of God do not fear another person, place or thing! After all what is fear but the opposite of faith! So put all of your faith in God and you will be able to say; I sought the LORD, and He heard me, and delivered me from all my fears. Amen. ( Psalm 34:4 )

[DrunkenArse]

So aside from ignorance of the real world, this religion is all about needing an imaginary friend to hold your hand through life? Or am I missing something? It's bad advice really. You should fear some other people, some other places and some other things. Fear evolved for a reason, you know? You should probably fear a car coming at you. You should probably fear a lunatic with a gun and you should probably fear death valley. You should fear some things because they will hurt you or kill you. That's part of life. Or does the bible say otherwise?

[davej]

I know exactly where I am going when I die and no, i'm not afraid of death.

[DrunkenArse]

That's right! You're going to hell because you didn't worship Allah and pray to mecca 5 times a day. And it doesn't matter what sort of pain your family and friends go through after you die of course. You could just up and decide to die anytime you want to. I wonder if you should fear the pain along the way though. Do Christians not feel pain. Is that how you know its for real?

[Zhaylin]

I really like you Stoned, but why not leave this thread? It should be for people (Christian and otherwise) who just want to be built up in their beliefs even if they don't completely agree on certain points. Why not start a new thread for debates if you find something here that seems questionable (or laughable) to you? Great Scriptures, Dave. Though I'm one of Jehovah's Witnesses and we don't agree on certain fine points, I'd like to contribute some thoughts here. We have a publication called "Examining the Scriptures Daily". Here is what is says for today: "Child, your sins are forgiven.- Mark 2:5. Jesus' attitude toward people attracted them to his message. For instance, his love and humility drew lowly ones to him. He expressed compassion for those who came to him and comforted them with kind words, healing many physically. (Mark 2:1-12) We can be successful evangelizers if we cultivate and display the qualities manifested by Jesus. How fitting it is, then, that we imitate Christ as zealous evangelizers! When some became Jesus' disciples in the first century, Peter asked: "What actually will there be for us?" Jesus replied: "Everyone that has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or lands for the sake of my name will receive many times more and will inherit everlasting life." (Matt. 19:27-29) That is certain to be our experience if we continue to imitate the greatest Missionary, Jesus Christ. [reference: w08 2/15 4:15, 17, 18]

[DrunkenArse]

I really like you Stoned, but why not leave this thread? It should be for people (Christian and otherwise) who just want to be built up in their beliefs even if they don't completely agree on certain points. Why not start a new thread for debates if you find something here that seems questionable (or laughable) to you? I really like you to Zhaylin but I have to say that I find it not just questionable or indeed even laughable but downright dangerous to subjugate one's capability for rational thought to 'belief'. I recognize that this is for people that want to be 'built up in their belief' and I think that that's dangerous. As I've said elsewhere, I think that creationism is ignorant and that the whole group of fundamentalist beliefs that come with it are bigoted, misogynist, hateful, dishonest, and on the whole, lacking in anything that anybody with recognizable spiritual wisdom would recognize as such. I'm sorry I'm talking shit about your beliefs but it is what it is. From my perspective, I'm not talking shit about you but about a mind virus that has taken you over. Consider this to be like going door to door and trying to save people. I sometimes do get aggravated with people for allowing it to happen to them though. Faith in anything beyond yourself and those that you share your life with should be broken down, not built up. It should be replaced with knowledge where that is possible and with honest uncertainty when it is not. Faith based religion makes people to stupid (and sometimes malevolent and dangerous) things. Be a good person, love your neighbor, etc. Any god worth the name will reward you for that. God doesn't need its ass kissed.

[Idolfan]

I know exactly where I am going when I die and no, i'm not afraid of death. But it's alright for ME to go to hell! You won't be afraid because it won't be happening to YOU. YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU will be saved YOU will spend eternity with God YOU will do this YOU will do that

[davej]

HE WILL COMMAND HIS ANGELS CONCERNING YOU TO GUARD YOU IN ALL YOUR WAYS. ( PSALM 91:10 *NIV ) You may take comfort in knowing that God is always watching over us. He even sends us a guardian angel when we need one! For there are many examples of this written in the Scriptures. ( 1 KINGS 19:5; DANIEL 6:22; MATTHEW 18:10; LUKE 16:22 & ACTS 12:7 ) After all it is also written of angels: THEY WILL LIFT YOU UP IN THEIR HANDS, SO THAT YOU WILL NOT STRIKE YOUR FOOT AGAINST A STONE. For; ARE NOT ALL ANGELS MINISTERING SPIRITS SENT TO SERVE THOSE WHO WILL INHERIT SALVATION? ( PSALM 91:12 ) & ( HEBREWS 1:14 ) Therefore, HE WHO DWELLS IN THE SHELTER OF THE MOST HIGH WILL REST IN THE SHADOW OF THE ALMIGHTY. And; "BECAUSE HE LOVES ME," SAYS THE LORD, "I WILL RESCUE HIM; I WILL PROTECT HIM, FOR HE ACKNOWLEDGES MY NAME. HE WILL CALL UPON ME, AND I WILL ANSWER HIM; I WILL BE WITH HIM IN TROUBLE, I WILL DELIVER HIM AND HONOR HIM. ( PSALM 91:1 ) & ( PSALM 91:14-15 ) Again, take comfort in knowing that our Heavenly Father is always watching over us, and ready to send us help when ever we need it! Therefore: BLESSED BE THE LORD GOD OF ISRAEL FROM EVERLASTING TO EVERLASTING! AND LET ALL THE PEOPLE SAY, "AMEN!" ( PSALM 106:48 )

[davej]

The Lord will give strength to His people; The Lord will bless His people with peace. ( Psalms 29:11 *NKJV ) Now in this World today it is hard for most people to find any peace! Confusion abounds no matter where we go. We were warned about this by our Savior Jesus Christ, for He said, "These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world." ( John 16:33 ) After All; God is not the author of confusion but of peace, as in all the churches of the saints. ( 1 Corinthians 14:33 ) Therefore, when you find yourself troubled always look to Jesus Christ, For He Himself is our peace, (Ephesians 2:14) A loving caring peace that we become filled with on our spiritual journey. Plus that is only one of the blessings we receive on that journey, for it is also written; The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. ( Galatians 5:22-23 ) So my friend, it is my prayer that; The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your heart and mind through Christ Jesus. ( Philippians 4:7 ) now and always! Amen.

[Universal Mind]

Dave, why do you ignore my issue? You seem like you want to preach, so why not help me out with what I am wondering? I am bringing up an honest issue, and if you have a good answer, it could clear up a whole lot for me. Ignoring it is not very polite or helpful of you.

[Tyler]

UM, do you think maybe you could take it up with him in PM? It does seem kind of rude, Dave posted this thread with the intention of discussing scripture with fellow christians. Not for people to challenge him.

[grasshoppa]

No, everyone wants to see this.

[DrunkenArse]

I wanna see it. If the christians want to brainwash each other, they can do it through PM.

[davej]

And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God." -- Ephesians 3:19 The passage before us is a treasure chest of truth. Paul contrasts the spiritual knowledge of the believer ("to know"), with human knowledge ("passeth knowledge"). We are living in a time when a high premium has been placed on intellectualism. Technology is advancing so rapidly that a product is barely to the marketplace before it is obsolete. Human knowledge has progressed to the point where man has now created small micro chips, the size of a pencil eraser, that can store volumes of information. While man glories in his accomplishments in the area of high tech, God is still the infinite One in knowledge overall. I read recently that if man were to build a computer capable of performing the functions of the human brain (memory, reasoning, thinking, functional control, etc.) it would have to be the size of the Empire State Building. How would you like to carry that around on your shoulders? While human knowledge has benefited us all in areas of medicine, science, and travel, man through human wisdom can never know God nor understand the things of God (I Cor. 1:20,21). Those who are saved, however, have at their disposal a spiritual knowledge that far surpasses human knowledge. Having the eyes of our spiritual understanding opened, we are now able to comprehend the Word of God. It is from God's Word that we first learned of the love of Christ. It was Christ's love for us that sent Him to Calvary to die for our sins, to redeem us back to God (Rom. 5:. His love also keeps us secure, for as the Apostle says, "Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?" (Rom. 8:35). The love of Christ constrains us or motivates us to serve Him. We can never repay what he has done for us, but out of gratitude for what He has accomplished for us we should desire to live for Him (II Cor. 5:14,15). With this knowledge of the love of Christ we can enjoy the fullness of God.

[davej]

Dave, why do you ignore my issue? You seem like you want to preach, so why not help me out with what I am wondering? I am bringing up an honest issue, and if you have a good answer, it could clear up a whole lot for me. Ignoring it is not very polite or helpful of you. For a very simple reason... I am not going to fall into your little trap. whatever I answer you will find some way to debate it or say some kind of disrespecting remark and I am not even going there so save your energy.

[davej]

And besides, when you have everything you want, you need for nothing and you have all the love in the world from God, a wife, family and friends, what's the point of being a billionaire. I would rather be who I am right now then a billionaire. Even though i am understanding what you mean, you have got to see where I am comeing from as well. So imagining I am a billionaire does nothing for me lol

[grasshoppa]

They say the born again phase lasts about 5 years...Then you go back to being the asshole you were before.

[Bonsay]

And besides, when you have everything you want, you need for nothing and you have all the love in the world from God, a wife, family and friends, what's the point of being a billionaire. I would rather be who I am right now then a billionaire. Even though i am understanding what you mean, you have got to see where I am comeing from as well. So imagining I am a billionaire does nothing for me lol If you're saying that you can't choose belief, do you then admit we non-blievers have been predetermined to burn by whoever made our brains incapable of believing such things (in this case religions)?

[Universal Mind]

For a very simple reason... I am not going to fall into your little trap. whatever I answer you will find some way to debate it or say some kind of disrespecting remark and I am not even going there so save your energy. Trap? No, I genuinely wanted to know how you explain what I discussed. The only people who have ever even responded to the issue from your perspective have been trolls acting silly. I gave you a chance to be the first to explain things for real. It is unfortunate that you refuse to discuss the topics you yourself bring up. I think I have been pretty respectful to you aside from my comments about your evasiveness, but you have been pretty damn rude. UM, do you think maybe you could take it up with him in PM? It does seem kind of rude, Dave posted this thread with the intention of discussing scripture with fellow christians. Not for people to challenge him. This is a discussion forum, not a magazine.

[Tyler]

This is a discussion forum, not a magazine. True. But on a discussion forum, you are supposed to discuss the topic which the thread is about. This thread happens to be about scripture, not about why Dave thinks that belief is a choice.

[davej]

How just are the judgments of God! In Rom. 2:16 St. Paul says: "God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ according to my gospel." Notice carefully what this involves: 1. He will judge "the secrets of men." In human courts there are often miscarriages of justice because all the facts are not brought to light. But at the "Great White Throne" there will be a Judge with "eyes... as a flame of fire" (Rev. 19:12), before whom no secret can remain hidden. (See also Heb. 4:13). 2. He will judge the secrets of men "by Jesus Christ." Not the Father, but the Son will preside at the judgment of the unsaved. John 5:22 declares that "the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son" and Verse 27 adds that the Father has given the Son this authority "because He is the Son of man." This insures just judgment, for, men will be judged in that day by the One who loved them enough to become a man that He might understand and help men, and even die for their sins. 3. He will judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ "according to my gospel," says Paul. How eminently fair and just this is. If He judged men according to the law of Moses no one ever would be saved, for all of us have broken the Law. Moreover the children of fallen Adam, because of their depraved nature, cannot consistently keep the Law. Thus they will not be judged on the basis of that which they were unable to live up to. This is why He will judge men according to the good news proclaimed by Paul, which is the great truth that salvation is denied to no one who takes God at His Word and approaches Him in His way. His way for today? "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved." "To him that worketh not, but believeth on Him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness" (Rom. 4:5).

[Zhaylin]

How true UM lol It would deffinately take a miracle of greatest proportions before I ever saw that kind of money Dave, I especially liked the first post about technology and God's wisdom. We have a book on Evolution (discusses the pros and cons of the belief and compares it with what the Bible says). I can't remember the exacts but it stated that the brain of man, in a perfect state, could store over a billion books. Grrr... I wish I recalled exactly what it said lol. It might not have been a billion but it was a LOT and it impressed me a great deal. It's also intriguing how science looks to creation when inventing things (the feet of the gecko, the wings of birds etc). Such "simple" things are actually so complex that it's hard to duplicate. Todays Daily Text: "We are perplexed, but not absolutely with no way out.- 2 Cor. 4:8 Again, sorry to copyright laws... there's just too much great info in this one to even try to paraphrase it. "God's Word, the Bible, helps us to cope with any situation we may face. It is "beneficial for teaching, for reproving, for setting things straight, for discipling in righteousness, that the man of God may be fully competent, completely equipped for every good work." (2 Tim. 3:16, 17) God's Word enables us to deal with life's distresses. It makes us "fully competent" and "completely equipped." The original language word rendered "completely equipped" literally means "having been fitted out." This word could have been used in ancient times of a boat that was fitted out with everything needed for a voyage or of a machine that was capable of performing whatever was expected of it. Similarly, Jehovah through his his Word provides us with all that we need to handle whatever may come our way. Accordingly, we can say, "If God permits it, I can take it, with God's help." [w08 3/15 3:16, 17]" I love the Scripture in Timothy. I have found it to be true time and time again. The key, though, is to APPLY what we learn. Which makes me think of another Scripture: Hmmm... this isn't the one I was thinking of, but boy does it apply. I opened the Bible to it: James 4:17 "Therefore, if one knows how to do what is right and yet does not do it, it is a sin for him." The one I was thinking of is: James 1:22-25 "However, become doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves with false reasoning. 23 For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, this one is like a man looking at his natural face in a mirror. 24 For he looks at himself, and off he goes and immediately forgets what sort of man he is. 25 But he who peers into the perfect law that belongs to freedom and who persists in [it], this [man], because he has become, not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, will be happy in his doing [it]."

[Dizko]

Hi guys. Good to see the flames still burning in R/S. UM - I would say that it is perhaps not the actual 'believing' which is the choice, but rather the choice rests with you to seek all you can. You could argue that you have done all the required seeking and that it would be Gods fault and you're gonna stick with the beliefs you have - but, as a smart chap once said; Ignorance is not a defense. That's like saying you didn't know about a law, and thus must be excused from the consequences of breaking it.

[davej]

It is written; A gossip betrays a confidence; so avoid a man who talks too much. ( Proverbs 20:19 *NIV ) Unfortunately, almost every Church has a gossip one must deal with. Sadly to say sometimes they even run new members off. They should remember that our Savior, Jesus Christ said, "Judge not, and you shall not be judged. Condemn not, and you shall not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. ( Luke 6:37 ) Therefore today's message is about the way a new Church member handled the Church gossip. This is a little story I heard about how one church goer handled gossip and I hope it will make you laugh as it did me. Sarah, the Church gossip and self-appointed arbiter of the Church's morals, kept sticking her nose into other people's business. Now several members were unappreciative of her activities, but feared her enough to maintain their silence. She made a mistake, however, when she accused George, a new member of being an alcoholic, after she saw his pickup parked in front of the town's only bar one afternoon. She commented to George and others that everyone seeing it there would know what he was doing. However, George, a man of few words, stared at her for a moment and just walked away. He didn't explain, defend or deny--he said nothing. However, how fitting it was that later that evening, George quietly parked his pickup in front of Sarah's house and left it there all night.......

[Zhaylin]

roflol! That story was inspirational AND hilarious