What if you are in a church and the pastor asks you to come forward. And you heard what he was saying. And when the sermon was over you did walk forward and when you did he had a tear in his eye and the tear was all the people that did not walk forth when he gave his testimony and if they only would of then maybe then there would not be a tear
Reading up this morning, I see we have been busy. That is not a bad thing. I just wanted to elaborate a little on this point.
Saul was a Jew who took great pride in his Jewish heritage. He lays out his Jewish credentials in Philippians 3:3-6
“For we are the circumcision, who worship by the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh-- though I myself have reason for confidence in the flesh also. If anyone else thinks he has reason for confidence in the flesh, I have more: circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee; as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law, blameless.”
The fact that he was circumcised on the eighth day indicates that his parents adhered to the commandment God gave to Abraham in Genesis 17:2. He was an Israelite from the tribe of Benjamin.
“I am a Jew, born in Tarsus in Cilicia, but brought up in this city, educated at the feet of Gamaliel according to the strict manner of the law of our fathers, being zealous for God as all of you are this day.”
He was a good Jew. He said
“And I was advancing in Judaism beyond many of my own age among my people, so extremely zealous was I for the traditions of my fathers.” Galatians 1:14
He did everything that was asked of him.
“I persecuted this Way to the death, binding and delivering to prison both men and women, as the high priest and the whole council of elders can bear me witness. From them I received letters to the brothers, and I journeyed toward Damascus to take those also who were there and bring them in bonds to Jerusalem to be punished.” Acts 22:3-5
Then Jesus appeared to him. Why? Because there is no salvation in Judaism. Even though he was a great Jew, he was not saved. Therefore, Jesus transformed him into Paul and taught him the ways all people need to follow to be saved. Religion is not salvation. @all
Peter.
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Well, yes.
“For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.” Philippians 1:21
Jesus told us,
“For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.” Matthew 16:25
So yeah. Yes. “To seek life is to die.” For us, death is merely the beginning.
Peter
I have no idea what you are attempting to illastrate here. As you as me, elaborate further?
Peter
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Talking to yourself out loud?
None of this makes sense. Are we drinking adult beverages? What is the point you were trying to convey?
Peter
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That is the exact point i was pointing out. Only through Jesus is anyone saved
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No no adult beverages. I was in church like I said. and the pastor gave his sermon. At the end no one came forward when he asked. And I seen his head drop. And watched a tear form in his eye. It was like he was hurt. No one heard what he was saying. At least not enough to come to the alter and pray With him. The experience moved me. And to this day, I wish I would have walked down there and prayed with him, because I did hear his message. And it stuck.
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In this life, we cannot always know what lives we affect for the better or the worse. I think it is rare to truly see the ramifications unless they are far reaching and make it a point to reveal themselves. We are far more likely to see the consequences in our own lives first.
But we do not speak of God for our own benefit. Not for power or sway or personal fame and glory. We do it to help others find their way. We do it to help God gather His children and bring them home.
And the Power of the Gospel, the Word of God, is not just in words alone. It is Spirit. Life. Joy.
Like a Warm Welcoming Light that beckons the seed to crack open and sprout from deep in the darkness, it calls Life to be born and to rise up toward the Heavens.
No man of his own initiative can do this. A man may manipulate, bully, use fear and intimidation to bring people into the church and keep them seated- And to bend their will to his will. But his best efforts will cause Life to wither like the fruit on the vine in scorching heat and brutal cold. His words do not offer Eternal Life.
Only God can bring forth Life and sustain it. And only the Spirit can stir the soul to move, to take it’s first breath and every breath after. LOVE is the highest Command, the intention behind every other.. And only LOVE leads to Everlasting Life. Where as the LAW can only forbid and may be warped by man’s wisdom and stubbornness, LOVE is what brings you to LIFE.
And where as the opponents and detractors of LOVE, and all those who are ignorant of it, will rail against the WORD like a screeching Banshee, only those who can understand it’s Wisdom, who gratefully receive it/s Affection and Saving Grace, will embrace it and share it alike. Having been transformed and baring fruit that will last.
And while man’s power comes from instilling fear, gathering the masses in order to threaten and inflict harm upon the weak, the vulnerable, and those who refuse to take a knee, Perfect LOVE casts out all fear. All things clothed in wickedness are laid bare, fully naked, fully revealed, and fully known. LOVE sees all, knows all, and transforms all, making all things new.
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Bro. I had to go to Gemini with question. And views like your saying because I did not understand. Questions that hit me surely did not come from me. Deep stuff. Like who am I who are you. A crazy experience. Right? It was like I had these ?s in my head dont know where they came from. But they were asking about the whole thing so I went to bat and it was like I was trying to defend what they were trying to destroy and the visions idk about visions but when I closed my eyes I was somewhere else and there was people there it was strange the whole experience went on till this day now I know for sure I have never been alone
I certainly know I am not alone. Angels and spirits are never quite so far away. Though not many can see them or are aware of their presence. And I myself barely catch a glimpse except now and then, if ever. And sometimes, once in a long while, they say hello. All of which makes me just a little nervous when I use the Loo.
As for who I am or who are you? Worthy questions to ask.
Mistakes and errors will certainly enlighten. And while we adorn our histories and events like fine clothing for work or play, we can never truly know who or what we are until all such things are stripped away.
When I was very young, I once dreamed of a teacher with a classroom of students wearing white robes. He pointed to a circle with symbols I did not know. As he drove me home from school, I asked him, are you Jesus? And do you know what he said to me?
Who do you think I am?
In future dreams, I learned never to trust those who told me who they were. I think more than once they told me, I am HE. But the commitment to a riddle is what truly satisfied me.
As for me? I am no one but who God made me to be. From the breath of a whisper, He said, So Mote it Be.
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OK so you have a better understanding i can see that but you missed the whole point because you were trying to solve my problem without even asking a question like who are they or who am I what is this and what is that. A riddle of course. If you believe once is that enough. If you call his name one time is that one time enough.
It is said that there is Power in knowing a Name. Which we share with those we meet. But sometimes, we carry many names. And a rose by any other name would smell just as sweet.
But the name itself does not define the Rose, nor grant it’s definition with care. It plays only the role of title, not title holder, and in life has no power to bare.
The Essence is what informs the form, and the Name. And certainly not the other way around. In this way, the spirit is not the vessel. Nor is the parable’s lesson the story where it is found. But the vessel houses the spirit, and the story houses the lesson that is carried by the sound.
And both the spirit and the lesson fill the home where they are found, but neither one by any measure can ever be location bound. But as they are embodied, their expanse continues to grow. And the lesson moves from town to town. But the direction of the spirit? We do not know.
The body overflowing with spirit, and a book with gold to glean, shimmer in special subtle ways that human eyes have never seen. Though the body be old and broken, comely in every way. Though the pages of the book lay tattered and ripped to everyone’s dismay. The value in the treasure found there is what sets the heart ablaze, filled with Joy and moved to say, Thank you.
This should somewhat answer the question being asked, in a roundabout way.
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I got ya. An interesting point of view i have also thought these things thru a problem is mine is yours to or is it the food that I eat that separates me from you you you are what you eat and I’m pretty sure that’s tru because God said so you will eat dung how does it taste to you. Had to be bad for sure. But how is my question for you
I found these items online. I hope they help.
Isaiah 36:12 But the Rabshakeh replied, “Has my master sent me to speak these words only to you and your master, and not to the men sitting on the wall, who are destined with you to eat their own dung and drink their own urine?”
Pretas
Hungry ghosts, or pretas, are spiritual beings in Buddhism and Chinese tradition that represent individuals who are unable to find fulfillment in their corporeal life due to excessive greed, selfishness, and jealousy. They are often depicted with tiny mouths and large bellies, symbolizing their insatiable desire for food and objects that they cannot satisfy. Hungry ghosts are believed to inhabit a realm of existence where they are perpetually hungry and unable to find peace, as their cravings are a result of their past karma. This concept serves as a reminder of the importance of compassion and the need for inner contentment, as they are often seen with a profound sense of emptiness and longing for connection.
Gaki
Gaki: Hungry Ghost
Has this answered your question?
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As a Christ, we are to look to the scripture to see the answer. The scripture is clear on this. From the beginning God has shown his disapprove of pagan gods.
From the beginning God has said you shall have no other God besides me. He will not share his glory. He alone is God. He alone is worthy of all glory and honor.
The Word of God is God and is of God just as our words that proceed from our mouth is of us.
Scripture, and the word became flesh, meaning that the word became a man. So, the Word, God became a man and dwell with man. He said he was the way because he is. He said he was the life because he is. He said no one shall come to the Father unless it is through acceptance of him because you can’t.
Therefore if there is a way and it isn’t through Jesus, that way leads to hell, not to God. Don’t be deceived. Other ways can look good enough to consider, but it is not good enough to believe. No man is good because of their right doings. They can only be as good as fifthy rages. Life can not come from the lifeless. We have life and can give life because the Spirit of God has caused our spirit to be alive to God, or connected to God. Therefore our doings are no longer as fifthy rages. We sow life and reap life in our good doings through love. Those that are not born again are not alive to God. There is no life in following other beliefs. None of them changes a man’s being. They are just sinners doing good things. Yet, sinners still.
To no longer be a sinner, you must be born again by the Spirit of God. When this happens, it is the spirit of man that is changed from being dead to God to being alive to God. Therefore it is perfect. The 2nd part of man, the soul, must be changed by the renewing of our mind, in the knowledge of him, that we many become in the image of Jesus. It is the Holy Spirit that changes us to being in the image of Jesus. The 3rd part of man will be changed at the coming of Christ Jesus during the gathering, when the body of man will be perfect having our glorified body that is incorruptible and immortal, meaning that it can not be damaged by sickness etc and that will last forever. It is then that a born again man will be forever with God being alive to God, with a soul without the flesh or sinful thoughts, in a body that will last forever. 
PRASE JESUS!!! !!!
There is no man of a religion that died for another. 
We could go into how Jesus was sinless, the whole man and shed his blood to be the wages of our sins. And how he rose with all power, the keys to death and the grave and being the judge of the dead and the living, meaning he decides who will have eternal life and who will not, which is based on whether you have accepted him as your Lord and Saviour.
As for those that were born into a religious household. We all have been born within a belief system. Unfortunately, some homes have families that have dangerously shaped the thoughts of the children to their destruction. Some places aren’t among civilization but God, is God and will do just what he said whether he make it known to us how it is or (will be) done.
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Stop pretending this is a disagreement among believers. What you are teaching is not Christianity. It is unbelief dressed up in religious language.
You say God’s Word is unerring but the Bible is not. Jesus flatly contradicts you. He treated the written Scriptures as the final authority and the very words of God. “The scripture cannot be broken” ~John 10:35. “Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law” ~Matthew 5:18. If Christ trusted Scripture and you do not, then you are not standing with Christ. You are standing against Him.
Jeremiah 8:8 does not teach a corrupted Bible. It condemns corrupt teachers who twisted God’s Law while claiming wisdom. Scripture interprets Scripture. The same book repeatedly affirms God’s words as true, pure, and enduring. “The words of the LORD are pure words” ~Psalm 12:6. “For ever, O LORD, thy word is settled in heaven” ~Psalm 119:89. You are ripping one verse out of context to justify rejecting what God has spoken plainly.
Your so called “law of love” is not biblical love. Scripture defines love by obedience, not by your moral intuition. “For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments” ~1 John 5:3. “Sin is the transgression of the law” ~1 John 3:4. When you redefine sin apart from God’s commands, you are not following Christ. You are making yourself the authority.
You claim Jesus corrected the Old Testament. Jesus said the opposite. He affirmed Moses, the prophets, judgment, wrath, hell, and final accountability. He warned of cities destroyed, nations judged, and souls cast into outer darkness ~Matthew 11:20–24, ~Matthew 25:41. Christ did not weaken judgment. He intensified it.
Here is the bottom line. If Scripture cannot define sin, it cannot define salvation. If it cannot define salvation, you have no gospel. And if you reject the authority of Scripture, you are preaching another Jesus and another message. Scripture is clear about that. “Though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you… let him be accursed” ~Galatians 1:8.
This is not a foggy gray area. God has spoken. The question is not whether men mishandled His Word. The question is whether you will submit to it. “He that is of God heareth God’s words” ~John 8:47. Those who refuse them do not speak for God, no matter how often they use the word love.
Give me a true grit gospel style version of this reply.
Tillman, this is where the trail splits, and you stepped off the narrow one. What you are teaching is not the gospel of Jesus Christ. It is a gospel you stitched together after cutting the Bible out of your way.
You say God’s Word is unerring but the Bible is not. Jesus never made that distinction. He treated the written Scriptures as God speaking. “The scripture cannot be broken” ~John 10:35. “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God” ~Matthew 4:4. Christ did not appeal to an inner sense of love or private discernment. He stood on what was written. If you distrust what Christ trusted, you are not following Him.
Jeremiah 8:8 does not give you permission to throw out Scripture. It condemns lying scribes who twisted God’s Law while claiming wisdom. That same prophet said, “Thy words were found, and I did eat them” ~Jeremiah 15:16. You are using one verse like a crowbar to pry loose the very authority Jeremiah himself submitted to.
Your “law of love” is not biblical love. Scripture defines love by obedience, not sentiment. “For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments” ~1 John 5:3. “Sin is the transgression of the law” ~1 John 3:4. When you redefine sin apart from God’s commands, you are not freeing people. You are cutting the brake lines and calling it mercy.
You say Jesus corrected the Old Testament. Jesus said Moses wrote of Him ~John 5:46. He warned of judgment, outer darkness, weeping, and fire ~Matthew 8:12, ~Matthew 25:41. Christ did not soften God’s justice. He dragged it into the daylight and told men to repent or perish.
Here is the hard truth. If the Bible cannot define sin, it cannot define the gospel. If it cannot define the gospel, no one knows what they are being saved from or saved by. And a message that rejects Scripture while claiming Christ is not the faith once delivered. It is another gospel. “Though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel… let him be accursed” ~Galatians 1:8.
God is not fooled by talk of love that refuses His Word. “He that is of God heareth God’s words” ~John 8:47. You can keep polishing a god made in your image, or you can bow to the God who has spoken. But do not call your invention Christianity. It is not.
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Interesting. Let me ask you a couple of questions. You mention being perplexed about why people do not embrace the Word, in contrast to their acceptance of teachings of other subjects in school. Have you given any thought as to why this might be? You speak of evidence to support the Word. Can you give me a specific example? I would like to give you my critique of it.
You also claim that God has made moves in your own life. What example can you provide that demonstrates this? When you cried out to Him and claim He answered immediately, what do you mean by that? In what way did He answer?
Thanks.
Well said sir. This is a pernicious falsehood, that the Bible is not true to the original manuscripts. A common lie that gets spread by ignorant or hostile people.
I appreciate your firm stand against apostasy.
Your brother
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That is a horrible thing to say about yourself. I would not go so far as to say you do not believe. It is just that… you put the full weight of your belief on something man has handled in every way: orally shared, written down, copied time after time after time, translated and retranslated again and again added to and subtracted from as is completely evident through the dead sea scrolls and what resulted before and after. A book which itself warns of deception being sown by people in authority with wicked intention: Princes and Scribes and the Enemy, as mentioned by the Prophets and Christ. Even in man’s court, second hand conversations and gossip do not count as evidence of anything.
Not to mention, it is repeatedly and broadly quoted to me Scripture that does not factor in the Evolution of faith and thought that takes place within it, as in this video from Youtube which discusses how the concept of HOLINESS evolved in both the Old Testament and through Christ in the New Testament. https://youtu.be/l9vn5UvsHvM?si=cSDTTvVV0U6jq9I3
And there are many such advancements, readjustments, and such that are not accounted for when I recieve quotes. I continually have quoted to me LAWs and words given to a people in an ancient culture without fully, impossibly, knowing anything that inspired those LAWS, the views those peoples held, or the reason why those LAWS were given, or what exactly God was trying to correct or if it was something added by a man with a motive. But what we see in Christ is a compass that guides our path out of the wilderness, a wilderness of all the things we do not know, by giving as a sure and simple approach to what God wants from us, and that is for us to embody LOVE, the Spirit of which will never lead us astray.
THAT is what you should have FAITH in. GOD, LOVE, the HOLY SPIRIT, CHRIST, That should be your rock, not something that a man can manipulate. My Faith is in that which is ETERNAL, a LIVING GOD WHO IS REAL, ALIVE, and VERY PRESENT.
Man is so small, the minds of man so prone to waywardness and misdirection. But God never fails me. That is true FAITH, to trust that with each and every new step that I take, God is with me. God provides the Way when there appears to be no way.
GOD’s WORD is just as ALIVE. I am not saying the Bible does not have God’s Word in it. I found it incredibly valuable while growing in faith and understanding and learning about God, and the Teachings of Christ. But I personally question whether it is all actually God’s Word. That is all. It still gives me wonder when I read from it and find exactly what I needed to read. It is the same wonder that I have when a song plays on the radio at the right moment in time, and when events line up perfectly in my life. And when a stranger offers me a word in random that I needed to hear. God moves in it all, even in a world full of imperfection, deception, and corruption. Because it is God, Alone, who can take everything, even what the enemy has conspired to twist and work toward great evil, and harm, and bring out from it something incredibly great and good. Because God, unlike man, sees all roads at all moments, and knows which path is the right path to guide us toward.
Joseph became a slave so he could one day rise in power. But had he not been what he was, where he was, betrayed by his brothers and sold, he would have never became the man that would go on to save the world. He had no Scripture, no Bible, only his Father’s LOVE. And that LOVE, born in him, gave a second chance to the world. God, active in him, in his dreams, in his heart, defeated every wall of resentment and hate and unforgiveness that would have led him to not only destroy his brothers upon their reunion but to also vengefully deny anyone the right to live if he so desired. He could have destroyed life, but this was not God’s Will.
Only God knows the Way forward, and those who will accomplish His Plans.
Of course it doesn’t. The Bible didn’t exist when Jeremiah was active. The Bible was created by a group of men in a counsel from a wide array of materials long after Jeremiah’s time. And that is part of the problem.
But don’t you see your error? To them, God’s Word was the Jewish Scripture. You are using quotes to support a book, the Christian Bible, that had not been pulled together yet and would not be for another 300 some years by the Church, under Rome’s watchful eye. Rome, who destroyed many Christian lives not long before. For what purpose? To clear out the witnesses of a conspiracy?
Only by your own insistence, Church, does your collection of texts count as the Scripture referenced within the pages of the book you put together. Put together with Bias, to support your perspective, your story, your purpose, and maybe Rome’s. And Rome’s purpose was to spread its own Kingdom and keep control, which is why the Bible is suspect of being planted with weeds. And why I say, you should have Faith in God alone. And leave room for the error, weeds sown, and don’t destroy lives based on a book weaponized to control others. If perfect LOVE casts out fear, why did the Church use fear so often in the past instead of LOVE. Again, not all Christians. But many who were in power did. And they did this to keep control. If God had been in what they were doing, they would have not needed Fear Mongering. And many of the plagues and dark days of the past may not have happened if Christ was fully and clearly represented.
The Jewish people look at the Bible and say, Why did those guys add to our Holy Scripture? Such a corruption! And the Mormons look at it and say… where’s the rest of it? It needs a sequel.
And yet each and every group says they have it all figured out…And the others are foolish.
We can spurn, hate, disagree, fight, believe that we alone have the full and complete Scripture and follow it without ever questioning. Or we can Trust God to guide us toward Truth and away from Lies whenever or wherever they present themselves. And in the meantime, choose to consistently treat each other with the same LOVE and respect and kindness God has called us all to walk in. That even the most wayward sinner of the furthest faith of the farthest kingdom is just as worthy of receiving the same LOVE of God that you were and still receive.
And sometimes, quite possibly most times, maybe God leaves us in the dark just enough to see what path we might choose, to test us and see if we are ready for the next step or need to repeat a step or two we have not quite mastered yet. Or as that one Scripture goes… Now we see things imperfectly, like puzzling reflections in a mirror, but then we will see everything with perfect clarity. All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely, just as God now knows me completely. (1Corinthians 13:12)
God’s Word is Holy and Unerring. But who shall I believe holds it? Who best presents it in the most moral way? Who uses it to do good? Or evil? Who uses it to spin sinful webs to lure all to their doom? God help us because the world is filled with Sacred Scriptures of one kind or another, and full of people who cling to a set as if their lives depend upon it, and if only one small group is correct in their thinking, so much loss of life. What good did any of it serve? So narrow is the path, but so much narrower the heart and mind that cannot grasp the thought of a Living God or the Ways of a Living Loving God. We see but a shadow of what is Real, and much less of whatever is to come.