The Anabaptist rejection of infant baptism and insistence of believer's baptism as the only valid baptism is a TRADITION that began in the 1600's in Europe following the Reformation movements of the 1500's. Who are those who believe like the Anabaptists to say that infant baptism is a tradition of men? I could say that about the anabaptist position since it was not held by believers for 1600 years and there are early church leaders such as Irenaeus, Tertullian, and Origen who speak of baptizing infants as being normative in the church since the apostles. I would think that these people who were close in time to the apostles and apostolic church teaching and practice would better know what was true of the church in those first centuries than anyone else who lived in the last 400 years. There are two traditions here, the one of 1600 years of practice in the church (infant baptism) and the one of 400 recent years of the anabaptists. If you are going to speak ill of traditions, in all fairness you should recognize that your own anabaptist belief is just as much a tradition as my belief in the validity of infant baptism. Both are inferred from Scripture as to whether or not infants were baptized in the first century church as there is NOT any Scripture that explicitly speaks to this practice pro or against.
I am offended when people play the "tradition" card when speaking of beliefs that date back to the early church as opposed to beliefs that have arisen in recent centuries. Both are traditions or doctrines of the faith and neither is wrong or should be denigrated simply because someone thinks that traditions and doctrines automatically reflect unbiblical teachings.
I do not intend to be quarrelsome with you in this matter but it does bother me when someone uses the "tradition card" to be dismissive about a viewpoint that has long been considered to be orthodox (right belief) views.
That said, I wish to end this conversation with you for the sake of peace.
My Lord JESUS said: All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth...and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the END of the world. Amen. Matthew 28:18...
1 Corinthians 15:24-27KJV
24 The END cometh, when he shall have delivered up the Kingdom to GOD, even the Father( Luke 20:35-36); when he shall have PUT DOWN all RULE and all AUTHORITY and POWER.
25 For he must reign, till he hath PUT ALL ENEMIES UNDER FEET.
26 The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.
GET READY
Peter Apostle warned: 2Peter 3:12-14
12 Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the Day of GOD (this Day arrived, the seventh and last Day or seventh and last millennium),
wherein the heavens( Ephesians 1:3-8-OT and NT) being on FIRE- Isaiah 20-21 AND 19- shall be DISSOLVED, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat?
13 Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness.
14 Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye look for such things, be diligent that ye may be found of Him in peace, without spot, and blameless.
Just to finish up my thought. If someone who was baptized as an infant grows up believing in Jesus and knows the truth about how they are saved through Him, as I was the case for me, do not need to be rebaptized, but can if they wish. Someone who was baptized as an infant who grew up in faith and departs from the faith, they may wish to be re-baptized when they return to the Lord. It isn't baptism that is the heart of the matter, but regeneration and confession of one's faith in Jesus as Savior that is most important. How God brings that about in each person may differ in areas of: age at which one consciously believes the gospel, church practices chosen by one's parents when one was an infant or a child, etc,
I am glad I was baptized as an infant by parents who believed that God does work in and through baptism of their children, because whatever is not of faith is not valid. God honors the concern for their childrens' salvation and intention to bring them up in the faith. The Holy Spirit works in the lives of children baptized young to keep them growing in faith He provides.
Salvation is all of God and not of man, so we should have peace about the means of baptism, trusting God loves all He draws to Him whether from infancy and chlldhood or later as teens or adults. We can acknowledge that God is working out His will in the lives of such and know that He continues His work of shaping believers over time.
Heavenly Father, we come before You today in the name of Your Son, Jesus our Lord asking for healing and peace for Christina. Lift up her spirit and heal her mind from the unhealthy thoughts of depression. Take back what the devil has stolen from Christina that she may be joyful in You and hope in You. Lead her in the reading of Your Word that she may be encouraged and be filled with praise for You. Prevent Christina from slipping deeper into depression but instead bring her out of it. We ask this of You, Father, because You are near to the faint of heart and those broken in their spirit. Amen.
Giannis, so good to hear from you and thanks you so much for the prayers for my family.
Hope to see you back participating in conversations here soon according to the Lord's timing, of course. You are missed here, but hopefully your time away is filled with more and more of God's truth in Scriptures and more and more filled with the Spirit for all that He has for you to do each day. Rest in God in Christ, be built up in faith, grow in knowledge of our God in Jesus, and be given peace in your waking and sleeping Amen.
Lord, we come before you at this hour with sad hearts as we remember the ones that is no longer among us. Some was well known. Others were less known. Maybe they were a mother or father; son or daughter; sister or brother;
husband or wife; whether healthy or handicapped; whether needy or well off;
whether they were blessed with a long life or whether their life was cut short; whatever title they held they shared their life with us and we remember their presence on this earth.
Our memory of them shall never fade away.
We pray they are in a place where the wicked shall cease from troubling and the weary shall be at rest. Lord, relieve our pain, ease our sorrow, calm our fears, comfort our hearts and Lord, grant us peace.
14For when the Gentiles, which HAVE NOT THE LAW, do by nature the things contained in the law, these, HAVING NOT THE LAW, are a law unto themselves:
15 Which shew the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and their thoughts the mean while accusing or else excusing one another;)
16In the Day (this Day arrived, the seventh and last Day or seventh and last millennium) when GOD shall Judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ (the Judgment Seat of Christ) according to my gospel.
Get ready
12For as many as have sinned WITHOUT LAW(the Gentiles)shall also PERISH WITHOUT LAW:and as many as have sinned in the LAW shall be JUDGED by the LAW;
5 But after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up unto thyself WRATH against the Day of WRATH and revelation of the righteous Judgment of GOD;(This Day arrived)
6 Who will render to EVERY MAN according to his deeds:
7 To them who by patient continuance in well doing seek for glory and honour and immortality, ETERNAL LIFE:
8 But unto them that are contentious, and do not obey the Truth, but obey unrighteousness, INDIGNATION AND WRATH,
(What is written in the verses 7 and 8 above will be LITERALLY fulfilled from now on. The Word is GOD, GOD HIMSELF, self-executing,understand?)
9TRIBULATION and ANGUISH, upon EVERY SOUL of man that doeth evil,of the JEW first,and also of the GENTILE;
( Isaiah 26:20-21->20 Come,my people,enter thou into thy chambers,and shut thy doors about thee:HIDE THYSELF as it were for a little moment(the last week-week 70th- Daniel 9:27),until the INDIGNATION be overpast. 21 For,behold, the LORD cometh out of His place to PUNISH the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity( Matthew 24:10-13): the earth also shall disclose her blood, and shall no more cover her slain)
10But glory,honour,and peace,to every man that worketh good,to the JEW first,and also to the GENTILE;
This sounds scholarly and it is fusion of different religion and practices so the Church of Rome adopts the law and religious practises in order to give the papacy the same cult status a deified Caesar. The source for Infallibility of Pope consequently obvious. Scretism created an imposter church. Not to be outsmarted Calvin came up with an idea of limited salvation in the deity of Jesus Christ. It is like his blood work with some and some don't. If this sect spent their in anxiety and under the incubus of hellfire where have they gone wrong? When Jesus says, "Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid."( John 14:27) they don't know which end to believe.
Unity of the Spirit is with regards to life. In his life and in his light we have our being and none in another. "Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?/And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel?/And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people."(2 Co.6:14-16) Hermeneutics similarly sounds scholarly but for the infidels who would rather eat the offal than the solid meat swear by literalism. Satan is winning there.
Dear Christian , I'm so glad for you . It is when life is at its most difficult that we need to lean even harder on our God . This is what faith is all about , knowing that God is with us every second of every day no matter what . The physical world in which we live can be very brutal , to us personally and the things that we see and hear going on around us can be truly terrifying . We must cling even tighter to our Rock , He is our peace , our calm in the storm that is these kingdoms of men , as long as we have faith in Him and His love and mercy , we shall come through anything and everything that this life throws at us . When these tough times come upon us we must rejoice in Him even more than usual and be grateful for the opportunity for our faith to grow in Him , through Christ our Passover Lamb . This tough time for you will stay in your memory and in the future , maybe you will be feeling a bit low or doubtful or afraid and you will remember this time . The time that you were potentially in trouble but you knew , every step of the way , that God was with you guiding your feet and keeping you close to Him . Praise God for His love and His boundless wisdom and gentle guidance .
We have Ephesians 4:1-13 touching on what's expected.
Vs 1) We are told to
walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called.
Vs 2) Here's how we are to do it. "With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love;
Vs 3) Another Verse that brings clarity to what I posted.
"Endeavouring to KEEP THE UNITY OF THE SPIRIT IN THE BOND OF PEACE.
Vs 4-13 ) We are gifted Christ Spirit and offices for him to perform in us. For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:
Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:
Contrary to this is Vs 14 where there is no unity but yet DISTRACTIONS and deception.
That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive;
Gigi my post was about distractions that take us away from our Great commission.
We don't glorify the Lord that way.
My reply to Ronald was about, out of all the doctrines I mentioned, ( Eschatology, Soteriology, ect ect. Soteriology is the most important and most neglected.
And it is the only one that carries consequences if you get it wrong.
We all know the narrative in John 17. But let's revisit it.
John 17:11
"And now I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to thee. Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, THAT THEY MAY BE ONE, AS WE ARE.
This was the last thing on Jesus' mind before he went to the cross. He could have been praying about anything, but he chose to pray about unity.
What does that mean for us? It means we have to be willing to break down barriers that exist among us.
Because if we don't, here's what happens:
The separation becomes more important than the story. The conflict becomes more important than the command. And the division keeps us distracted from accomplishing anything that actually matters.
Before we jump to some specific sources of division, I want to also remind us of the fruit of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control ( Gal. 5:22-23). There's one thing that each of these things require: unified community.
The essence of the evidence of the Spirit working in our lives requires us to live in unity.
So let's get specific. Here are 6 of many distractions plaguing the Church today:
1) The Distraction of Preference
We all like things done a certain way. It's part of our nature.
We like the service to be in a particular order. We like the music to be a particular style (and as we all know, some people are very particular about the volume of that music). We like our schedules to look like they're supposed to. We like our community to feel a certain way.
It's okay for us to have preferences. But the moment HOW we do ministry becomes more important than WHY we do ministry, we're in big trouble.
Methods should never guide our ministry or our interactions with others. Mission should.
"Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth." Mark 9:23 KJV
"And he said, The things which are impossible with men are possible with God." Luke 18:27 KJV
As a believer, I, believe God concerning your prayer petition before God, and that,
"... he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed." Isaiah 53:5 KJV
"O LORD God of hosts, hear my prayer: give ear, O God of Jacob. Selah." Psalms 84:8 KJV
As a believer, I stand in agreement that God hears and answers prayers, Amen.
Speaking on'Gentiles and the Olive Tree',you'highighted the unity and interdependence of both groups within God's redemptive plan', and"The natural branches(Israel)were broken off due to unbelief, and wild olive shoots(Gentiles)were grafted in'.
The Word of GOD shows us the existence of two Olive Trees and Two Candlesticks:The two olive trees(source of oil -the OTand NT-, two olive branches which through the two golden pipes empty the golden oil out of THEMSELVES- Zechariah 4:11-14),and the two candlesticks(two Churches:the Gentile Church,and the Jewish Church- Hebrews 12:22-24)are standing before the God of the earth(the person of the Holy Spirit).
Many Jews attended the Church in Rome,there were dissensions among them,so Paul wrote:Ro.2:1-11:
1Therefore thou art inexcusable,O man,whosoever thou art that judgest:for wherein thou judgest another,thou condemnest thyself;for thou that judgest doest the same things.
2But we are sure that the judgment of GOD is according to truth against them which commit such things.
3And thinkest thou this,O man,that judgest them which do such things,and doest the same,that thou shalt escape the Judgment of GOD?
4Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering;not knowing that the goodness of GOD leadeth thee to repentance?
5But after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up unto thyself WRATH against the Day of WRATH and REVELATION of the righteous Judgment of GOD;
6Who will render to every man according to his deeds:
7To them who by patient continuance in well doing seek for glory and honour and immortality,ETERNAL LIFE:
8But unto them that are contentious,and do not obey the Truth,but obey unrighteousness,INDIGNATION AND WRATH,
9TRIBULATION and ANGUISH,upon every soul of man that doeth evil,of the JEW first,and also of the GENTILE;
10But glory,honour,and peace,to every man that worketh good,to the JEW first,and also to the GENTILE:
I may have touched on specific examples of prayers that I have seen answered. The clear teaching from James is that we shouldn't focus on things to satisfy our own "lusts" ( James 4:3). Another specific prayer that we need to be cautious with is praying for any individual to be saved. This is likely to elicit a hotbed of controversy in regard to those who are called; chosen and predestined. But it shows PRESUMPTION; that our desire for someone's spiritual fate must line up with God's plans. Whether we follow this viewpoint or not; we simply do not know whether someone is going to respond to the message of salvation or not.
What we CAN do in this case is ask for God to show favor so that a person is able to hear about the Gospel from other individuals; as well as have circumstances come up that force them to think on spiritual things. Another problem is that short term we tend to be impatient rather than waiting on God's timing; allowing difficult trials to do their work; or thinking we have to be the ones to be used by God to convert someone. If we obsess too much on those we know and love; of course we can be ignoring those who in the flesh we either wouldn't consider or we find repulsive; not thinking in terms of how God would transform someone and they would become part of our family in Christ as adopted sons or daughters.
Anyway; back to general prayers. Many pray for the "peace of Israel" ( Psalm 122:6) but without realizing the prophetic plans God has in the time of Jacob's trouble ( Jeremiah 30:7) we can only see a temporary fix with such a prayer. When we pray for everyone to be healed we surely can't ignore scriptures even in the time of Paul the Apostle which indicated that indeed people would become ill. And in terms of a general praise and such; it is a prelude to prayer in order to demonstrate how we are getting to know Christ and vice verse and alone isn't a prayer per se.
I pray God provides the good and right resources you may need to aid you in overcoming these different matters and that God gives you peace during this time.
"Finally, brethren, farewell. Be perfect, be of good comfort, be of one mind, live in peace; and the God of love and peace shall be with you." 2 Corinthians 13:11 KJV
"Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience." James 1:3 KJV
God being all knowing. How long will the test or trying of faith last? When will the trying of your faith end? When will tests and trials end. It will last as long as God allows it to last. Why so long? Because God knows how much a believer an bear (even though the believer, themselves may not realize how much they can actually bear). The trying of our faith comes from God. He (God) created the test therefore He knows how long it should last. God created and administers all tests according to each ones ability. The testing of our faith comes from God. If the test lasts longer than we think it should then the believer needs to exam and question themselves as to why God saw fit to give a test that does not seem to end. A believer should be glad if God allows some relief or happy times during the trying of their faith and if the trying of faith lasts a long time or seems like it will never end then know that God is working things out for the good of the believer (you want to go to heaven right?). If a believer wants to see God's face in peace, a believer (with God's help) must endure to the end, wavering or wanting nothing (in other words you want to live a right according to the word of God), "be steadfast" "be unmovable" "continue in the faith" "be Christ minded" "focus on the things of God" God knows where a believer (or sinner is) at all times "he never sleeps nor slumbers" "the only wise God." It's not so much that the test is so trying it's that sinful flesh is so corrupt...and it will take the trying or testing of a believers faith to ensure a believer qualifies to exist in the presence of God, here on earth and then in eternity. "be still and know that He is God"
Dear Michael , the first bit of advice I would give you is to relax ! Learning the Truth should be a joy and a pleasure not a terror and a chore ! You will hopefully be reading the Bible every day for the rest of your life so approach it as you would approach your wisest best friend .
I would definitely start in the Old Testament with the first five books , those penned by Moses . I would continue with the Old , in the order they appear but , after the first five you could go to the New and read the four Gospels . I wouldn't but you could . I would just keep reading from Genesis to Revelation and do that maybe the first ten times you read it . Once you feel some familiarity you can pick and choose a bit . I have devised my own reading plan which means I read the whole Bible ( the four Gospels I read twice ) in one year . As long as you read every book , Old as well as New , you are doing fine . Don't forget to pray every day and give God thanks for all the good things in your life . Don't expect to understand everything first or second or even third time around , this is a life long friendship you are getting into . Things will be revealed as you put in the time and effort . Decide how many chapters a day you are going to read and stick to that at least the first few times you read it , some days I only read one but I've been reading it for a very long time now . When I first started I stuck to five chapters a day . Read too much and you can get overwhelmed , too little and you are left hungry . You know how much time you have and pick a time and place when you can have a bit of peace . I can't sleep unless I've read at least one chapter . Enjoy your New Best Friend !
2 Samuel 12-Concluding thoughts on David's plea for his son to live
In my last post I got into how heinous David's sin was. He already had; as the Lord told him through Nathan the prophet many wives and things the Lord gave him; and if he had asked the right way God would have given him more things. Up until this point; David had been a fearless man of God whose prayers had been answered and he had continued to make progress with the Philistines in particular as well as other factions coming after Israel. At this point; however the Lord said that his son would die.
His pleading to God which no doubt indicates heartfelt prayer; as well as a week of fasting in sackcloth were of no avail. It is an interesting note in 2 Samuel 12:23 that David indicates he shall go to see his son; not vice versa thus an indication his son would be with the Lord someday hence not suffer forever for David's sin.
It is noteworthy as well that Solomon would be the one from Bathsheba's later offspring that would continue to build God's Temple and be in the Messianic lineage. It is interesting that after this point there would be further family squabbles; and even competition for the throne through Absolom and other enemies the Lord would allow; after David's taking of the census; another one of his big sins. This could have even been something foreseen since it is hard to tell what God referred to originally when David was told he wouldn't be the one to complete the Temple.
There are some other indications that David had a disease possibly a venereal one in the Psalms; likely after being with many women. (see Psalm 38). He was in no way a perfect man; but did know how to seek the Lord after being challenged; at least in this case and after the census by Nathan the Prophet. Sadly Solomon multiplied these errors even more; although he was living in a time of relative peace. He had an INSANE number of wives AND concubines. The Kingdom was soon to be divided.
Yes Brother , historical context is massively important . Isaiah chapter 14 is a prime example of this importance . A fairy tale has sprung up from this chapter and that can potentially be very dangerous . I have recently come to be convinced in my own heart and mind , quite suddenly and from no where , after reading the Bible for many years and desperately studying in particular the book of Revelation , that the vast majority of it has already happened . We are just waiting for the fulfillment of the last three or four chapters . I have been driving myself crazy trying to understand every last verse and put the pieces together but every time I would take one step forward and two back ! A couple of months ago while reading it (again) and torturing myself , peace suddenly descended upon me out of no where and my heart told me : it's all in the past , there's just the end to come . I've not had any doubts about it for one second , I no longer stress myself out about it , reading as many different explanations as I can find , dissecting each one and finding bits of truth in this one but other bits in that one etc . I cannot explain the relief and peace that came over me and is still with me , after almost thirty years of Bible reading I'm 100 per cent confident at assured without any doubt that the vast majority of the book of Revelation is past . We are in the very last days and just waiting for our Redeemer to return to earth to judge the nations and reward accordingly . I'm sure there are many who will disagree with me and that is their perogative , but they shall be wasting their time and energy trying to convince me otherwise . This peace regarding the book of Revelation is palpable . I feel it deep within me and because of it , I am at peace with that particular book . For the first time in thirty years ! Thanks be to God .
Jo.1:1-In the beginning was the Word,the Word was with GOD,the Word was GOD.
The Word of GOD is from everlasting to everlasting,the Word is GOD, GOD Himself,self-executing.
Job 22:
15Hast thou marked the old way(century/es before)which wicked men have trodden?
16Which were cut down out of time,whose foundation was overflown with a FLOOD:
17Which said unto GOD,Depart from us:and what can the Almighty do for them?
18Yet He filled their houses with good things:but the counsel of the wicked is far from me.
19The righteous see it, and are glad: and the innocent laugh them to scorn.
20Whereas our substance is not cut down,but the remnant of them the fire consumeth.
21Acquaint now thyself with Him,and be at peace:thereby good shall come unto thee.
22Receive,I pray thee,the law from his mouth(GOD's Word),and lay up his words in thine heart.
23If thou return to the Almighty,thou shalt be built up,thou shalt put away iniquity far from thy tabernacles.
24Then shalt thou lay up gold as dust( Genesis 2:10-11 ),and the gold of Ophir as the stones of the brooks.
25Yea,the Almighty shall be thy defence,and thou shalt have plenty of silver.
26For then shalt thou have thy delight in the Almighty,and shalt lift up thy face unto God.
27Thou shalt make thy prayer unto him,and he shall hear thee,and thou shalt pay thy vows.
28Thou shalt also decree a thing,and it shall be established unto thee:and the light shall shine upon thy ways
29When men are cast down,then thou shalt say,There is lifting up; and he shall save the humble person
30He shall deliver the island of the innocent:and it is delivered by the pureness of thine hands.
Eze.14
13Son of man,when the land sinneth against me by committing a trespass,then will I stretch out mine hand upon it,and will break the staff of the bread thereof,and will send famine upon it,and I will destroy man and beast forth of it
14Though these three men Noah,Daniel,and Job were among them, they should deliver but their own souls by their righteousnes
Every believer was called and has received gifts freely so we need understand that we are growing in our lives by faith and our works we do as natural extension of His grace. God sets Ezekiel as a watchman and by giving the word in the form of a roll he is to eat it. So it is the word that has to work. "And thou shalt speak my words unto them, whether they will hear, or whether they will forbear." This being the case we do according to the grace given and leave the Lord to deal with the rest. At the fag end of my life I work being confident that it is God who is in charge of my life.
We live in perilous times and the signs all are out. Weird climate, flashfloods, tornadoes wildfires makes breadbaskets blighted and plagues and pestilences ravage body and mind; those who made little of truth are fed by steady dose of misinformation and for those who rejected the truth the AI is a wakeup call. The imposter churches and their congregation shall have no hiding places except they receive the word of God as intended. Literalism has shown as inadequate. Knowing these I work to present daily what is revealed to me. So I leave it at that. With joy and peace in Him,
Right to disagree is your privilege. Among brethren only truth can cement the brotherliness. If I were to please you I would not be serving truth that I understand as given to me by the grace of God. "John answered and said, A man can receive nothing, except it be given him from heaven." I believe it is so. I would rather please God than please man.
2. Building towards the final piece of the puzzle. Eventually; everyone who will come to the Lord will be completed. Once we are called up to be with the Lord; of course the earth will be almost completely destroyed before being renewed. Our old church building and our old houses and all other man made structures will be crumbled; and nature itself will be transformed with every valley being exalted (See Isaiah 40:4-5).
3. We shall enjoy fellowship with all the O.T. saints and N.T. saints after the Resurrection of the just. Thus; it will be the fruition of all of God's promises; both to the nation of Israel and all the nations; as well as of the church triumphant. It also will encompass all those who died in faith during the Tribulation; a countless multitude ( Rev. 7:9).
4. When He returns; we can enjoy true peace and safety. I would imagine we will meet often outdoors; as well as of course yearly worshipping with the King in Jerusalem; whether in our new bodies or those who are in the Millennium who survive the Tribulation. ( Zech. 14:16 to end of chapter).
There is much to be said in these last days about preaching correct doctrine; and much can be gleaned from reading what the early church fathers; and those during the Reformation as well as more modern "heroes of the faith". It must be remembered though that all of us have sinned and therefore terms such as the Westminster Divines personally I find disturbing at best. There are things that can be said about Calvin and Luther and probably others that are disheartening to say the least as to their character. This is not to say that admirable examples aren't worth emulating; I would put Whitfield up there as he spend hours praying in tears before preaching in his revivals. Ultimately the Bible should be our standard; anything else should only be useful as a guide and any practices only as a spotlight on Christ and His life within us.
You write, "I take exactly what Ezekiel penned down in Ezekiel 37:16-21/and let verses 18 and 19 do the explaining./16) Moreover, thou son of man, take thee one stick, and write upon it, For Judah, and for the children of Israel his companions: then take another stick, and write upon it, For Joseph, the stick of Ephraim, and for all the house of Israel his companions..."
I suspect all these confusion has arisen out of your own statement. You take exactly from Ezekiel as the last word on Israel as a Nation. Comparing spiritual with spiritual does not mean neglecting what the Spirit has laid out elsewhere and all these passages hold together in the Son and by him consist. (Col.1:15-19) Compare Ez.36/37 with Zec.11:14 "Then I cut asunder mine other staff, even Bands, that I might break the brotherhood between Judah and Israel."
Much of the heresies in the present day churches owe to a lack of vision and unwillingness to acknowledge the fullness of God in his Son. Both worlds of the Spirit and the body are to be treated as one. Israel making a homeland by deceit and chicanery in 1948 is not according to the will of God. Ez.3:35-36 What peace are they enjoying?
Glad to have you back with us. I hope your vacation time was relaxing and peaceful.
We are waiting for our 1st grandbaby to arrive any day within the next two weeks. Pretty exciting.
Plus, we are in the middle of an extensive interior remodel. So, we are working around the work and the worker is working around us. The upstairs should be done in a week or two. Then the stairs. After that the downstairs beginning with the kitchen gutting and walls removed to open it up more since it is a galley kitchen. That will be challenging for us, but hoping the weather is fair these next few months so we can cook and eat outside most days.
Even so, despite the topsy turvy of all this, we are so blessed and thankful to God. Jesus is great and He brings us so much divine blessing every day!
The Anabaptist rejection of infant baptism and insistence of believer's baptism as the only valid baptism is a TRADITION that began in the 1600's in Europe following the Reformation movements of the 1500's. Who are those who believe like the Anabaptists to say that infant baptism is a tradition of men? I could say that about the anabaptist position since it was not held by believers for 1600 years and there are early church leaders such as Irenaeus, Tertullian, and Origen who speak of baptizing infants as being normative in the church since the apostles. I would think that these people who were close in time to the apostles and apostolic church teaching and practice would better know what was true of the church in those first centuries than anyone else who lived in the last 400 years. There are two traditions here, the one of 1600 years of practice in the church (infant baptism) and the one of 400 recent years of the anabaptists. If you are going to speak ill of traditions, in all fairness you should recognize that your own anabaptist belief is just as much a tradition as my belief in the validity of infant baptism. Both are inferred from Scripture as to whether or not infants were baptized in the first century church as there is NOT any Scripture that explicitly speaks to this practice pro or against.
I am offended when people play the "tradition" card when speaking of beliefs that date back to the early church as opposed to beliefs that have arisen in recent centuries. Both are traditions or doctrines of the faith and neither is wrong or should be denigrated simply because someone thinks that traditions and doctrines automatically reflect unbiblical teachings.
I do not intend to be quarrelsome with you in this matter but it does bother me when someone uses the "tradition card" to be dismissive about a viewpoint that has long been considered to be orthodox (right belief) views.
That said, I wish to end this conversation with you for the sake of peace.
1 Corinthians 15:24-27KJV
24 The END cometh, when he shall have delivered up the Kingdom to GOD, even the Father( Luke 20:35-36); when he shall have PUT DOWN all RULE and all AUTHORITY and POWER.
25 For he must reign, till he hath PUT ALL ENEMIES UNDER FEET.
26 The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.
GET READY
Peter Apostle warned: 2Peter 3:12-14
12 Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the Day of GOD (this Day arrived, the seventh and last Day or seventh and last millennium),
wherein the heavens( Ephesians 1:3-8-OT and NT) being on FIRE- Isaiah 20-21 AND 19- shall be DISSOLVED, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat?
13 Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness.
14 Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye look for such things, be diligent that ye may be found of Him in peace, without spot, and blameless.
Get ready, do what GOD recommended- Isaiah 20-21
part 2.
Just to finish up my thought. If someone who was baptized as an infant grows up believing in Jesus and knows the truth about how they are saved through Him, as I was the case for me, do not need to be rebaptized, but can if they wish. Someone who was baptized as an infant who grew up in faith and departs from the faith, they may wish to be re-baptized when they return to the Lord. It isn't baptism that is the heart of the matter, but regeneration and confession of one's faith in Jesus as Savior that is most important. How God brings that about in each person may differ in areas of: age at which one consciously believes the gospel, church practices chosen by one's parents when one was an infant or a child, etc,
I am glad I was baptized as an infant by parents who believed that God does work in and through baptism of their children, because whatever is not of faith is not valid. God honors the concern for their childrens' salvation and intention to bring them up in the faith. The Holy Spirit works in the lives of children baptized young to keep them growing in faith He provides.
Salvation is all of God and not of man, so we should have peace about the means of baptism, trusting God loves all He draws to Him whether from infancy and chlldhood or later as teens or adults. We can acknowledge that God is working out His will in the lives of such and know that He continues His work of shaping believers over time.
I am happy to pray for you today.
Heavenly Father, we come before You today in the name of Your Son, Jesus our Lord asking for healing and peace for Christina. Lift up her spirit and heal her mind from the unhealthy thoughts of depression. Take back what the devil has stolen from Christina that she may be joyful in You and hope in You. Lead her in the reading of Your Word that she may be encouraged and be filled with praise for You. Prevent Christina from slipping deeper into depression but instead bring her out of it. We ask this of You, Father, because You are near to the faint of heart and those broken in their spirit. Amen.
Hope to see you back participating in conversations here soon according to the Lord's timing, of course. You are missed here, but hopefully your time away is filled with more and more of God's truth in Scriptures and more and more filled with the Spirit for all that He has for you to do each day. Rest in God in Christ, be built up in faith, grow in knowledge of our God in Jesus, and be given peace in your waking and sleeping Amen.
May God Bless All of You Today!
MEMORIAL PRAYER
Lord, we come before you at this hour with sad hearts as we remember the ones that is no longer among us. Some was well known. Others were less known. Maybe they were a mother or father; son or daughter; sister or brother;
husband or wife; whether healthy or handicapped; whether needy or well off;
whether they were blessed with a long life or whether their life was cut short; whatever title they held they shared their life with us and we remember their presence on this earth.
Our memory of them shall never fade away.
We pray they are in a place where the wicked shall cease from troubling and the weary shall be at rest. Lord, relieve our pain, ease our sorrow, calm our fears, comfort our hearts and Lord, grant us peace.
In Jesus name we pray, Amen.
Romans 2:14-16 and 12 and 5-11
14For when the Gentiles, which HAVE NOT THE LAW, do by nature the things contained in the law, these, HAVING NOT THE LAW, are a law unto themselves:
15 Which shew the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and their thoughts the mean while accusing or else excusing one another;)
16In the Day (this Day arrived, the seventh and last Day or seventh and last millennium) when GOD shall Judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ (the Judgment Seat of Christ) according to my gospel.
Get ready
12For as many as have sinned WITHOUT LAW(the Gentiles)shall also PERISH WITHOUT LAW:and as many as have sinned in the LAW shall be JUDGED by the LAW;
5 But after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up unto thyself WRATH against the Day of WRATH and revelation of the righteous Judgment of GOD;(This Day arrived)
6 Who will render to EVERY MAN according to his deeds:
7 To them who by patient continuance in well doing seek for glory and honour and immortality, ETERNAL LIFE:
8 But unto them that are contentious, and do not obey the Truth, but obey unrighteousness, INDIGNATION AND WRATH,
(What is written in the verses 7 and 8 above will be LITERALLY fulfilled from now on. The Word is GOD, GOD HIMSELF, self-executing,understand?)
9TRIBULATION and ANGUISH, upon EVERY SOUL of man that doeth evil,of the JEW first,and also of the GENTILE;
( Isaiah 26:20-21->20 Come,my people,enter thou into thy chambers,and shut thy doors about thee:HIDE THYSELF as it were for a little moment(the last week-week 70th- Daniel 9:27),until the INDIGNATION be overpast. 21 For,behold, the LORD cometh out of His place to PUNISH the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity( Matthew 24:10-13): the earth also shall disclose her blood, and shall no more cover her slain)
10But glory,honour,and peace,to every man that worketh good,to the JEW first,and also to the GENTILE;
11For there is no respect of persons with GOD.
Get ready
This sounds scholarly and it is fusion of different religion and practices so the Church of Rome adopts the law and religious practises in order to give the papacy the same cult status a deified Caesar. The source for Infallibility of Pope consequently obvious. Scretism created an imposter church. Not to be outsmarted Calvin came up with an idea of limited salvation in the deity of Jesus Christ. It is like his blood work with some and some don't. If this sect spent their in anxiety and under the incubus of hellfire where have they gone wrong? When Jesus says, "Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid."( John 14:27) they don't know which end to believe.
Unity of the Spirit is with regards to life. In his life and in his light we have our being and none in another. "Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?/And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel?/And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people."(2 Co.6:14-16) Hermeneutics similarly sounds scholarly but for the infidels who would rather eat the offal than the solid meat swear by literalism. Satan is winning there.
Here's part 2.
We have Ephesians 4:1-13 touching on what's expected.
Vs 1) We are told to
walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called.
Vs 2) Here's how we are to do it. "With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love;
Vs 3) Another Verse that brings clarity to what I posted.
"Endeavouring to KEEP THE UNITY OF THE SPIRIT IN THE BOND OF PEACE.
Vs 4-13 ) We are gifted Christ Spirit and offices for him to perform in us. For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:
Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:
Contrary to this is Vs 14 where there is no unity but yet DISTRACTIONS and deception.
That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive;
Gigi my post was about distractions that take us away from our Great commission.
We don't glorify the Lord that way.
My reply to Ronald was about, out of all the doctrines I mentioned, ( Eschatology, Soteriology, ect ect. Soteriology is the most important and most neglected.
And it is the only one that carries consequences if you get it wrong.
God bless.
Part 1
Remembering Jesus' Prayer for Unity
We all know the narrative in John 17. But let's revisit it.
John 17:11
"And now I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to thee. Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, THAT THEY MAY BE ONE, AS WE ARE.
This was the last thing on Jesus' mind before he went to the cross. He could have been praying about anything, but he chose to pray about unity.
What does that mean for us? It means we have to be willing to break down barriers that exist among us.
Because if we don't, here's what happens:
The separation becomes more important than the story. The conflict becomes more important than the command. And the division keeps us distracted from accomplishing anything that actually matters.
Before we jump to some specific sources of division, I want to also remind us of the fruit of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control ( Gal. 5:22-23). There's one thing that each of these things require: unified community.
The essence of the evidence of the Spirit working in our lives requires us to live in unity.
So let's get specific. Here are 6 of many distractions plaguing the Church today:
1) The Distraction of Preference
We all like things done a certain way. It's part of our nature.
We like the service to be in a particular order. We like the music to be a particular style (and as we all know, some people are very particular about the volume of that music). We like our schedules to look like they're supposed to. We like our community to feel a certain way.
It's okay for us to have preferences. But the moment HOW we do ministry becomes more important than WHY we do ministry, we're in big trouble.
Methods should never guide our ministry or our interactions with others. Mission should.
See part 2.
Amen. Let s be at peace with each other.
"And he said, The things which are impossible with men are possible with God." Luke 18:27 KJV
As a believer, I, believe God concerning your prayer petition before God, and that,
"... he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed." Isaiah 53:5 KJV
"O LORD God of hosts, hear my prayer: give ear, O God of Jacob. Selah." Psalms 84:8 KJV
As a believer, I stand in agreement that God hears and answers prayers, Amen.
Speaking on'Gentiles and the Olive Tree',you'highighted the unity and interdependence of both groups within God's redemptive plan', and"The natural branches(Israel)were broken off due to unbelief, and wild olive shoots(Gentiles)were grafted in'.
The Word of GOD shows us the existence of two Olive Trees and Two Candlesticks:The two olive trees(source of oil -the OTand NT-, two olive branches which through the two golden pipes empty the golden oil out of THEMSELVES- Zechariah 4:11-14),and the two candlesticks(two Churches:the Gentile Church,and the Jewish Church- Hebrews 12:22-24)are standing before the God of the earth(the person of the Holy Spirit).
Many Jews attended the Church in Rome,there were dissensions among them,so Paul wrote:Ro.2:1-11:
1Therefore thou art inexcusable,O man,whosoever thou art that judgest:for wherein thou judgest another,thou condemnest thyself;for thou that judgest doest the same things.
2But we are sure that the judgment of GOD is according to truth against them which commit such things.
3And thinkest thou this,O man,that judgest them which do such things,and doest the same,that thou shalt escape the Judgment of GOD?
4Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering;not knowing that the goodness of GOD leadeth thee to repentance?
5But after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up unto thyself WRATH against the Day of WRATH and REVELATION of the righteous Judgment of GOD;
6Who will render to every man according to his deeds:
7To them who by patient continuance in well doing seek for glory and honour and immortality,ETERNAL LIFE:
8But unto them that are contentious,and do not obey the Truth,but obey unrighteousness,INDIGNATION AND WRATH,
9TRIBULATION and ANGUISH,upon every soul of man that doeth evil,of the JEW first,and also of the GENTILE;
10But glory,honour,and peace,to every man that worketh good,to the JEW first,and also to the GENTILE:
11For there is no respect of persons with GOD.
I may have touched on specific examples of prayers that I have seen answered. The clear teaching from James is that we shouldn't focus on things to satisfy our own "lusts" ( James 4:3). Another specific prayer that we need to be cautious with is praying for any individual to be saved. This is likely to elicit a hotbed of controversy in regard to those who are called; chosen and predestined. But it shows PRESUMPTION; that our desire for someone's spiritual fate must line up with God's plans. Whether we follow this viewpoint or not; we simply do not know whether someone is going to respond to the message of salvation or not.
What we CAN do in this case is ask for God to show favor so that a person is able to hear about the Gospel from other individuals; as well as have circumstances come up that force them to think on spiritual things. Another problem is that short term we tend to be impatient rather than waiting on God's timing; allowing difficult trials to do their work; or thinking we have to be the ones to be used by God to convert someone. If we obsess too much on those we know and love; of course we can be ignoring those who in the flesh we either wouldn't consider or we find repulsive; not thinking in terms of how God would transform someone and they would become part of our family in Christ as adopted sons or daughters.
Anyway; back to general prayers. Many pray for the "peace of Israel" ( Psalm 122:6) but without realizing the prophetic plans God has in the time of Jacob's trouble ( Jeremiah 30:7) we can only see a temporary fix with such a prayer. When we pray for everyone to be healed we surely can't ignore scriptures even in the time of Paul the Apostle which indicated that indeed people would become ill. And in terms of a general praise and such; it is a prelude to prayer in order to demonstrate how we are getting to know Christ and vice verse and alone isn't a prayer per se.
"Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. And they parted his raiment, and cast lots." Luke 23:34 KJV
"He delivered me from my strong enemy, and from them which hated me: for they were too strong for me." Psalms 18:17 KJV
"In the fear of the LORD is strong confidence: and his children shall have a place of refuge." Proverbs 14:26 KJV
Standing in agreement with you for peace during this time. Amen.
"Finally, brethren, farewell. Be perfect, be of good comfort, be of one mind, live in peace; and the God of love and peace shall be with you." 2 Corinthians 13:11 KJV
God being all knowing. How long will the test or trying of faith last? When will the trying of your faith end? When will tests and trials end. It will last as long as God allows it to last. Why so long? Because God knows how much a believer an bear (even though the believer, themselves may not realize how much they can actually bear). The trying of our faith comes from God. He (God) created the test therefore He knows how long it should last. God created and administers all tests according to each ones ability. The testing of our faith comes from God. If the test lasts longer than we think it should then the believer needs to exam and question themselves as to why God saw fit to give a test that does not seem to end. A believer should be glad if God allows some relief or happy times during the trying of their faith and if the trying of faith lasts a long time or seems like it will never end then know that God is working things out for the good of the believer (you want to go to heaven right?). If a believer wants to see God's face in peace, a believer (with God's help) must endure to the end, wavering or wanting nothing (in other words you want to live a right according to the word of God), "be steadfast" "be unmovable" "continue in the faith" "be Christ minded" "focus on the things of God" God knows where a believer (or sinner is) at all times "he never sleeps nor slumbers" "the only wise God." It's not so much that the test is so trying it's that sinful flesh is so corrupt...and it will take the trying or testing of a believers faith to ensure a believer qualifies to exist in the presence of God, here on earth and then in eternity. "be still and know that He is God"
As I mentioned before you are free to believe or not what I set down in this discussion forum. We hold different views so leave it that.
With joy and peace in Him,
I will be praying for you today. God is loving, faithful, and trustworthy, so know that the Father is drawing you to Jesus this very
moment. The Holy Spirit is preparing your heart and soul and mind to come to faith in Jesus. How wonderful it is that our great
God does all this even before we are saved so that His will for us comes to pass.
You can come to Jesus for salvation even though you feel nervous, apprehensive, or afraid. We are all sinners before God and
deserve to be judged as disobedient creatures before a holy God. Yet those who come to salvation in Jesus are no longer under
condemnation for our own sins. We are forgiven and set free from being enslaved by our sinfulness and come to know our Lord
as one who loved us so much that He gave His life as a sacrifice for our sin so that we can have this forgiveness and freedom in
Him.
I advise you to pray to God and tell Him all your current feelings and ask for faith to believe that truth concerning the salvation
that in Jesus only. God saves us through Jesus. Come to Him today with a repentant and contrite heart. He will give you peace
and release from the oppression of sin and the deceit that comes from the devil who wishes that we will not believe.
Thankfully, our God is unfathomably more powerful than the devil or sin or ourselves or any other person or power!
Please keep me up to date on your journey so I can know how to pray for you more specifically.
I would definitely start in the Old Testament with the first five books , those penned by Moses . I would continue with the Old , in the order they appear but , after the first five you could go to the New and read the four Gospels . I wouldn't but you could . I would just keep reading from Genesis to Revelation and do that maybe the first ten times you read it . Once you feel some familiarity you can pick and choose a bit . I have devised my own reading plan which means I read the whole Bible ( the four Gospels I read twice ) in one year . As long as you read every book , Old as well as New , you are doing fine . Don't forget to pray every day and give God thanks for all the good things in your life . Don't expect to understand everything first or second or even third time around , this is a life long friendship you are getting into . Things will be revealed as you put in the time and effort . Decide how many chapters a day you are going to read and stick to that at least the first few times you read it , some days I only read one but I've been reading it for a very long time now . When I first started I stuck to five chapters a day . Read too much and you can get overwhelmed , too little and you are left hungry . You know how much time you have and pick a time and place when you can have a bit of peace . I can't sleep unless I've read at least one chapter . Enjoy your New Best Friend !
In my last post I got into how heinous David's sin was. He already had; as the Lord told him through Nathan the prophet many wives and things the Lord gave him; and if he had asked the right way God would have given him more things. Up until this point; David had been a fearless man of God whose prayers had been answered and he had continued to make progress with the Philistines in particular as well as other factions coming after Israel. At this point; however the Lord said that his son would die.
His pleading to God which no doubt indicates heartfelt prayer; as well as a week of fasting in sackcloth were of no avail. It is an interesting note in 2 Samuel 12:23 that David indicates he shall go to see his son; not vice versa thus an indication his son would be with the Lord someday hence not suffer forever for David's sin.
It is noteworthy as well that Solomon would be the one from Bathsheba's later offspring that would continue to build God's Temple and be in the Messianic lineage. It is interesting that after this point there would be further family squabbles; and even competition for the throne through Absolom and other enemies the Lord would allow; after David's taking of the census; another one of his big sins. This could have even been something foreseen since it is hard to tell what God referred to originally when David was told he wouldn't be the one to complete the Temple.
There are some other indications that David had a disease possibly a venereal one in the Psalms; likely after being with many women. (see Psalm 38). He was in no way a perfect man; but did know how to seek the Lord after being challenged; at least in this case and after the census by Nathan the Prophet. Sadly Solomon multiplied these errors even more; although he was living in a time of relative peace. He had an INSANE number of wives AND concubines. The Kingdom was soon to be divided.
The Word of GOD is from everlasting to everlasting,the Word is GOD, GOD Himself,self-executing.
Job 22:
15Hast thou marked the old way(century/es before)which wicked men have trodden?
16Which were cut down out of time,whose foundation was overflown with a FLOOD:
17Which said unto GOD,Depart from us:and what can the Almighty do for them?
18Yet He filled their houses with good things:but the counsel of the wicked is far from me.
19The righteous see it, and are glad: and the innocent laugh them to scorn.
20Whereas our substance is not cut down,but the remnant of them the fire consumeth.
21Acquaint now thyself with Him,and be at peace:thereby good shall come unto thee.
22Receive,I pray thee,the law from his mouth(GOD's Word),and lay up his words in thine heart.
23If thou return to the Almighty,thou shalt be built up,thou shalt put away iniquity far from thy tabernacles.
24Then shalt thou lay up gold as dust( Genesis 2:10-11 ),and the gold of Ophir as the stones of the brooks.
25Yea,the Almighty shall be thy defence,and thou shalt have plenty of silver.
26For then shalt thou have thy delight in the Almighty,and shalt lift up thy face unto God.
27Thou shalt make thy prayer unto him,and he shall hear thee,and thou shalt pay thy vows.
28Thou shalt also decree a thing,and it shall be established unto thee:and the light shall shine upon thy ways
29When men are cast down,then thou shalt say,There is lifting up; and he shall save the humble person
30He shall deliver the island of the innocent:and it is delivered by the pureness of thine hands.
Eze.14
13Son of man,when the land sinneth against me by committing a trespass,then will I stretch out mine hand upon it,and will break the staff of the bread thereof,and will send famine upon it,and I will destroy man and beast forth of it
14Though these three men Noah,Daniel,and Job were among them, they should deliver but their own souls by their righteousnes
Every believer was called and has received gifts freely so we need understand that we are growing in our lives by faith and our works we do as natural extension of His grace. God sets Ezekiel as a watchman and by giving the word in the form of a roll he is to eat it. So it is the word that has to work. "And thou shalt speak my words unto them, whether they will hear, or whether they will forbear." This being the case we do according to the grace given and leave the Lord to deal with the rest. At the fag end of my life I work being confident that it is God who is in charge of my life.
We live in perilous times and the signs all are out. Weird climate, flashfloods, tornadoes wildfires makes breadbaskets blighted and plagues and pestilences ravage body and mind; those who made little of truth are fed by steady dose of misinformation and for those who rejected the truth the AI is a wakeup call. The imposter churches and their congregation shall have no hiding places except they receive the word of God as intended. Literalism has shown as inadequate. Knowing these I work to present daily what is revealed to me. So I leave it at that. With joy and peace in Him,
I accidentally sent that message before I finished.
I wanted to agree with Jema, ww should be able to have these discussions peacefully, not dwell on the past and push forward.
God bless you.
Right to disagree is your privilege. Among brethren only truth can cement the brotherliness. If I were to please you I would not be serving truth that I understand as given to me by the grace of God. "John answered and said, A man can receive nothing, except it be given him from heaven." I believe it is so. I would rather please God than please man.
With joy and peace in Him,
2. Building towards the final piece of the puzzle. Eventually; everyone who will come to the Lord will be completed. Once we are called up to be with the Lord; of course the earth will be almost completely destroyed before being renewed. Our old church building and our old houses and all other man made structures will be crumbled; and nature itself will be transformed with every valley being exalted (See Isaiah 40:4-5).
3. We shall enjoy fellowship with all the O.T. saints and N.T. saints after the Resurrection of the just. Thus; it will be the fruition of all of God's promises; both to the nation of Israel and all the nations; as well as of the church triumphant. It also will encompass all those who died in faith during the Tribulation; a countless multitude ( Rev. 7:9).
4. When He returns; we can enjoy true peace and safety. I would imagine we will meet often outdoors; as well as of course yearly worshipping with the King in Jerusalem; whether in our new bodies or those who are in the Millennium who survive the Tribulation. ( Zech. 14:16 to end of chapter).
There is much to be said in these last days about preaching correct doctrine; and much can be gleaned from reading what the early church fathers; and those during the Reformation as well as more modern "heroes of the faith". It must be remembered though that all of us have sinned and therefore terms such as the Westminster Divines personally I find disturbing at best. There are things that can be said about Calvin and Luther and probably others that are disheartening to say the least as to their character. This is not to say that admirable examples aren't worth emulating; I would put Whitfield up there as he spend hours praying in tears before preaching in his revivals. Ultimately the Bible should be our standard; anything else should only be useful as a guide and any practices only as a spotlight on Christ and His life within us.
You write, "I take exactly what Ezekiel penned down in Ezekiel 37:16-21/and let verses 18 and 19 do the explaining./16) Moreover, thou son of man, take thee one stick, and write upon it, For Judah, and for the children of Israel his companions: then take another stick, and write upon it, For Joseph, the stick of Ephraim, and for all the house of Israel his companions..."
I suspect all these confusion has arisen out of your own statement. You take exactly from Ezekiel as the last word on Israel as a Nation. Comparing spiritual with spiritual does not mean neglecting what the Spirit has laid out elsewhere and all these passages hold together in the Son and by him consist. (Col.1:15-19) Compare Ez.36/37 with Zec.11:14 "Then I cut asunder mine other staff, even Bands, that I might break the brotherhood between Judah and Israel."
Much of the heresies in the present day churches owe to a lack of vision and unwillingness to acknowledge the fullness of God in his Son. Both worlds of the Spirit and the body are to be treated as one. Israel making a homeland by deceit and chicanery in 1948 is not according to the will of God. Ez.3:35-36 What peace are they enjoying?
Glad to have you back with us. I hope your vacation time was relaxing and peaceful.
We are waiting for our 1st grandbaby to arrive any day within the next two weeks. Pretty exciting.
Plus, we are in the middle of an extensive interior remodel. So, we are working around the work and the worker is working around us. The upstairs should be done in a week or two. Then the stairs. After that the downstairs beginning with the kitchen gutting and walls removed to open it up more since it is a galley kitchen. That will be challenging for us, but hoping the weather is fair these next few months so we can cook and eat outside most days.
Even so, despite the topsy turvy of all this, we are so blessed and thankful to God. Jesus is great and He brings us so much divine blessing every day!
Hope to hear more from you soon.
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