"Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not willing to make her a public example, was minded to put her away privily."
Joseph and Mary were related. Joseph in marrying her was coming to face a bogey, 'the ways of the world', in which traditions of the fathers are a brute weight especially over a man of his humble trade and circumstances. "What shall others say' is a bogey Satan has used to turn away the weak and silly minds from doing the right thing. Going against them meant he would be socially ostracized and his family subject to calumny at every turn. Despite of it the word of God qualifies him a just man. We are told why.
"Then Joseph. did as the angel of the Lord had bidden him, and took unto him his wife:/And knew her not till she had brought forth her firstborn son: and he called his name Jesus."(vv.24-25)
He believed the word spoken "of the Lord by the prophet." The word becoming flesh' the virgin aspect of it can only be settled by faith. St Paul was a 'virgin' on that account. He was called and separated from the womb and when the call came, "immediately I conferred not with flesh and blood:"(Gal.1:16). Similarly was Mary who had never known a man and she carried the promise of the eternal word (Ps.119:89). She was willing to face the consequences.Joseph being raised from sleep did as the angel of the Lord ad bidden him. He waited meaning he let his faith work perfectly.
St Matthew in narrating this reveals the self-same kindred spirit as Joseph had. In beginning with the generation of Jesus Christ (1:1) he confesses the irresistible force of the word of God. "He (Jesus) saw a man, named Matthew, sitting at the receipt of custom: and he saith unto him, Follow me. And he arose, and followed him."(9:9) The Parable of the Sower speaks as much as of the world as a field as his heart was seeded with the light of the knowledge in the face of Jesus Christ.
I agree Bro. S. Spencer. And as many of us have been sharing on these pages for several years, we have almost become accustomed/immuned to varied & strange teachings that somehow seem to fit within the parameters of this Site's rules. I may not be as bold as you in exposing falsehoods, but have always wondered how and where such interpretations of Scripture emanate from.
Of course, we know that we can all be subject to various inputs, whether from the pulpit, media, Bible colleges, study helps, etc., & these all influence us greatly in how we must read the Bible & in what we must believe. But in my musings, I think one of the biggest culprits is simply, 'what we really WANT TO BELIEVE, regardless of how the Bible is directing us'. And examples of this I find are in the Deity of Christ, the relationship of the Old & New Covenants, eternal Judgement/Hell, faith & works, etc. So, if someone definitely believes that there cannot possibly be an eternal suffering judgement because a loving merciful God would never allow it, then one is forced to read all the Scriptures accordingly, reading some/avoiding others, or even altering the meaning of passages. We even had one person writing here, a long while back now, who admitted that he never considered the Apostle Paul's writings because they didn't hold true to the teachings of Jesus. So, the option to pick & choose Scripture that suits our beliefs is always there, & no amount of bibilical dialogue/exchanges will ever convince the other.
And so you might notice that I fail to correspond with certain folk - not because of an unloving caring attitude towards them, but simply because that what they present against what I believe the Bible teaches, are far too remote for any meaningful discussion. A recent apt case in point is Psalm 82 & John 10:33-36. Unless one takes the trouble to learn what is being said & as given in Hebrew, the basis for us becoming gods then seems justified. Error breeds Error. GBU.
May the LORD give us wisdom in reading, studying and applying HIS word.
2 Timothy 2:15
James 2:
10 For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.
Romans 4:
2 For if Abraham were justified by works, he hath whereof to glory; but not before God.
3 For what saith the scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness.
4 Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt.
5 But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.
Ephesians 2:
8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.
Titus 3:
4 But after that the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared,
5 Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost;
6 Which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour;
7 That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.
May we be intercessors in CHRIST name, Isaiah 59:16, for those who have been blinded by the god of this world, 2 Corinthians 4:3, 4.
We are called to stand in the gap for others, Ezekiel 22:30, and plant the seed of the word that others may water and that GOD will give the increase.
Acts 15:
8 And God, which knoweth the hearts, bare them witness, giving them the Holy Ghost, even as he did unto us;
9 And put no difference between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith.
10 Now therefore why tempt ye God, to put a yoke upon the neck of the disciples, which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear?
11 But we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved, even as they.
Love is the bond of perfection according to Col 3:14. This is where Christianity of the hour falls short of perfection, as they believe they can not be perfect because the serpent preacher behind the pulpit isn't. The same serpent that deceived Eve has deceived Christians by using vain deceit, philosophy, theology, out-of-context verses, misconceptions, and lies.
Without the live of the truth mankind do know know what the love of God in Christ is about 100% conditional love. Everybody claims to know God and love him, however, does God know you in Christ? The preacher preaches God loves you when it is nothing but idle words to occupy their pews every Sunday just vain deceit, vain words to get at your pocketbook and not for the saving of the soul. Without Jesus Christ the Son of God and his words in you there is no love in a man or woman as Jesus' words are spirit and life John 6:63. The preacher who preaches God is love does not themselves have a stitch of that love. The live they posess is the live of money the root of all evil, the live for your pocketbook and nothing for the saving of your soul. Sunday school is not that love of the truth. It is every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God spoken by the Son of God Jesus Christ the law of spirit and life the words of spirit and life which sents us free from the law of sin and death.
Being a sinner is not God's love. God's live is that he washed us from all sin through the blood words of Jesus John 15:3 and Rev 1:5. In order to have something you must first posess it. In order to have love you must first posess it. No truth = no love.
2nd Thess 2:10] And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved.
[11] And for this cause God shall send them strong deluson, that they should believe a lie:
[12] That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.
Sometimes we grow when we are challenged by a different opinion within the Gospel and we should examine the scriptures like the Bereans.
But when open comes along with something totally different and says you can't know God by the literal text in the Bible and all men teachings is false and all Churches is bad but yet you have a so called revelation that you insist on teaching, that should be a red flag.
Oh, my, Frank. She is abusing you. Get some help now to know how to deal with this harmful behavior on her part. If it continues to be left unchecked it will be very harmful to you even if you are not physically injured.
You say that she has moved in with you. Did she move in with you because you just got married or were you separated for a while?
If it was me, I would insist on some boundaries. I would tell my husband that I am not going to take these verbal and physical attacks anymore. The next time this happens I will get a restraining order to get you away from me. I love my husband, but I know that, should this happen to me, I would see that the continuance of such behavior is not only harmful to me, and I should protect myself legally, but it is also harmful to the abuser to allow him or her to continue the abuse. You are both adults. you have a say in this. You can exercise your right to be safe in your own home.
Frank, I will be praying for you often.
Check back with us so we can be reminded to continue in prayer for you and Emilie.
Hello Jordyn, I agree that we should quote your words, and S. Spencer has done not just once but many times. Debating others here is not always the best approach, but being open for correction is always appropriate.
"He is in the way of life that keepeth instruction: but he that refuseth reproof erreth." KJV
Proverbs 15:32 "He that refuseth instruction despises his own soul: but he that heareth reproof getteth understanding."
Jordyn, it is not easy for any of us to her the words of one who doesn't follow our own ideas. But it is wise to read or hear them and to check our souls asking the Holy Spirit to show us if the criticism is true of us or not.
I won't speak for S. Spencer here. But I will say that your postings sound very much like those of Earl Bowman who has given the impression of having left this site only to come back 3-4 times with different screen names. So, it would be helpful to us if you will answer this question. Have you been on this forum in the past as Earl Bowman?
Please know that I pray for you and others on this site every day. I will continue to do so because, since God has brought us together on this forum, we ought to care for one another, be willing to pray for each other, be willing to listen to what others say and prayerfully respond, not to contend, challenge, or debate others, but to express ones own belief, stand firm on our own beliefs if need be, and always have a willingness to admit to oneself that we may be wrong in our views and need to eliminate certain aspects of our beliefs to align with Scripture. We should be gracious to one another, not combative, not eager to have a "come back" for what someone else posts to us.
At times, participants on this forum do cross the line and say things they ought not have said. Apologies area always in order and should be warmly accepted. Some times it is best to exit a thread for the sake of peace.
I will be happy to pray for you and your wife and home life.
Dear Heavenly Father, Today we lift up Emilia and Frank Joseph before you and asking in Jesus' name for healing, positive growth, and increasing joy in their marriage. Restore to them the satisfaction of a happy marriage full of harmony, peace, and love. Help them to learn from You how to make their married life better, changing what needs to be changed, and accepting what may not undergo change at this time. Help them to wait on You to bring about the changes needed to make their married life fruitful in every way; a life that honors You through both partners and also honors each other. Help them to love one another and put the needs of the other ahead of themselves. Teach them to serve one another tirelessly and be passionate about showing respect, acceptance, gratitude, grace, mercy, and love to one another daily. Amen.
In my post I did not claim to be chosen of God due to education or certificate, so that comment does not apply to me.
Jesus said that His words are spirit and Life, so yes, the Scriptures bring us knowledge of Christ without Him appearing to us. We hear from those He inspired who WERE eyewitnesses of Him when He lived on earth (Paul being the exception having seen the risen and glorified Jesus).
Gerhardus, one thing I think every believer has is the Holy Spirit because Peter said that the Spirit is given to all who come to faith in Jesus Acts 2:38-39. When you ask those on this forum if we have received the Holy Ghost, it seems like you are posing a challenge to others as to the genuineness of their faith, which you cannot determine. And when you denigrate those who seek to learn from Scripture, you are showing a prejudice towards people who use their minds as well as their hearts to come to know our Lord and the Father.
We are to love the Lord with all of our hearts, soul, MINDS, and strength. We are to us our mind to access what God says in HIS Scriptures. It is with our minds that we hear the Scriptures spoken or with our minds that we read and understand what we read. This is as God has designed it to be.
Scriptures do not tell us to expect a "visit" from Jesus to be taught of Him, as you seem to state. He gave us Scriptures as a sure and stable revelation of Himself and how He saves us from our sin. How we are to live inn a godly way for His glory and how we are to treat one another with love, especially those who also believe.
Gerhardus, I am glad to have read your posts. I hope our conversations will be gracious and reflect the truth of God revealed in Scripture. I will be praying for you. I hope you will also lift me up in prayer. Thanks.
A person need to receive the Holy Ghost. And Christ gave the Holy Ghost unto his Apostles and they gave it unto those that were chosen by God. Jesus said unto his Apostles free you have received it free you shall give it. If he that claim he is a chosen of God because he paid for the education and has a certificate to prove it is a liar and had been lied to.
The New testament acknowledge Jesus and tel us things about him and the works he did and the things he said but it also tel us about the Apostles and the things they did and say and how God appeared unto them and have send them where He God needed them.
The Scripture by itself dont bring salvation. It may bring hope. Salvation is to know the true God and his Son Jesus Christ - the Church today off which Christ is the head.
What I learn from the new testament is that God - if (you are a chosen) may personally appear unto you, from time to time, with a special request which you SHOULD NOT go against.
The thing is - CAN "YOU - meaning anyone today" with authority claim he is a chosen one of God.
Hi everyone. I want to ask for prayer for my home situation. Ever since my wife has moved in permanently her attitude toward me has gotten worse and worse, and she continues to try to usurp authority over me and she curses at me, and hits me. It is an unhealthy home situation. Please pray for me. Thank you and God bless.
I do understand how you feel and I've been in a similar situation to you . I haven't been to church for a while now and I miss it . In all honesty I don't miss the people , I miss the sermons , I love to be taught about the Bible and I'm always hungry to learn and I miss the bread and the wine very much . It is a precious privilege to partake of the bread and wine and I believe we should do so if possible . Keep looking for a church , I hope you find somewhere you can be comfortable and enjoy , I miss singing hymns also . I sing them at home but I have a hideous singing voice :( .
Thanks for your excellent post , I'm just reading 1st John and the first three chapters are all about the law of God , which is expressed very simply by Ch 3 V 23 . The whole of the law is love , love God , love Jesus and love each other . This is the commandment , believe and love .
I am so sorry for your troubles in your marriage. I will certainly pray for you and your wife.
Dear Heavenly Father, we come asking in the name of Jesus for You to speak to this man's wife and turn her around to do your will in this marriage and life with Gospel41. Bring blessing to this marriage and stop the destruction that is taking from this marriage what you have done in these two people. Bring back to Gospel41 and his wife a renewed love and desire to make their marriage become stronger and enduring instead of broken and breaking apart. We ask that You will heal hearts and minds, grant repentance and truly change what needs to be changed in each of these people in this union that will repair and reconnect the one flesh of this marriage. Give to each one a forgiving heart and mindset and remove from each of them any keeping of account of wrongs, but instead bring to their remembrance the good qualities in each other that led them to be married. Help them to see the best in the other and to really accept the imperfections of one another with a determination to help one another grow in Christ and become more of what You want each of these partners to become individually and as partners for each other.
Father, we know that You hate divorce, especially of Your children, so we are asking for Your help in this desperate situation to bring forth a good result rather than a division in this marriage. We know that You can do miracles. Please, do one for this couple. Amen.
Stay cool , don't allow yourself to be baited . I don't agree with everything that you say but I am very grateful to you for keeping me sharp and focused and you have very much helped my understanding , I have learned things from you and that's what I want from this site , to learn . Thank you .
Amen! False teaching must be called out, so thank you for doing so!
But you know something? No matter how false or corrupt someone's teachings are, there will always be at least one follower, and we see that here on this forum.
I think the best advice given by Jordyn was when he said "Don't believe a word I say without looking to the scriptures and asking Christ to teach you."
Well, I have taken his advice and searched the scriptures, which we are supposed to do anyways without anyone telling us to do so, and I find that the things he's saying go completely against sound biblical doctrine.
We will meet up when God wills it, either in this life or the life to come which will last forever.
We do need to be wise and watchful concerning the genuine truth of God vs. truth that man thinks is genuine. I wish that all believers would all have the same genuine truth of God, but for reasons we do not understand, God has allowed so much diversity within the body of Christ as to doctrine and practice. Perhaps it is for us to practice love and patience, forbearance and gentleness in teaching one another, especially with those who may not believe exactly as we do ourselves.
I imagine when we are resurrected, we will be very humbled by realizing that what we thought to be genuine truth of God and His ways and His Word really does not even touch the surface of the depths of the wisdom, knowledge, will, grace, and truth of God in Christ.
Every day that God gives us to live in this first life is filled with opportunities to worship Him, serve Him, serve others, speak the truth to ourselves and others, exercise the love of Christ to those we come in contact with in the day that God gives us, and also to have our faith be tested in order to drive us to the Word to have His Spirit bring us into truth and instruct us on how to live this day, today, for the Lord and for the benefit of others.
Fred, I am glad that you are back posting. I always enjoy your wisdom. Thanks for giving it out to those who have been called to be children of God.
The story of Philip and the Ethiopian demonstrates why God gave the offices of pastor, teacher, evangelist, apostle to the church Jesus created and promised to preserve throughout the ages. The Scriptures are our teachers because the words were written by apostles, taught of God, Who gave them the inspiration as to what to write. The Words in Scripture are God's message to us.
We are to read the Scriptures repeatedly to get them deep into our minds and hearts:
*to be able to remember verses to share with others in their time of learning or need
*to bring to mind when we need comfort, correcting, and understanding in all situations in our lives
*to teach them to our children in the everyday moments when circumstance come up where a good word from Scripture is needed without opening up the Scriptures to search for a verse
There are many more reasons to be very familiar with ALL of the Bible, so frequent reading is important.
Then there is the study of the Scriptures that goes beyond just reading it. We do this to:
*learn correct doctrines taught by the apostles across the epistles
*to learn more and more of Jesus in the Gospels
*to mature in our understanding of what God has revealed in Scripture
*to share our thoughts with others as we interact with Scripture
*to learn from a pastors sermons, teachers who lead us, and those God has anointed to be wise in Scriptural truth.
There are many other reasons to study the Scriptures
We meditate on what we read in Scriptures to:
*allow the Holy Spirit to strengthen our faith
*to immerse ourselves in the thoughts of Gods instead of thoughts of the world
*to mindful of God's Presence in us and His prescribed way of coming to Him through prayer and His Word
*to help us as we pray with the help of the Holy Spirit
There are many other reasons to meditate on Scripture.
All these actions are important to employ in our lives regularly.
Jesus said - No one comes to the Father than by me and no one come to me if the Father have not chosen him. So even having the new testament to read dont help much.
"Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not willing to make her a public example, was minded to put her away privily."
Joseph and Mary were related. Joseph in marrying her was coming to face a bogey, 'the ways of the world', in which traditions of the fathers are a brute weight especially over a man of his humble trade and circumstances. "What shall others say' is a bogey Satan has used to turn away the weak and silly minds from doing the right thing. Going against them meant he would be socially ostracized and his family subject to calumny at every turn. Despite of it the word of God qualifies him a just man. We are told why.
"Then Joseph. did as the angel of the Lord had bidden him, and took unto him his wife:/And knew her not till she had brought forth her firstborn son: and he called his name Jesus."(vv.24-25)
He believed the word spoken "of the Lord by the prophet." The word becoming flesh' the virgin aspect of it can only be settled by faith. St Paul was a 'virgin' on that account. He was called and separated from the womb and when the call came, "immediately I conferred not with flesh and blood:"(Gal.1:16). Similarly was Mary who had never known a man and she carried the promise of the eternal word (Ps.119:89). She was willing to face the consequences.Joseph being raised from sleep did as the angel of the Lord ad bidden him. He waited meaning he let his faith work perfectly.
St Matthew in narrating this reveals the self-same kindred spirit as Joseph had. In beginning with the generation of Jesus Christ (1:1) he confesses the irresistible force of the word of God. "He (Jesus) saw a man, named Matthew, sitting at the receipt of custom: and he saith unto him, Follow me. And he arose, and followed him."(9:9) The Parable of the Sower speaks as much as of the world as a field as his heart was seeded with the light of the knowledge in the face of Jesus Christ.
I have named no names and purely made a statement.
I am under the impression God is a live and his Son Jesus is still on earth.
Matthew 4:4 | Read whole chapter
But he answered, and said, It is written, Man shall not liue by bread alone, but by euery word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.
Of course, we know that we can all be subject to various inputs, whether from the pulpit, media, Bible colleges, study helps, etc., & these all influence us greatly in how we must read the Bible & in what we must believe. But in my musings, I think one of the biggest culprits is simply, 'what we really WANT TO BELIEVE, regardless of how the Bible is directing us'. And examples of this I find are in the Deity of Christ, the relationship of the Old & New Covenants, eternal Judgement/Hell, faith & works, etc. So, if someone definitely believes that there cannot possibly be an eternal suffering judgement because a loving merciful God would never allow it, then one is forced to read all the Scriptures accordingly, reading some/avoiding others, or even altering the meaning of passages. We even had one person writing here, a long while back now, who admitted that he never considered the Apostle Paul's writings because they didn't hold true to the teachings of Jesus. So, the option to pick & choose Scripture that suits our beliefs is always there, & no amount of bibilical dialogue/exchanges will ever convince the other.
And so you might notice that I fail to correspond with certain folk - not because of an unloving caring attitude towards them, but simply because that what they present against what I believe the Bible teaches, are far too remote for any meaningful discussion. A recent apt case in point is Psalm 82 & John 10:33-36. Unless one takes the trouble to learn what is being said & as given in Hebrew, the basis for us becoming gods then seems justified. Error breeds Error. GBU.
2 Timothy 2:15
James 2:
10 For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.
Romans 4:
2 For if Abraham were justified by works, he hath whereof to glory; but not before God.
3 For what saith the scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness.
4 Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt.
5 But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.
Ephesians 2:
8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.
Titus 3:
4 But after that the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared,
5 Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost;
6 Which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour;
7 That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.
May we be intercessors in CHRIST name, Isaiah 59:16, for those who have been blinded by the god of this world, 2 Corinthians 4:3, 4.
We are called to stand in the gap for others, Ezekiel 22:30, and plant the seed of the word that others may water and that GOD will give the increase.
Acts 15:
8 And God, which knoweth the hearts, bare them witness, giving them the Holy Ghost, even as he did unto us;
9 And put no difference between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith.
10 Now therefore why tempt ye God, to put a yoke upon the neck of the disciples, which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear?
11 But we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved, even as they.
Salvation is by faith in CHRIST alone.
GOD bless everyone!
Without the live of the truth mankind do know know what the love of God in Christ is about 100% conditional love. Everybody claims to know God and love him, however, does God know you in Christ? The preacher preaches God loves you when it is nothing but idle words to occupy their pews every Sunday just vain deceit, vain words to get at your pocketbook and not for the saving of the soul. Without Jesus Christ the Son of God and his words in you there is no love in a man or woman as Jesus' words are spirit and life John 6:63. The preacher who preaches God is love does not themselves have a stitch of that love. The live they posess is the live of money the root of all evil, the live for your pocketbook and nothing for the saving of your soul. Sunday school is not that love of the truth. It is every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God spoken by the Son of God Jesus Christ the law of spirit and life the words of spirit and life which sents us free from the law of sin and death.
Being a sinner is not God's love. God's live is that he washed us from all sin through the blood words of Jesus John 15:3 and Rev 1:5. In order to have something you must first posess it. In order to have love you must first posess it. No truth = no love.
2nd Thess 2:10] And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved.
[11] And for this cause God shall send them strong deluson, that they should believe a lie:
[12] That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.
I concur!
Sometimes we grow when we are challenged by a different opinion within the Gospel and we should examine the scriptures like the Bereans.
But when open comes along with something totally different and says you can't know God by the literal text in the Bible and all men teachings is false and all Churches is bad but yet you have a so called revelation that you insist on teaching, that should be a red flag.
God bless
You say that she has moved in with you. Did she move in with you because you just got married or were you separated for a while?
If it was me, I would insist on some boundaries. I would tell my husband that I am not going to take these verbal and physical attacks anymore. The next time this happens I will get a restraining order to get you away from me. I love my husband, but I know that, should this happen to me, I would see that the continuance of such behavior is not only harmful to me, and I should protect myself legally, but it is also harmful to the abuser to allow him or her to continue the abuse. You are both adults. you have a say in this. You can exercise your right to be safe in your own home.
Frank, I will be praying for you often.
Check back with us so we can be reminded to continue in prayer for you and Emilie.
Proverbs 10:17 "Whoever ignores correction leads others astray." NIV
"He is in the way of life that keepeth instruction: but he that refuseth reproof erreth." KJV
Proverbs 15:32 "He that refuseth instruction despises his own soul: but he that heareth reproof getteth understanding."
Jordyn, it is not easy for any of us to her the words of one who doesn't follow our own ideas. But it is wise to read or hear them and to check our souls asking the Holy Spirit to show us if the criticism is true of us or not.
I won't speak for S. Spencer here. But I will say that your postings sound very much like those of Earl Bowman who has given the impression of having left this site only to come back 3-4 times with different screen names. So, it would be helpful to us if you will answer this question. Have you been on this forum in the past as Earl Bowman?
Please know that I pray for you and others on this site every day. I will continue to do so because, since God has brought us together on this forum, we ought to care for one another, be willing to pray for each other, be willing to listen to what others say and prayerfully respond, not to contend, challenge, or debate others, but to express ones own belief, stand firm on our own beliefs if need be, and always have a willingness to admit to oneself that we may be wrong in our views and need to eliminate certain aspects of our beliefs to align with Scripture. We should be gracious to one another, not combative, not eager to have a "come back" for what someone else posts to us.
At times, participants on this forum do cross the line and say things they ought not have said. Apologies area always in order and should be warmly accepted. Some times it is best to exit a thread for the sake of peace.
I will be happy to pray for you and your wife and home life.
Dear Heavenly Father, Today we lift up Emilia and Frank Joseph before you and asking in Jesus' name for healing, positive growth, and increasing joy in their marriage. Restore to them the satisfaction of a happy marriage full of harmony, peace, and love. Help them to learn from You how to make their married life better, changing what needs to be changed, and accepting what may not undergo change at this time. Help them to wait on You to bring about the changes needed to make their married life fruitful in every way; a life that honors You through both partners and also honors each other. Help them to love one another and put the needs of the other ahead of themselves. Teach them to serve one another tirelessly and be passionate about showing respect, acceptance, gratitude, grace, mercy, and love to one another daily. Amen.
In my post I did not claim to be chosen of God due to education or certificate, so that comment does not apply to me.
Jesus said that His words are spirit and Life, so yes, the Scriptures bring us knowledge of Christ without Him appearing to us. We hear from those He inspired who WERE eyewitnesses of Him when He lived on earth (Paul being the exception having seen the risen and glorified Jesus).
Gerhardus, one thing I think every believer has is the Holy Spirit because Peter said that the Spirit is given to all who come to faith in Jesus Acts 2:38-39. When you ask those on this forum if we have received the Holy Ghost, it seems like you are posing a challenge to others as to the genuineness of their faith, which you cannot determine. And when you denigrate those who seek to learn from Scripture, you are showing a prejudice towards people who use their minds as well as their hearts to come to know our Lord and the Father.
We are to love the Lord with all of our hearts, soul, MINDS, and strength. We are to us our mind to access what God says in HIS Scriptures. It is with our minds that we hear the Scriptures spoken or with our minds that we read and understand what we read. This is as God has designed it to be.
Scriptures do not tell us to expect a "visit" from Jesus to be taught of Him, as you seem to state. He gave us Scriptures as a sure and stable revelation of Himself and how He saves us from our sin. How we are to live inn a godly way for His glory and how we are to treat one another with love, especially those who also believe.
Gerhardus, I am glad to have read your posts. I hope our conversations will be gracious and reflect the truth of God revealed in Scripture. I will be praying for you. I hope you will also lift me up in prayer. Thanks.
Iesus saith vnto him, I am the Way, the Trueth, and the Life: no man commeth vnto the Father but by mee.
The New testament acknowledge Jesus and tel us things about him and the works he did and the things he said but it also tel us about the Apostles and the things they did and say and how God appeared unto them and have send them where He God needed them.
The Scripture by itself dont bring salvation. It may bring hope. Salvation is to know the true God and his Son Jesus Christ - the Church today off which Christ is the head.
What I learn from the new testament is that God - if (you are a chosen) may personally appear unto you, from time to time, with a special request which you SHOULD NOT go against.
The thing is - CAN "YOU - meaning anyone today" with authority claim he is a chosen one of God.
I am so sorry for your troubles in your marriage. I will certainly pray for you and your wife.
Dear Heavenly Father, we come asking in the name of Jesus for You to speak to this man's wife and turn her around to do your will in this marriage and life with Gospel41. Bring blessing to this marriage and stop the destruction that is taking from this marriage what you have done in these two people. Bring back to Gospel41 and his wife a renewed love and desire to make their marriage become stronger and enduring instead of broken and breaking apart. We ask that You will heal hearts and minds, grant repentance and truly change what needs to be changed in each of these people in this union that will repair and reconnect the one flesh of this marriage. Give to each one a forgiving heart and mindset and remove from each of them any keeping of account of wrongs, but instead bring to their remembrance the good qualities in each other that led them to be married. Help them to see the best in the other and to really accept the imperfections of one another with a determination to help one another grow in Christ and become more of what You want each of these partners to become individually and as partners for each other.
Father, we know that You hate divorce, especially of Your children, so we are asking for Your help in this desperate situation to bring forth a good result rather than a division in this marriage. We know that You can do miracles. Please, do one for this couple. Amen.
Amen! False teaching must be called out, so thank you for doing so!
But you know something? No matter how false or corrupt someone's teachings are, there will always be at least one follower, and we see that here on this forum.
I think the best advice given by Jordyn was when he said "Don't believe a word I say without looking to the scriptures and asking Christ to teach you."
Well, I have taken his advice and searched the scriptures, which we are supposed to do anyways without anyone telling us to do so, and I find that the things he's saying go completely against sound biblical doctrine.
Again, thank you for exposing these things.
God bless!!!
We will meet up when God wills it, either in this life or the life to come which will last forever.
We do need to be wise and watchful concerning the genuine truth of God vs. truth that man thinks is genuine. I wish that all believers would all have the same genuine truth of God, but for reasons we do not understand, God has allowed so much diversity within the body of Christ as to doctrine and practice. Perhaps it is for us to practice love and patience, forbearance and gentleness in teaching one another, especially with those who may not believe exactly as we do ourselves.
I imagine when we are resurrected, we will be very humbled by realizing that what we thought to be genuine truth of God and His ways and His Word really does not even touch the surface of the depths of the wisdom, knowledge, will, grace, and truth of God in Christ.
Every day that God gives us to live in this first life is filled with opportunities to worship Him, serve Him, serve others, speak the truth to ourselves and others, exercise the love of Christ to those we come in contact with in the day that God gives us, and also to have our faith be tested in order to drive us to the Word to have His Spirit bring us into truth and instruct us on how to live this day, today, for the Lord and for the benefit of others.
Fred, I am glad that you are back posting. I always enjoy your wisdom. Thanks for giving it out to those who have been called to be children of God.
The story of Philip and the Ethiopian demonstrates why God gave the offices of pastor, teacher, evangelist, apostle to the church Jesus created and promised to preserve throughout the ages. The Scriptures are our teachers because the words were written by apostles, taught of God, Who gave them the inspiration as to what to write. The Words in Scripture are God's message to us.
We are to read the Scriptures repeatedly to get them deep into our minds and hearts:
*to be able to remember verses to share with others in their time of learning or need
*to bring to mind when we need comfort, correcting, and understanding in all situations in our lives
*to teach them to our children in the everyday moments when circumstance come up where a good word from Scripture is needed without opening up the Scriptures to search for a verse
There are many more reasons to be very familiar with ALL of the Bible, so frequent reading is important.
Then there is the study of the Scriptures that goes beyond just reading it. We do this to:
*learn correct doctrines taught by the apostles across the epistles
*to learn more and more of Jesus in the Gospels
*to mature in our understanding of what God has revealed in Scripture
*to share our thoughts with others as we interact with Scripture
*to learn from a pastors sermons, teachers who lead us, and those God has anointed to be wise in Scriptural truth.
There are many other reasons to study the Scriptures
We meditate on what we read in Scriptures to:
*allow the Holy Spirit to strengthen our faith
*to immerse ourselves in the thoughts of Gods instead of thoughts of the world
*to mindful of God's Presence in us and His prescribed way of coming to Him through prayer and His Word
*to help us as we pray with the help of the Holy Spirit
There are many other reasons to meditate on Scripture.
All these actions are important to employ in our lives regularly.
Jesus said, "My words are Spirit and Live"
Quote my words, don't say I said something that I did not say.
I will debate with you all day long if you wish.
God Bless YOU!
HOW were you saved?
WHAT were you saved from?
WHEN were you saved?
God BLESS YOU!