Thank you I will show my son and I pray it helps him to understand more. He tends to read things on computer as opposed to reading the actual bible so, prayers.!
Thank you I will show my son and I pray it helps him to understand more. He tends to read things on computer as opposed to reading the actual bible so, prayers.!
Yet I did say to him that it really does not matter what shape the earth is, round, square or triangle..we the main thing is we need to love God with all our being and help anyone in need.
Dear Joleen, Be assured that the Lord is always with you. He promised not to forsake you. So, He is just a breath away and we can pray to Him anytime, even if it is simply, "Thank you, Jesus, for ...."
I understand that Christmas can be very taxing of our time and energy as we attempt to prepare every thing for our loved ones so they will be blessed. When my kids were young, I tried to avoid having everything come upon me at once in a short amount of time. So, I made a plan. I would try to purchase all gifts by the end of October so that I can spend time preparing for Thanksgiving and then for Christmas with joy. I learned over the years to slowly cut out certain things as the boys grew older that they seemed to outgrow and to retain certain traditions that they still enjoyed. As they reached adulthood we talked together about not emphasizing gift giving as much as being together. We decided to put money together to give to Heifer International t provide a heifer or a goat to families in need. So, now, I do not buy many Christmas gifts. We all decorate the tree together still. We have Christmas Eve dinner together along with Christmas breakfast. Then we go to a relative's for an extended family Christmas dinner.
Letting go of Christmas things that have always given us much joy can be hard to do. But I learned that my thoughts should be more Christ centered at this time, so I pared back and released the things I loved about Christmas to the Lord for Him to transform this season to allow me to honor Him more than all of the Christmas "stuff".
I will pray for you today.
Dear Heavenly Father, we lift up to You Joleen and her mother today and ask of You today in the name of Jesus to renew both of these women in their faith and deepen their commitment to walk closely with You. We ask that You give Joleen reprieve from all of the busyness of the Christmas season and teach her to spend time in worship and learning to rest in You. renew their faith today. Amen.
Hello Hammer, I guess by your post you are inquiring of me pertaining to what I said about the unchangeable, all-knowing nature of God. Therefore, using the words "not know" does not mean that God learned something new, but that these practices are not holy or pure worship.
The Jeremiah passages reflect the truth that God cannot conceive evil in His Being. He is altogether righteous, holy, and pure. Therefore, He would not institute worship practices that are evil.
As far as the Genesis passage, I don't think the word repented in this passage reflects a change in God's thinking about creating humans. I believe that this passage shows how the rampant and pervasive evil produced by mankind was very grievous to God and that it grieved Him to bring judgment upon mankind with the flood.
alex1939...Samuel this is a very interesting topic all thru the bible...The great King Solomon when he had completed his New Temple with his hands stretched toward heaven made intersession for the Stangers the Gentiles that was not of his ppl Israel.. approx a 1000 yrs b/f Jesus...2 nd Chronicles 6:32...Hear thou from heaven and do all that the stranger asked of thee...THAT THY NAME MIGHT BE GREAT IN ALL THE EARTH...And let us not forget our father ABRAHAM a Syrian a stranger that became a father to Israel the Jews the circumcision and to the uncircumcised the Gentiles ...So much to be said about the Strangers....GB
alex1939...Samuel the strangers were any body not of the common wealth of Israel...The Gentiles were considered the strangers .... Ephesians 2:11...Remember ye being strangers in the past called the uncircumcisied in the flesh....Ye were strangers to the comon wealth of Israel etc....Anybody not circumcised. gb
Gigi, curious how you interpret these verses. Jeremiah 19:5 "They have built also the high places of Baal, to burn their sons with fire for burnt offerings unto Baal, which I commanded not, nor spake it, neither came it into my mind:" Jeremiah 32:35 "And they built the high places of Baal, which are in the valley of the son of Hinnom, to cause their sons and their daughters to pass through the fire unto Molech; which I commanded them not, neither came it into my mind, that they should do this abomination, to cause Judah to sin." Genesis 6:6 "And it repented the LORD that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart."
alex1939...Bob good question...Truly something to think about the "Church"...But under this New Covenant at Calvary the Church became...The Bride..Now its our bodies that are his temple...Abide in me and i in you...I am the true vine and you are the branches...Thats y he has to know us, Under this New Covenant there has to be a Heavenly Birth via his Seed his Words...Thus the very Kingdom of God is gonna be with in us...There is gona be a Change in the Church via this New Covenant...If any man hears my words and keeps them my Father and i will come and take our abode within him...We have a new priesthood now b/c of this N.C...And this N.C is Christ in us the hope of Glory...At Pentacost we see a N.C. taking place...in the hearts of Jew and Gentiles alike Which was the gift of the H.G. That Child of Promise was born to them, in their hearts, they became the very Temple of God
....Long ago Gen. 22:17..God Almighty made a promise that Christ wd be multiplied as the stars of heaven and God swore by this Promise...Thats y the sower of that incorruptible seed wants to sow his seed in our hearts...That we might birth Christ in our hearts the Son of MAN...That Child of Promise...Thats y Jesus refered to the H.G as the Promise the H.G. is the multiplication of very God...To whom his words came ( Jesus Words ) the living words it made them Gods and the scripture cannot be broken...And we are gona be his TEMPLE...Forever...And we are gonna marry the H.G. OUR SON... Isaiah 62:5...As a young man marries a virgin so shall thy sons marry thee...The son of man is our only son the H.G....Our 1st born from above.
Jesus cd not tell everything till all was fulfilled...He cd not offend till all was fulfilled..Thats y the scrip. is saying these things are hid from the wise and prudent but revealed unto babes...The woman in Rev 12:5 could not give birth to the Children of Promise till that book was opened...Thats when they sang a new song..We will no more sing this churchanity song.GBU
Enoch was written no doubt as a genuine text as quoted in Jude; and his name mentioned in Genesis. Unfortunately, the only section that can be trusted is in Jude and major parts of the text are missing; noteably part that mentions disputing over the Body of Moses. There is rather fanciful and strange things in the existing version too; so it is probably not the original text.
From what we do now in the scriptures; he was a man who pleased God and "was not"; he was the first man to be translated to heaven; then Elijah later on. Since it appears Elijah is one of the 2 last prophets then it is clear that he has NOT received as yet a resurrection body. If the principle of Heb. 9:27 holds forth; then the same would be said of Elijah; and hence these would be the final 2 prophets. This is controversial; but bolstered by the fact that Christ was said to be the first of the firstfruits; ( 1 Cor. 15:23) which was followed apparently by a resurrection of some of the saints from the grave at that point ( Matthew 27:53). The Rapture is the next phase along with the Resurrection of all the church age saints (it appears that perhaps the rest of the O.T. saints are resurrected later on in the Tribulation when we look at Daniel 12:2.
What we do understand is how to be a man after God's own heart and how that qualifies us for the Rapture and to escape all things to come; as well as the multihued of ten thousand times ten thousand angels also bolstered by Revelation 5:11. There are other texts quoted in scripture that we don't have copies of; even with the sermon on Mars hill by Paul as well as his comment to the Cretians being greedy and gluttonous came from secular writers (not a pleasant message to hear is true; no doubt). Scripture as a whole is intertwined with numerous cross references (a Dake's bible has over 100,000!) Some of these of course are questionable but in scripture it is clear that "thus saith the Lord" means certain things indeed happened.
Hello Texsis. 1 Chronicles 16:30 ties in with Psalm 96. Though Psalm 96 doesn't give us an author, we know that 1 Chronicles 16:7-36 was a Psalm uttered by King David "to thank the LORD & given into the hand of Asaph and his brethren". We can assume that Psalm 96 was also authored by David, or at least a person iterating a part of David's praise to God.
And so, after giving much praise to the LORD, calling all people to praise Him ( 1 Chronicles 16:28-30), in verse 30 David calls Earth's inhabitants to "fear before Him", or fall in reverence to the LORD of the Earth & heavens. Then David, in verse 30, says, "the world also shall be stable, that it be not moved", as he also says in verses 31-33, 'for the heavens & earth to rejoice, the seas & fields to also rejoice, & the trees in the field to sing out at His Presence'.
These verses, speak about all of creation should, and would, praise their Creator. And therefore in verse 30, the thought here is that the world (the Earth) would always continue in its orbit & remain entire & complete, in accordance to the Command of God for its planned duration. In Hebrew, the language of this Book, it says that 'the Earth will be firmly established (kun)' and 'it will not totter, shake or slip off course (mot)'. So, here we see, nothing about the Earth being flat & can't move - rather, the Earth's presence in the universe & in our galaxy is ordained by God & He promises to keep it in its present orbit & not budge or slip out of it.
But if your son believes or thinks that the Earth is flat, he would need to consider other demonstrable facts of the spherical shape of the Earth & its orbit around the Sun. The one I'm most familiar with, as an aviation enthusiast, is the plotting of an air route (say between London & NY). On a flat map, one can draw a straight line between them, but in actual fact that straight line is a longer route, since a curved line (following the curve of the Earth), is the shorter route - no flat Earth.
Qs to a pastor or anyone not guessing...my son asked what 1Chronicles 16:30 ment? I told him we are to be strong in Christ. He thinks it means, believing world is flat, that it can't be moved cuz it's flat.! What is true meaning???
I do agree with brother Chris' answer. They were "out of towners" so to speak.
We also see the word strangers used in the New Testament, in the book of Hebrews, and also in 3 John 1:5 which says, beloved, you do faithfully whatsoever you are doing to the brethren, and to strangers;
Now strangers in the New Testament, they are strange only in that they are unknown to the person that's being hospitable to them. They are strangers in that they are from out of town.
In other words, Gaius didn't ride his rickshaw down by the freeway and pick up strangers hitchhiking. These are strangers or visitors from out of town that were Christians who were traveling in the Lord's work.
And it says the brethren and the strangers. So he even helped the brothers there in the town that he was in.
In Hebrews 13:2, strangers had to do with Christians who were traveling through town, those involved in the Lord's work, who were in town. The inns or hotels were usually full. But even if they weren't, it was a place of prostitution and drinking.
And so when believers came into town, they would inquire if there were other believers in that town that had a room that was vacant.
And that's what this is making reference to. The strangers are people who are foreigners in the city that they're in.
It says, "For thereby some have entertained angels unawares."
In Genesis Chapters 18 and 19, first with Abraham, and then with Lot, they entertained angels unawares. They were not aware of it. And so some people might have an angel in their house and not even know it.
The Psalm certainly reminds us of Satan's role as the "accuser of the brethren". This is recorded in the earliest texts of scripture in Job; and Genesis; and is seen in the still future events in Revelation 12. Since the word them and they seems to be the context of the Psalm there are certainly powers and principalities under Satan's rulership that would probably plan to work on people to search out "iniquities" and "inward thoughts" such as verse 6 show.
It would seem that perhaps in the final judgment at Armageddon the destruction of those who are blaspheming God and no doubt the saints as Satan himself is starting in Revelation 13 will cause some of the fear in verse 9 and the rejoicing in verse 10.
I have tended to look to future prophetic final fulfillments to be strongly suggested not only in Psalms but most of scripture. There are certainly many things applicable to David as this one (albeit not specifically mentioning any particular event in his life that inspired these words).
Looking at my "cheat sheet" from church a few years back there are many types of Psalms; the "lament" one has a title/intro.; complaint; promises (petition); A statement of trust and Praise. (Thanks to K. D. a former elder in my church who taught this study; guess I'm not allowed to mention names here).
At any rate; there is certainly some mystery as to the order of the Psalms (not chronological) and to just when and where certain types appear; also of course some run through multiple chapters with the same writing. There are acrostic patterns we can't see except in the original language. May these verses and all scripture be real to us as we meditate on the Word day and night ( Joshua 1:8).
Hi Samuel. Are you referring to 2 Samuel 4:3: "sojourners"? If so, this word, as with 'strangers', applies to people that are not normally resident in that city or area, but had traveled to another place to visit or reside; as seen also in Exodus 22:21 & other references.
I did my own opinion piece on the subject the other day.
Without mentioning any particular charlatans by name (I'll let you use your imagination) anyone preaching a false doctrine or clearly in the ministry for "filthy lucre" ( 1 Peter 5:2) are not to be funded. So to begin this discussion we need to have a clear definition of what a true church is.
Assuming the church has the core doctrines and as we can best tell they are making a genuine attempt to proclaim the true Gospel message; the next thought is exactly what is the reasoning and methodology for asking for funding? I am certainly not going to say that every fund raising option other than directly fulfilling the Great Commission or taking care of immediate needs with a church building or hopefully the widows and others struggling in the church is wrong; but I certainly wouldn't feel obligated to put more than "chump change" into it (unless I suddenly came into a fortune). As I stated in my post the other day we should seek a clear financial statement from a church. One example I can give is that my current church had an issue with someone whose mental acuity after having COVID apparently was compromised and major errors occurred. Thankfully the man is still welcome to attend our church but others had to be called in to oversee the accounting (and also there are multiple checkers of figures involved as well). Transparency needs to be there; if anything to relegate cost effective means to get work done which may be better suggested by those for instance talented in building repair as contractors; etc.
As to methodology; I think anything which brings worldly vices for financial gain such as raffles; bingo etc should be ruled out.
As for rummage sales; I suppose that is ok; what I am more concerned about is if money from that is going to a ministry that is Godly; or to some politically correct activity that I can't support.
Even good TV preachers won't starve soon; they are last on my list.
Hello Bob. The Greek word for 'Church' (as in Matthew 18:17), is "ekklesia", which applies to a Church congregation, or even an assembly of people.
In Acts 19:38,39, we read, "Wherefore if Demetrius, and the craftsmen which are with him, have a matter against any man, the law is open, and there are deputies: let them implead one another. But if ye enquire any thing concerning other matters, it shall be determined in a lawful ASSEMBLY (ekklesia)." So here, we see the other use of the word, which the Bible translators correctly understood as not applying to the 'Church', but to a non-Church (legal) assembly.
But in Matthew chapter 18, Jesus is speaking to His disciples (verse 1), so as GiGi has shared, it can be accurately understood that this discourse given by Him, was a little insight to the future, i.e. in the administration of His Church, or Assembly, as the Holy Spirit had (or, was given) control & believers were added to it. When we look at this chapter, advice on conversion, humility, sin, conflict between the brethren & prayer are the topics the Lord brings up. Even as the Lord spoke to Peter in Matthew 16:18, that "upon this rock (the body of Truth) I will build my ekklesia".
Response to Revelation 15 (and I assume following passages for God's judgments).
Hey; what's up? I would say that when we are lifted up; i.e. raptured then the veil will be completely removed so that we are able to see what is now in visible in the spirit realm as well as seeing God Himself and Christ in their full glory without being consumed which we can't do in these mortal fleshly bodies.
So really; all of Revelation itself is breaking through to that realization-from John's initial vision of heaven where it appears he was taken to view the heavenly creatures and realm as well as what we may call "time travel" where these same spirit beings which were pictured in the Old Testament by Ezekiel and Isaiah continue to minister before God. He was able to see the future and things which MUST happen after these things; that is after the "church age" with the types of church mentioned in the first 2 chapters.
Simply put; we see the seals opened by Christ Himself; and will be undoubtably able to be made aware of what's going on in the earth (as the prayers of the saints seem to indicate). It appears as we stand there that we will merely see the destruction of the wicked ( Psalm 91:8). As for those on the earth they will by the sixth seal be aware of God and Christ beginning to judge; so in that sense there won't be any more atheists from that point forth; but sadly only Satan worshippers if people aren't worshipping the true God at that point. All the cards will be on the table so to speak.
Maybe the Lord will give you insight into these things. If He does; one should be aware that the enemy wants to render us ineffective. People want good news not news that Satan is about to come down to earth in the near future. But the Lord allows all these things before His coming; a sort of "clearing house" as it will to evict that usurper the Devil who has assumed rulership since Adam fell and lost some of his privileges.
I'm reading Job at the moment and lm struck by how much of the dialogue also finds its way into the new testament , in particular Jesus paraphrases a lot of things from Job , into his sermons . I'm determined to go through and mark out every bit that Jesus repeats . I'm always full of good intentions but I'm sorry to say that I rarely follow through with them .
It is interesting; I have never considered the same overcoming statement is for all the churches mentioned. There appears to be a qualifier with the Thyatira church as to keeping WORKS until the end; for they will have power over the nations. It seems to me that only a sector of the entire church of true believers has the privilege to rule as "kings and priests". Clearly there is a specific crown for martyrdom and other virtues of those who are longsuffering. Some on the other hand such as Smyrna may make it "as though through the fire" ( 1 Cor. 3:15) so that the second death itself can be averted. There are some who don't seem to find a difference in the "Bema Seat" judgment and the Great White Throne Judgement. Eschatologically speaking the Millennium is to be taken seriously. Still; as believers the whole issue of reward sometimes seems underappreciated (except for the wrong emphasis with the prosperity preachers). ( Heb. 11:6).
What is also noteworthy here is that the overcomer is involving certain individuals within each church; in other words only a subset of the "professing" believers are "possessing" ones of the Holy Ghost. This should stand as a stern warning so that we may do as 2 Cor. 13:5 states that we should "test ourselves to see if we are in the faith". Fruit must be in our lives that show that we are truly saved. We must also make sure that our garments remain unspotted from the world ( Rev. 3:4 and elsewhere). It could be argued that those whose garments are stained may not make it in the rapture; and some have to get purified then. That assumes the rapture is a reward issue ( Rev. 3:10; Luke 21:36). If it isn't then we can certainly say that most believers aren't praying that too often. Or; alternatively we could assume that if anyone IS a true believer they will wake up in time to hear the spiritual alarm bells that His coming is near.
Who are you talking about?
Don't answer that.
lol.
I understand that Christmas can be very taxing of our time and energy as we attempt to prepare every thing for our loved ones so they will be blessed. When my kids were young, I tried to avoid having everything come upon me at once in a short amount of time. So, I made a plan. I would try to purchase all gifts by the end of October so that I can spend time preparing for Thanksgiving and then for Christmas with joy. I learned over the years to slowly cut out certain things as the boys grew older that they seemed to outgrow and to retain certain traditions that they still enjoyed. As they reached adulthood we talked together about not emphasizing gift giving as much as being together. We decided to put money together to give to Heifer International t provide a heifer or a goat to families in need. So, now, I do not buy many Christmas gifts. We all decorate the tree together still. We have Christmas Eve dinner together along with Christmas breakfast. Then we go to a relative's for an extended family Christmas dinner.
Letting go of Christmas things that have always given us much joy can be hard to do. But I learned that my thoughts should be more Christ centered at this time, so I pared back and released the things I loved about Christmas to the Lord for Him to transform this season to allow me to honor Him more than all of the Christmas "stuff".
I will pray for you today.
Dear Heavenly Father, we lift up to You Joleen and her mother today and ask of You today in the name of Jesus to renew both of these women in their faith and deepen their commitment to walk closely with You. We ask that You give Joleen reprieve from all of the busyness of the Christmas season and teach her to spend time in worship and learning to rest in You. renew their faith today. Amen.
The Jeremiah passages reflect the truth that God cannot conceive evil in His Being. He is altogether righteous, holy, and pure. Therefore, He would not institute worship practices that are evil.
As far as the Genesis passage, I don't think the word repented in this passage reflects a change in God's thinking about creating humans. I believe that this passage shows how the rampant and pervasive evil produced by mankind was very grievous to God and that it grieved Him to bring judgment upon mankind with the flood.
....Long ago Gen. 22:17..God Almighty made a promise that Christ wd be multiplied as the stars of heaven and God swore by this Promise...Thats y the sower of that incorruptible seed wants to sow his seed in our hearts...That we might birth Christ in our hearts the Son of MAN...That Child of Promise...Thats y Jesus refered to the H.G as the Promise the H.G. is the multiplication of very God...To whom his words came ( Jesus Words ) the living words it made them Gods and the scripture cannot be broken...And we are gona be his TEMPLE...Forever...And we are gonna marry the H.G. OUR SON... Isaiah 62:5...As a young man marries a virgin so shall thy sons marry thee...The son of man is our only son the H.G....Our 1st born from above.
Jesus cd not tell everything till all was fulfilled...He cd not offend till all was fulfilled..Thats y the scrip. is saying these things are hid from the wise and prudent but revealed unto babes...The woman in Rev 12:5 could not give birth to the Children of Promise till that book was opened...Thats when they sang a new song..We will no more sing this churchanity song.GBU
From what we do now in the scriptures; he was a man who pleased God and "was not"; he was the first man to be translated to heaven; then Elijah later on. Since it appears Elijah is one of the 2 last prophets then it is clear that he has NOT received as yet a resurrection body. If the principle of Heb. 9:27 holds forth; then the same would be said of Elijah; and hence these would be the final 2 prophets. This is controversial; but bolstered by the fact that Christ was said to be the first of the firstfruits; ( 1 Cor. 15:23) which was followed apparently by a resurrection of some of the saints from the grave at that point ( Matthew 27:53). The Rapture is the next phase along with the Resurrection of all the church age saints (it appears that perhaps the rest of the O.T. saints are resurrected later on in the Tribulation when we look at Daniel 12:2.
What we do understand is how to be a man after God's own heart and how that qualifies us for the Rapture and to escape all things to come; as well as the multihued of ten thousand times ten thousand angels also bolstered by Revelation 5:11. There are other texts quoted in scripture that we don't have copies of; even with the sermon on Mars hill by Paul as well as his comment to the Cretians being greedy and gluttonous came from secular writers (not a pleasant message to hear is true; no doubt). Scripture as a whole is intertwined with numerous cross references (a Dake's bible has over 100,000!) Some of these of course are questionable but in scripture it is clear that "thus saith the Lord" means certain things indeed happened.
And so, after giving much praise to the LORD, calling all people to praise Him ( 1 Chronicles 16:28-30), in verse 30 David calls Earth's inhabitants to "fear before Him", or fall in reverence to the LORD of the Earth & heavens. Then David, in verse 30, says, "the world also shall be stable, that it be not moved", as he also says in verses 31-33, 'for the heavens & earth to rejoice, the seas & fields to also rejoice, & the trees in the field to sing out at His Presence'.
These verses, speak about all of creation should, and would, praise their Creator. And therefore in verse 30, the thought here is that the world (the Earth) would always continue in its orbit & remain entire & complete, in accordance to the Command of God for its planned duration. In Hebrew, the language of this Book, it says that 'the Earth will be firmly established (kun)' and 'it will not totter, shake or slip off course (mot)'. So, here we see, nothing about the Earth being flat & can't move - rather, the Earth's presence in the universe & in our galaxy is ordained by God & He promises to keep it in its present orbit & not budge or slip out of it.
But if your son believes or thinks that the Earth is flat, he would need to consider other demonstrable facts of the spherical shape of the Earth & its orbit around the Sun. The one I'm most familiar with, as an aviation enthusiast, is the plotting of an air route (say between London & NY). On a flat map, one can draw a straight line between them, but in actual fact that straight line is a longer route, since a curved line (following the curve of the Earth), is the shorter route - no flat Earth.
I do agree with brother Chris' answer. They were "out of towners" so to speak.
We also see the word strangers used in the New Testament, in the book of Hebrews, and also in 3 John 1:5 which says, beloved, you do faithfully whatsoever you are doing to the brethren, and to strangers;
Now strangers in the New Testament, they are strange only in that they are unknown to the person that's being hospitable to them. They are strangers in that they are from out of town.
In other words, Gaius didn't ride his rickshaw down by the freeway and pick up strangers hitchhiking. These are strangers or visitors from out of town that were Christians who were traveling in the Lord's work.
And it says the brethren and the strangers. So he even helped the brothers there in the town that he was in.
In Hebrews 13:2, strangers had to do with Christians who were traveling through town, those involved in the Lord's work, who were in town. The inns or hotels were usually full. But even if they weren't, it was a place of prostitution and drinking.
And so when believers came into town, they would inquire if there were other believers in that town that had a room that was vacant.
And that's what this is making reference to. The strangers are people who are foreigners in the city that they're in.
It says, "For thereby some have entertained angels unawares."
In Genesis Chapters 18 and 19, first with Abraham, and then with Lot, they entertained angels unawares. They were not aware of it. And so some people might have an angel in their house and not even know it.
The Psalm certainly reminds us of Satan's role as the "accuser of the brethren". This is recorded in the earliest texts of scripture in Job; and Genesis; and is seen in the still future events in Revelation 12. Since the word them and they seems to be the context of the Psalm there are certainly powers and principalities under Satan's rulership that would probably plan to work on people to search out "iniquities" and "inward thoughts" such as verse 6 show.
It would seem that perhaps in the final judgment at Armageddon the destruction of those who are blaspheming God and no doubt the saints as Satan himself is starting in Revelation 13 will cause some of the fear in verse 9 and the rejoicing in verse 10.
I have tended to look to future prophetic final fulfillments to be strongly suggested not only in Psalms but most of scripture. There are certainly many things applicable to David as this one (albeit not specifically mentioning any particular event in his life that inspired these words).
Looking at my "cheat sheet" from church a few years back there are many types of Psalms; the "lament" one has a title/intro.; complaint; promises (petition); A statement of trust and Praise. (Thanks to K. D. a former elder in my church who taught this study; guess I'm not allowed to mention names here).
At any rate; there is certainly some mystery as to the order of the Psalms (not chronological) and to just when and where certain types appear; also of course some run through multiple chapters with the same writing. There are acrostic patterns we can't see except in the original language. May these verses and all scripture be real to us as we meditate on the Word day and night ( Joshua 1:8).
Without mentioning any particular charlatans by name (I'll let you use your imagination) anyone preaching a false doctrine or clearly in the ministry for "filthy lucre" ( 1 Peter 5:2) are not to be funded. So to begin this discussion we need to have a clear definition of what a true church is.
Assuming the church has the core doctrines and as we can best tell they are making a genuine attempt to proclaim the true Gospel message; the next thought is exactly what is the reasoning and methodology for asking for funding? I am certainly not going to say that every fund raising option other than directly fulfilling the Great Commission or taking care of immediate needs with a church building or hopefully the widows and others struggling in the church is wrong; but I certainly wouldn't feel obligated to put more than "chump change" into it (unless I suddenly came into a fortune). As I stated in my post the other day we should seek a clear financial statement from a church. One example I can give is that my current church had an issue with someone whose mental acuity after having COVID apparently was compromised and major errors occurred. Thankfully the man is still welcome to attend our church but others had to be called in to oversee the accounting (and also there are multiple checkers of figures involved as well). Transparency needs to be there; if anything to relegate cost effective means to get work done which may be better suggested by those for instance talented in building repair as contractors; etc.
As to methodology; I think anything which brings worldly vices for financial gain such as raffles; bingo etc should be ruled out.
As for rummage sales; I suppose that is ok; what I am more concerned about is if money from that is going to a ministry that is Godly; or to some politically correct activity that I can't support.
Even good TV preachers won't starve soon; they are last on my list.
In Acts 19:38,39, we read, "Wherefore if Demetrius, and the craftsmen which are with him, have a matter against any man, the law is open, and there are deputies: let them implead one another. But if ye enquire any thing concerning other matters, it shall be determined in a lawful ASSEMBLY (ekklesia)." So here, we see the other use of the word, which the Bible translators correctly understood as not applying to the 'Church', but to a non-Church (legal) assembly.
But in Matthew chapter 18, Jesus is speaking to His disciples (verse 1), so as GiGi has shared, it can be accurately understood that this discourse given by Him, was a little insight to the future, i.e. in the administration of His Church, or Assembly, as the Holy Spirit had (or, was given) control & believers were added to it. When we look at this chapter, advice on conversion, humility, sin, conflict between the brethren & prayer are the topics the Lord brings up. Even as the Lord spoke to Peter in Matthew 16:18, that "upon this rock (the body of Truth) I will build my ekklesia".
Hey; what's up? I would say that when we are lifted up; i.e. raptured then the veil will be completely removed so that we are able to see what is now in visible in the spirit realm as well as seeing God Himself and Christ in their full glory without being consumed which we can't do in these mortal fleshly bodies.
So really; all of Revelation itself is breaking through to that realization-from John's initial vision of heaven where it appears he was taken to view the heavenly creatures and realm as well as what we may call "time travel" where these same spirit beings which were pictured in the Old Testament by Ezekiel and Isaiah continue to minister before God. He was able to see the future and things which MUST happen after these things; that is after the "church age" with the types of church mentioned in the first 2 chapters.
Simply put; we see the seals opened by Christ Himself; and will be undoubtably able to be made aware of what's going on in the earth (as the prayers of the saints seem to indicate). It appears as we stand there that we will merely see the destruction of the wicked ( Psalm 91:8). As for those on the earth they will by the sixth seal be aware of God and Christ beginning to judge; so in that sense there won't be any more atheists from that point forth; but sadly only Satan worshippers if people aren't worshipping the true God at that point. All the cards will be on the table so to speak.
Maybe the Lord will give you insight into these things. If He does; one should be aware that the enemy wants to render us ineffective. People want good news not news that Satan is about to come down to earth in the near future. But the Lord allows all these things before His coming; a sort of "clearing house" as it will to evict that usurper the Devil who has assumed rulership since Adam fell and lost some of his privileges.
That's the way I see it.
Agape.
What is also noteworthy here is that the overcomer is involving certain individuals within each church; in other words only a subset of the "professing" believers are "possessing" ones of the Holy Ghost. This should stand as a stern warning so that we may do as 2 Cor. 13:5 states that we should "test ourselves to see if we are in the faith". Fruit must be in our lives that show that we are truly saved. We must also make sure that our garments remain unspotted from the world ( Rev. 3:4 and elsewhere). It could be argued that those whose garments are stained may not make it in the rapture; and some have to get purified then. That assumes the rapture is a reward issue ( Rev. 3:10; Luke 21:36). If it isn't then we can certainly say that most believers aren't praying that too often. Or; alternatively we could assume that if anyone IS a true believer they will wake up in time to hear the spiritual alarm bells that His coming is near.
Agape; Rich P