In fact God has always adapted Himself to the knowledge of the people he was talking to. He does not try to impress us with his knowledge. So in Bible the earth seems sometimes to be flat or be supported by some kind of support, sun is orbitting earth, oceans have gates and levers, Heaven(space) has 7 levels, sin comes out of our heart (the ancient people believed that all feelings come out literally from the heart, which is just an organ, a blood pump) and many other things which are obviously wrong scientifically. And God accepts all that because His purpose of inspiring people to write down things about Him is not to give some Physics, Chemistry, Maths, etc lectures but He wanted to reveal Himself to us, people, through history using the knowledge mankind had at any period of time.
This is just an opinion (and if somebody else tells me something more realistic I will change my mind). So if aliens existed God would have told us, like He told us of angels and other heavenly beings. He would have prepared us for such a possible meeting with them.
Hello Gigi. Just my opinion. I think that God gave us all the information needed for the material creation, the Genesis. The spiritual creation, a genesis of angels and other heavenly beings is not described in the Bible since it is another world, but about our world we know everything we should know. But God's purpose was not to give us some sort of scientific information. E.g. Genesis is a very very general description of the creation, don't try to find any scientific information there. Genesis is an account of the creation which can be read by modern people but also by primitive people like Abraham and Job. so that they can understand too. So obviously God couldn't just say, "Well, in the begining I provided the energy for the start of the unfolding of space and time, which fractions of milliseconds later was tranformed to photons, which in turn as the universe was cooling down became matter, so planets, suns and galaxies were starting forming...". Can you imagine something like that? No, so God said that He first made the light (the photons which were the first to be produced from that explosion which is called Big Bang{if it is right}). So it seems that God provided the energy for the creation of the universe, according to the laws He designed. It also seems that God caused a procedure for that creation, which in Genesis has the form of "days", that is time intervals of maybe billions of years. It is in vain that many people try to get some sort of scientific information in Genesis breaking down into pieces every single verse. In fact in the whole of Bible God does not give any scientific information at all, that is not the purpose of Bible. God's purpose is to make us have a general idea of the world (hence universe) we are living in, and introduce Himself through Israel's and churche's history, and reveal to us His plan of saving people. He also tells us about how all these things are going to end and a new world will be created for the saved people.
so since Christmas is a pagan holiday, its man made. why when i search the topic upon this site it says verse Matthew 1:18-1:25 and talks about the birth of Jesus. I'm just curious
Apparently David was in charge of and/or led several campaigns in an area that is somewhat disputed today as to the exact location(s) due to the topography and changes in the landscape since Biblical times. Nonetheless I am unaware of any great miracles of God causing the earth to shift such as in verse 2.
The whole area surrounding Jerusalem in the territory God promised a includes not only the area already conquered and allotted to tribes but surrounding territories (verses 6-8). These larger regions and the other references seeming to indicate a larger judgment probably are prophetic to things which will happen in the end times. The trumpet and bowl judgments will affect the whole world with earthquakes; and the "wine of astonishment" referred to in verse 3 is found in Isaiah; Jeremiah; Ezekiel and a later Psalm as well as of course describing Babylon the Great in Revelation 17 and 18. Of course the Book of Lamentations involving the Babylonian captivity also caused great famine and cannibalism as a horrible sign resulting from the abominable sins that God forewarned about that would cause such things to be unleashed. That is also a warning today to Israel who will have to go through the fire in the Tribulation for national revival to finally occur.
Further evidence of future prophecy is seen in verses 10-12. Edom is mentioned in the Book of Hosea with last day fulfillments as well. Christ coming down to earth is mentioned in Zechariah 14. He will; of course tread down His enemies in the wine of His wrath alone ( Isaiah 63:3) as well as Revelation 19.
Perhaps these themes were an encouragement to David as well as us that eventually all of the territory God promised in the promise of the Covenant He gave to Abraham will be fulfilled.
It is interesting that when Europeans believed the world was flat their lives ere ,I tied to what they could see ,for fear of falling off the edge of the world ,due in part if not the main to false religion that ruled and reigned .
But once it was understood that the world was round we scattered to the four corners of the world and discovered new lands .
But strangely where ever man could live we found man already there .
Some 'civilised' some living ' primitive' some cannibals.
Some living in the Stone Age . Others Chinese for example f great inventions and complex ,civilisation' .
There are still some living in the Stone Age ,but no less civilised than others .
The Tower of Babel was man's first geographical dispersal . And we saw the results of it ;of man without God .or the true light .
The gospel has now gone to " the uttermost parts of the earth".
And the "time of the gentiles "is drawing near .
And the Lord is nigh at the door and we will soon hear the cry " the bridegroom comes!"
Much confusion comes from the bad translations of most if not all modern 'translations '.
Starting with the very first book and the verse first verse .
The KJV has got it right ." In the beginning God created the heaveN and the earth "
It was not heaveN that was in darkness note .it was the " earth" . Gen 2:2
For that heaven "needs no sun or moon for zGod is the light thereof "
Verse 2 is really the recreation of the earth not the primary creation.
The heaveN of verse 1 is where the devil was cast out from and fell like lightening "to the earth who's piwer is now in the air .
For note that the" darkness was upon the face of the deep " of the EARTH.
Most bar two as I know have Genesis 1:1 as heavenS .
As Genesis 1:2 has " heavens" which is correct as it is talking about the heavens of earth . People are misled into thinking that Genesis 1:1 and 2:1 are the same heavenS.
But we have the firmament of earth with waters below and above it . Which God called " heaven" . And you have " He made the stars also and the sun to rule the day and the moon the night what we now call ' space' . But is if you will the second heaven of earth . For it was created from verse 1:2 onwards .
The HeaveN of gen 1:1 is the third heaven where the person Paul knew went to and which it was "not lawful to speak about".
That heaven is the heaven where the angels of God were created where zGod gives no information and which we should not pry .
The invisible heaven and the visible ,the earth .
By such translations we have a Bible I have sen called " The Students Bible" which has Genesis 1:1 as " In the beginning Hod created the SKY and the earth " a reasonable rendition if Genesis 1:1 was HeavenS.
But clearly absurd . For are we not to think " Our Father who are in sky?
Taking heaveN out of the language and all knowledge of it or at best progresively confusion upon confusion .
You're far too kind brother for that compliment. I think we all have some insight to give, as we have studied the Word with the help of the Holy Spirit, sharing some aspect of a verse or chapter that will help us to understand & appreciate what God is speaking to us through it. Each one of us have added something, even a little, that will ultimately help our growth in the Word & our faith. As for the Hebrew's writer, I believe that those who've done a textual examination of the letter, believe that its wording is inconsistent with that of Paul's other letters. But that would be far beyond my scope of study & judgement.
Every blessing to you too Jesse & keep your much valued comments coming in please.
Not a problem my brother. I'm glad I can share something of value here and there. This means a lot coming from you, and you have helped me more than you know with the vast wealth of knowledge you share with all of us here. I doubt it was Paul for the very reason I spoke of. But I also cannot stand against anyone who wants to say Paul wrote it because we just don't know! I really can't say yes or no. I do think that (if) it was Paul, he would have put his inscription at the beginning, as he did with the other 13 letters that he penned!
Blessings to you and thank you so much for all you share here!!!
Under the influence of God's Spirit, it is fascinating how people can function in various situations. Take for instance the stoning of Stephen in Acts Chapter 7.
In Acts 7:59, it says, "And they stoned Stephen, while he was calling upon God." And this is the thing that Stephen said first of all when they were stoning him. He said Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.
It reminds me of Luke 23:46, "And when Jesus had cried out with a loud voice, He said Father, into thy hands I commend my Spirit. And having said thus, He expired (or gave up the ghost.)"
And the second thing Stephen said in Acts 7:60 is just as fascinating:
"And he (Stephen) knelt down, and cried with a loud voice, Lord, do not lay this sin to their charge. And when he had said this, he fell asleep," (or died).
Again, Jesus on the cross, in Luke 23:34, Jesus said, "Father forgive them for they know not what they do." And they parted His garments and cast lots.
It's one thing for Jesus to say that. But Stephen also, while they're putting him to death, he says, Jesus receive my spirit, and don't lay this sin to their charge.
How would any of us react to that? I probably would have said, "Lord, receive my spirit, and let all of your judgment fall on these guys!"
But when a person is under the influence of God's Spirit, it is fascinating how that person can function when put in various difficult situations.
In my personal experience I went through a divorce due to my wife's affair with another man. In the process; however there were certain behavioral issues in common with a friend of mine who I counseled today with a woman he is considering marrying.
I won't get into specifics here. There were also anger issues which I dealt with during my divorce proceedings in 2015 with a deep dive into the Book of James and much prayer. This was useful to me for counselling others going through anger issues the next couple of years.
2 Timothy 3:16 makes it clear the value of all scripture for instruction in righteousness and teaching; etc. Jesus Himself; of course was the ultimate example for us in a sinful life; and the Book of Hebrews shows us how He suffered in like manner but without sin ( Heb. 4:15). The sufferings of Paul as well serve well along with the Prophets and other Apostles to guide us through our sufferings. 1 Corinthians 10:13 gives us assurance that God will give us the strength to escape any sins and temptations.
This will perhaps be one of the greatest joys in heaven; when we see all those Resurrected (and hopefully some raptured) saints; we can rejoice that their sufferings are past; and that we can truly bask in the glories of heaven without the struggles of this life. The victory; of course grants us eternal spritual rewards consisting of kings and priests ( Rev. 5:10) as well as corresponding crowns of various types; including for those who are martyred ( Rev. 2:10). Suffering builds character as well as spiritual fruit as God refines us for His purposes in our sufferings (provided of course it isn't because of our sin as 1 Peter 2:20 states).
Often suffering also drives us to prayer; hopefully it also softens our heart to have compassion on others and to get our mind off our own problems. Once we step in that direction we find the value in helping others; with practice it becomes easier.
Love God with all our being(heart, mind & soul) & our neighbor as(anyone in need) our self. Being the greatest commands. If we believe in Jesus Christ (& all that applies)& do these 2 most important commandments we will not want to hurt others or sin & go to heaven.! Like your axample w/the puzzle.!
I am of Zerah and Pharez Radford and Buckmaster, Zerah and Pharez both had the Aleph Taw and never lost the Aleph Taw. Go and study the Word. I'll ask you 1??? What's in a Fruit ???. Shalom Wendell Radford, mom was a Buckmaster.
"For when he saw the Lord he saw also himself and in the light of the Lord said " woe is me for I am undone .."
Many claim to see the Lord or have visions but are not changed for the better but rather only boast in their visions and revelations .Isiah felt unclean unholy and unfit " a man of unclean lips "
Thanks for that brother Jesse. I had missed Hebrews 2:3, as far as noting that the certainty of Paul being the writer was made weaker by this verse: "confirmed unto us by them that heard Him." Whoever the writer was, certainly was led of the Spirit to be able to pen such great Truths & give a clear defence of the faith, from all the Scripture given.
If that is your desire, I would first before reading the word, ask the Lord to open up your heart and mind, and ask Him to give you a hunger for His word in order that you might be fed Spiritually.
The Lord has to be involved in your study. If you, in prayer, involve Him every time you approach His word, eventually He will put a hunger in you for His word and you will want more and more every day. You won't be able to stay away from it. You might leave off for a day or two every now and then, but that hunger will not allow you to stay away for very long.
With our physical food, when we get hungry we have to eat to satisfy our hunger. It works the same way with God's word which is our spiritual nourishment. If we belong to Christ, He will give us that hunger for His word and it is only through His word that we can be spiritually nourished.
Please know that you can't do this on your own. God's Spirit has to be involved. Without His Spirit drawing us to His word, we will soon drift away and find every excuse in the world not to remain in the word.
So, pray that Lord gives you that hunger. He knows your heart. If it is truly your desire to study the Bible daily, He will give you that hunger and He will continually draw you to it!
The author of Hebrews is unknown. There are several people who have been named as possible authors. Paul is the most common one but we have nothing to prove that it was Paul.
It would seem odd that it would be Paul because we know for sure that Paul wrote 13 letters (Romans through Philemon), because Paul put his inscription at the beginning of every one of those letters. It would seem odd that he would not do the same if he wrote Hebrews.
Here's something that causes me to think it was not Paul. Whoever wrote the letter to the Hebrews was a second generation Christian and did not hear from the Lord directly, which Paul did.
It says in Hebrews 2:3, "how shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation, which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard Him."
So whoever wrote Hebrews did not hear the Lord directly, nor did he receive from the Lord directly (which Paul did), but received and was confirmed and established for us (the writer being one of them) by those that heard Him.
Paul is a possibility but doubtful. Others who have been named as possible writers are Barnabas, Luke, or Apollos.
So if someone wants to believe it was Paul, any of the other possibilities, we can neither confirm nor deny because we just don't know and we cannot prove one way or another.
The things you said are a perfect example of humbleness. And yes, submission is the key. And I agree with you that the Lord sometimes uses the material things of this world and people as a means of humbling us.
You mention that you don't have much but you seem very content with what the Lord has given you. That should be an example for all believers.
You have caused me to think about the things I have and how much I myself take for granted, how much I value those things, where my focus needs to be, and I do thank you for that. You have truly ministered to my heart.
And yes, I agree that we can do nothing to save ourselves or make ourselves acceptable to Him. The only way we can please Him is by surrendering our lives to Him, making Him the Lord over us, and submitting to the persuasion of His Spirit in which He has given to us. We have to step aside and give Him full control or else we have an illegitimate claim of calling Him our Lord!
The Lord is working great things in you. You have demonstrated a perfect attitude of what it's like to be humbled. Don't change anything, save for allowing Him to make changes in your life as He sees fit!
We are really talking here about the Nature of Salvation.
Eph 2:8-10
For by grace are you saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.
So what is a "work" or a "good work"? A "good work" is obedience to any commandment of God that applies to us.
During the Church Age (which I believe has now ended and we are livling in the period that God calls The Great Tribulation, Matt 24 & 1 Peter 4:17) we were commanded to be baptzed in water if we identified with a local church. But water baptism was a cermonial sign, like the Lords Supper (Communion), and we no longer are to observe these ceremonial signs and that believers actually have been commanded to get out of the local churches. Just like when Jesus came physically the first time, God was finished with National Isreal as His corporate representation and we no longer observe the cermonial laws of the old testiment.
But even during the Church Age, water baptism was still a WORK which we were commanded to observe and did not contiribute to our salvation in any way. Just as the observance of the Old Testement ceremonial laws did not contirbute to the salvation of any Old Testement believer.
Mark 16:16 is talking about the baptism that SAVES, it is the baptism that God performs in washing away our sins. Not water baptism.
And if we are TRUSTING in any WORK that we do, including the WORK of water baptism as initiating, maintaining, assisting, supporting, etc. our salvation in any way, we are walikng on very dangereous ground (Read Galations, in particular Gal 2:16) and falling into the same snare as some of the early New Testement Jews. Note also in Gal 2:16 that the faith by which we are saved is Christ's faith, not our faith.
From what I know, one can marry a Catholic and not be required to become a Catholic. This happens all of the time. The matter is that of whether the marriage is considered am approved "Catholic" marriage or not, and this varies from priest to priest, or from bishop to bishop in this denomination.
Also on what you said concerning the commitment of Catholics to true faith, while this is often the case, this is also true of people in other denominations. There are devote and sincere believers in all denominations. And there are those in every denomination who are what is often termed "nominal" or in name only.
A person who is sincerely committed to Jesus should seek to marry someone who is also so. But thinking of the age at which most people marry, both people usually are somewhat immature in life and in faith. So, we marry whom we have chosen and mature in Christ and life together.
I just looked this word up and it seems that the meaning is somewhat obscure and is interpreted in different ways depending on what one thinks the base word it is derived from. Some of these bases words have meaning such as:
to praise
to lift up praise
to stop and listen
the Lord has spoken
to rest and consider
a musical instruction
So, from these we may think of Selah as to pause, either music or singing to left up praise to God or to stop and listen prayerfully, or to pause and reflect or think upon what is said int he music/song, or to take time momentarily to meditate or contemplate.
Thanks Cindy, I am working on the stretches given to me by the orthopedist. These include this stretch you mentioned. I have a boot splint that can be adjusted to create an angle of the flexation of the ankle to stretch both my plantar fascia and the achillies tendon. They do help, and was having good improvement, but for some reason, this week both of my feet are painful.AS they say a few steps forward, one step backwards is often the route of progress. I appreciate the prayers of others. I know that God will bring healing to both feet.
Gigi
In fact God has always adapted Himself to the knowledge of the people he was talking to. He does not try to impress us with his knowledge. So in Bible the earth seems sometimes to be flat or be supported by some kind of support, sun is orbitting earth, oceans have gates and levers, Heaven(space) has 7 levels, sin comes out of our heart (the ancient people believed that all feelings come out literally from the heart, which is just an organ, a blood pump) and many other things which are obviously wrong scientifically. And God accepts all that because His purpose of inspiring people to write down things about Him is not to give some Physics, Chemistry, Maths, etc lectures but He wanted to reveal Himself to us, people, through history using the knowledge mankind had at any period of time.
This is just an opinion (and if somebody else tells me something more realistic I will change my mind). So if aliens existed God would have told us, like He told us of angels and other heavenly beings. He would have prepared us for such a possible meeting with them.
But as I said this is just an opinion.
GBU
Hello Gigi. Just my opinion. I think that God gave us all the information needed for the material creation, the Genesis. The spiritual creation, a genesis of angels and other heavenly beings is not described in the Bible since it is another world, but about our world we know everything we should know. But God's purpose was not to give us some sort of scientific information. E.g. Genesis is a very very general description of the creation, don't try to find any scientific information there. Genesis is an account of the creation which can be read by modern people but also by primitive people like Abraham and Job. so that they can understand too. So obviously God couldn't just say, "Well, in the begining I provided the energy for the start of the unfolding of space and time, which fractions of milliseconds later was tranformed to photons, which in turn as the universe was cooling down became matter, so planets, suns and galaxies were starting forming...". Can you imagine something like that? No, so God said that He first made the light (the photons which were the first to be produced from that explosion which is called Big Bang{if it is right}). So it seems that God provided the energy for the creation of the universe, according to the laws He designed. It also seems that God caused a procedure for that creation, which in Genesis has the form of "days", that is time intervals of maybe billions of years. It is in vain that many people try to get some sort of scientific information in Genesis breaking down into pieces every single verse. In fact in the whole of Bible God does not give any scientific information at all, that is not the purpose of Bible. God's purpose is to make us have a general idea of the world (hence universe) we are living in, and introduce Himself through Israel's and churche's history, and reveal to us His plan of saving people. He also tells us about how all these things are going to end and a new world will be created for the saved people.
Apparently David was in charge of and/or led several campaigns in an area that is somewhat disputed today as to the exact location(s) due to the topography and changes in the landscape since Biblical times. Nonetheless I am unaware of any great miracles of God causing the earth to shift such as in verse 2.
The whole area surrounding Jerusalem in the territory God promised a includes not only the area already conquered and allotted to tribes but surrounding territories (verses 6-8). These larger regions and the other references seeming to indicate a larger judgment probably are prophetic to things which will happen in the end times. The trumpet and bowl judgments will affect the whole world with earthquakes; and the "wine of astonishment" referred to in verse 3 is found in Isaiah; Jeremiah; Ezekiel and a later Psalm as well as of course describing Babylon the Great in Revelation 17 and 18. Of course the Book of Lamentations involving the Babylonian captivity also caused great famine and cannibalism as a horrible sign resulting from the abominable sins that God forewarned about that would cause such things to be unleashed. That is also a warning today to Israel who will have to go through the fire in the Tribulation for national revival to finally occur.
Further evidence of future prophecy is seen in verses 10-12. Edom is mentioned in the Book of Hosea with last day fulfillments as well. Christ coming down to earth is mentioned in Zechariah 14. He will; of course tread down His enemies in the wine of His wrath alone ( Isaiah 63:3) as well as Revelation 19.
Perhaps these themes were an encouragement to David as well as us that eventually all of the territory God promised in the promise of the Covenant He gave to Abraham will be fulfilled.
But once it was understood that the world was round we scattered to the four corners of the world and discovered new lands .
But strangely where ever man could live we found man already there .
Some 'civilised' some living ' primitive' some cannibals.
Some living in the Stone Age . Others Chinese for example f great inventions and complex ,civilisation' .
There are still some living in the Stone Age ,but no less civilised than others .
The Tower of Babel was man's first geographical dispersal . And we saw the results of it ;of man without God .or the true light .
The gospel has now gone to " the uttermost parts of the earth".
And the "time of the gentiles "is drawing near .
And the Lord is nigh at the door and we will soon hear the cry " the bridegroom comes!"
Starting with the very first book and the verse first verse .
The KJV has got it right ." In the beginning God created the heaveN and the earth "
It was not heaveN that was in darkness note .it was the " earth" . Gen 2:2
For that heaven "needs no sun or moon for zGod is the light thereof "
Verse 2 is really the recreation of the earth not the primary creation.
The heaveN of verse 1 is where the devil was cast out from and fell like lightening "to the earth who's piwer is now in the air .
For note that the" darkness was upon the face of the deep " of the EARTH.
Most bar two as I know have Genesis 1:1 as heavenS .
As Genesis 1:2 has " heavens" which is correct as it is talking about the heavens of earth . People are misled into thinking that Genesis 1:1 and 2:1 are the same heavenS.
But we have the firmament of earth with waters below and above it . Which God called " heaven" . And you have " He made the stars also and the sun to rule the day and the moon the night what we now call ' space' . But is if you will the second heaven of earth . For it was created from verse 1:2 onwards .
The HeaveN of gen 1:1 is the third heaven where the person Paul knew went to and which it was "not lawful to speak about".
That heaven is the heaven where the angels of God were created where zGod gives no information and which we should not pry .
The invisible heaven and the visible ,the earth .
By such translations we have a Bible I have sen called " The Students Bible" which has Genesis 1:1 as " In the beginning Hod created the SKY and the earth " a reasonable rendition if Genesis 1:1 was HeavenS.
But clearly absurd . For are we not to think " Our Father who are in sky?
Taking heaveN out of the language and all knowledge of it or at best progresively confusion upon confusion .
GB
Have you ever considered what a brother or sister is ?
Is it not some one of the same household and of the same father.
Or that a neighbour is someone of another household and another father?
" Do good to all men but especially to the household of faith "
For was not the Lord Himself who was the " Good Samaritan"?
For we're we not as it were His neighbours?
Who being the despised Samaritan by the Jews who had " no dealings with Samaritans "turned out to be the best friend that the injured Jew had ?
GB
Every blessing to you too Jesse & keep your much valued comments coming in please.
Not a problem my brother. I'm glad I can share something of value here and there. This means a lot coming from you, and you have helped me more than you know with the vast wealth of knowledge you share with all of us here. I doubt it was Paul for the very reason I spoke of. But I also cannot stand against anyone who wants to say Paul wrote it because we just don't know! I really can't say yes or no. I do think that (if) it was Paul, he would have put his inscription at the beginning, as he did with the other 13 letters that he penned!
Blessings to you and thank you so much for all you share here!!!
In Acts 7:59, it says, "And they stoned Stephen, while he was calling upon God." And this is the thing that Stephen said first of all when they were stoning him. He said Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.
It reminds me of Luke 23:46, "And when Jesus had cried out with a loud voice, He said Father, into thy hands I commend my Spirit. And having said thus, He expired (or gave up the ghost.)"
And the second thing Stephen said in Acts 7:60 is just as fascinating:
"And he (Stephen) knelt down, and cried with a loud voice, Lord, do not lay this sin to their charge. And when he had said this, he fell asleep," (or died).
Again, Jesus on the cross, in Luke 23:34, Jesus said, "Father forgive them for they know not what they do." And they parted His garments and cast lots.
It's one thing for Jesus to say that. But Stephen also, while they're putting him to death, he says, Jesus receive my spirit, and don't lay this sin to their charge.
How would any of us react to that? I probably would have said, "Lord, receive my spirit, and let all of your judgment fall on these guys!"
But when a person is under the influence of God's Spirit, it is fascinating how that person can function when put in various difficult situations.
Is
Returning.
In
A
Twinkling
Of
An
Eye.
Fire and brimstone
The
Weight of a man.
Total darkness
Too ALL who remain.
Weeping and Gnashing.
Sooner than WE think.
[ example ] COUNT THE YEARS,
that God has given us? How quickly
these days have passed.
' GOD HAS SPOKEN '
[ HIS SPIRIT WONT ALWAYS
STRIVE WITH MANKIND ]
In my personal experience I went through a divorce due to my wife's affair with another man. In the process; however there were certain behavioral issues in common with a friend of mine who I counseled today with a woman he is considering marrying.
I won't get into specifics here. There were also anger issues which I dealt with during my divorce proceedings in 2015 with a deep dive into the Book of James and much prayer. This was useful to me for counselling others going through anger issues the next couple of years.
2 Timothy 3:16 makes it clear the value of all scripture for instruction in righteousness and teaching; etc. Jesus Himself; of course was the ultimate example for us in a sinful life; and the Book of Hebrews shows us how He suffered in like manner but without sin ( Heb. 4:15). The sufferings of Paul as well serve well along with the Prophets and other Apostles to guide us through our sufferings. 1 Corinthians 10:13 gives us assurance that God will give us the strength to escape any sins and temptations.
This will perhaps be one of the greatest joys in heaven; when we see all those Resurrected (and hopefully some raptured) saints; we can rejoice that their sufferings are past; and that we can truly bask in the glories of heaven without the struggles of this life. The victory; of course grants us eternal spritual rewards consisting of kings and priests ( Rev. 5:10) as well as corresponding crowns of various types; including for those who are martyred ( Rev. 2:10). Suffering builds character as well as spiritual fruit as God refines us for His purposes in our sufferings (provided of course it isn't because of our sin as 1 Peter 2:20 states).
Often suffering also drives us to prayer; hopefully it also softens our heart to have compassion on others and to get our mind off our own problems. Once we step in that direction we find the value in helping others; with practice it becomes easier.
I again agree.
God bless you.
"For when he saw the Lord he saw also himself and in the light of the Lord said " woe is me for I am undone .."
Many claim to see the Lord or have visions but are not changed for the better but rather only boast in their visions and revelations .Isiah felt unclean unholy and unfit " a man of unclean lips "
Great reply.
If that is your desire, I would first before reading the word, ask the Lord to open up your heart and mind, and ask Him to give you a hunger for His word in order that you might be fed Spiritually.
The Lord has to be involved in your study. If you, in prayer, involve Him every time you approach His word, eventually He will put a hunger in you for His word and you will want more and more every day. You won't be able to stay away from it. You might leave off for a day or two every now and then, but that hunger will not allow you to stay away for very long.
With our physical food, when we get hungry we have to eat to satisfy our hunger. It works the same way with God's word which is our spiritual nourishment. If we belong to Christ, He will give us that hunger for His word and it is only through His word that we can be spiritually nourished.
Please know that you can't do this on your own. God's Spirit has to be involved. Without His Spirit drawing us to His word, we will soon drift away and find every excuse in the world not to remain in the word.
So, pray that Lord gives you that hunger. He knows your heart. If it is truly your desire to study the Bible daily, He will give you that hunger and He will continually draw you to it!
Welcome to the site.
I will be praying for your mom as well as others on the site.
God bless.
The author of Hebrews is unknown. There are several people who have been named as possible authors. Paul is the most common one but we have nothing to prove that it was Paul.
It would seem odd that it would be Paul because we know for sure that Paul wrote 13 letters (Romans through Philemon), because Paul put his inscription at the beginning of every one of those letters. It would seem odd that he would not do the same if he wrote Hebrews.
Here's something that causes me to think it was not Paul. Whoever wrote the letter to the Hebrews was a second generation Christian and did not hear from the Lord directly, which Paul did.
It says in Hebrews 2:3, "how shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation, which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard Him."
So whoever wrote Hebrews did not hear the Lord directly, nor did he receive from the Lord directly (which Paul did), but received and was confirmed and established for us (the writer being one of them) by those that heard Him.
Paul is a possibility but doubtful. Others who have been named as possible writers are Barnabas, Luke, or Apollos.
So if someone wants to believe it was Paul, any of the other possibilities, we can neither confirm nor deny because we just don't know and we cannot prove one way or another.
The things you said are a perfect example of humbleness. And yes, submission is the key. And I agree with you that the Lord sometimes uses the material things of this world and people as a means of humbling us.
You mention that you don't have much but you seem very content with what the Lord has given you. That should be an example for all believers.
You have caused me to think about the things I have and how much I myself take for granted, how much I value those things, where my focus needs to be, and I do thank you for that. You have truly ministered to my heart.
And yes, I agree that we can do nothing to save ourselves or make ourselves acceptable to Him. The only way we can please Him is by surrendering our lives to Him, making Him the Lord over us, and submitting to the persuasion of His Spirit in which He has given to us. We have to step aside and give Him full control or else we have an illegitimate claim of calling Him our Lord!
The Lord is working great things in you. You have demonstrated a perfect attitude of what it's like to be humbled. Don't change anything, save for allowing Him to make changes in your life as He sees fit!
May the Lord continue to bless you abundantly!
We are really talking here about the Nature of Salvation.
Eph 2:8-10
For by grace are you saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.
So what is a "work" or a "good work"? A "good work" is obedience to any commandment of God that applies to us.
During the Church Age (which I believe has now ended and we are livling in the period that God calls The Great Tribulation, Matt 24 & 1 Peter 4:17) we were commanded to be baptzed in water if we identified with a local church. But water baptism was a cermonial sign, like the Lords Supper (Communion), and we no longer are to observe these ceremonial signs and that believers actually have been commanded to get out of the local churches. Just like when Jesus came physically the first time, God was finished with National Isreal as His corporate representation and we no longer observe the cermonial laws of the old testiment.
But even during the Church Age, water baptism was still a WORK which we were commanded to observe and did not contiribute to our salvation in any way. Just as the observance of the Old Testement ceremonial laws did not contirbute to the salvation of any Old Testement believer.
Mark 16:16 is talking about the baptism that SAVES, it is the baptism that God performs in washing away our sins. Not water baptism.
And if we are TRUSTING in any WORK that we do, including the WORK of water baptism as initiating, maintaining, assisting, supporting, etc. our salvation in any way, we are walikng on very dangereous ground (Read Galations, in particular Gal 2:16) and falling into the same snare as some of the early New Testement Jews. Note also in Gal 2:16 that the faith by which we are saved is Christ's faith, not our faith.
From what I know, one can marry a Catholic and not be required to become a Catholic. This happens all of the time. The matter is that of whether the marriage is considered am approved "Catholic" marriage or not, and this varies from priest to priest, or from bishop to bishop in this denomination.
Also on what you said concerning the commitment of Catholics to true faith, while this is often the case, this is also true of people in other denominations. There are devote and sincere believers in all denominations. And there are those in every denomination who are what is often termed "nominal" or in name only.
A person who is sincerely committed to Jesus should seek to marry someone who is also so. But thinking of the age at which most people marry, both people usually are somewhat immature in life and in faith. So, we marry whom we have chosen and mature in Christ and life together.
I just looked this word up and it seems that the meaning is somewhat obscure and is interpreted in different ways depending on what one thinks the base word it is derived from. Some of these bases words have meaning such as:
to praise
to lift up praise
to stop and listen
the Lord has spoken
to rest and consider
a musical instruction
So, from these we may think of Selah as to pause, either music or singing to left up praise to God or to stop and listen prayerfully, or to pause and reflect or think upon what is said int he music/song, or to take time momentarily to meditate or contemplate.