Dear Heavenly Father, we ask You in the name of Jesus to come to Peter's aid right now and break the power of the evil these people are devising against him. We ask that You protect Peter's life and faith. Keep his mind safe from evil influences and turn these wicked people away from him and cause them to remove themselves far, far away from him. Father, renew Peter's sense of safety and peace as You intervene mightily in this situation. Give Peter wisdom and discernment to correctly evaluate this situation and be well aware of what is happening. Be his fortress and guard, protecting him from harm each and every moment. Amen.
Jesse, in following this conversation with Gerald, I agree that you have been respectful and not accusatory.
I agree that it is the Holy Spirits task and pleasure to open up our understanding of Scripture. He is glad to do this when we honestly seek Him to show us what is true. We may need to check our biases and preconceptions before He will do this, but He is faithful to reach us through the Word and through one another.
Great word & Gospel presentation Gerald. Just to add a thought to the thieves' perception of the One hanging betwixt them: it seems that in spite of their sinful life, or occupation, at least one of them appeared to have knowledge of Jesus' Life & Ministry. Maybe, news was carried around then just as fast as it's today on the internet, or maybe he observed first-hand the quality of this Man & His Works that no man could justifiably withstand.
Then after finding that this Man was in the same boat as he, presumably unable to save Himself or the others, his anger & reviling Jesus was his first painful utterance. But as you said, it was then that faith took hold: from what he knew of Jesus, what he saw of himself, turning his reviling into repentance. Death was certain for each of them; the thief's only life-line rested completely in the One Who was called Jesus the Christ, the Son of God.
Hebrews 11:1 might be evident here also: the little faith that arose in the thief gave him the 'substance' (assurance) of what he hoped would be for him at the end of the line; and became 'evidence' (the proof that fully persuades the heart) of what could not be seen with the human eye or conceivable in the mind. Jesus saw both the man & his heart & gave him the double assurance with the promise that he would be with Him in paradise. This thief made it in just as salvation's doors were shutting on him - the other & so many others then & today, remain resistant to the Love of God in Jesus, will never make it and never get another chance to re-consider their error.
I hope you don't think I was accusing you of posting things "for fruitless arguing or for just beings' different' or contentious."
I would not do that. I thought I was respectful in what I shared with you. I did thank you for what you shared and I even told you that I agreed with much of what you said.
All we can do here is share our understanding, whether it be right or wrong.
You are absolutely correct in saying "there is no guarantee that knowing Greek or Hebrew will give you a right understanding of the scriptures.
That is true. There's also no guarantee that reading the English text is going to give us an understanding.
The only way we can understand scripture is if God through His Spirit reveals it to us. We have no way of comprehending God's word without His help. And we can only know if He wants us to know. There's so much scripture I still do not understand but it does not get me down because I come to realize that the reason I don't understand something is because He knows I'm not ready to understand it. The Lord will only give me what He knows I am ready to handle, and I'm okay with that.
My posts are not for fruitless arguing or for just beings' different' or contentious .
I'm afraid it's no use for you or anyone to give me the Greek or hebrew for I neither know enough about both to use them correctly or know if another is .
There's also no guarantee that knowing Greek or Hebrew will give you a right understanding of the scriptures .
For did not Saul of Tarsus know the scriptures ,more than most . Was not Hebrew his mother tongue ?
Yet did he understand the scriptures ? No! He so did not understand the scriptures he persecuted the church agreed with Stephens death and was charged with persecuting the Lord .
The Pharisees ,Sadducee's and Drs of the law did they understand the scriptures ? No! Yet Hebrew was their mother tongue yet so not unde4stoid the scriptures crucified the Lord himself .
If you know and understand Greek or Hebrew ( which is fine) be sure to still not lean upon your own understanding of Greek and Hebrew for that danger is even more prevalent. Not to undeminevyiur confidence in the Lord but rather to warn you or any that understanding both is no guarantee of understanding the scriptures as they were and are meant to be so .
We are not persuaded by faith but being persuaded by understanding the Word of God ,for faith in God comes by understanding the Word of God . It is not a product of faith . Faith is what you use when you have understood and intelligently respond in faith to what you know to be the truth .
There are not two types of faith . According to what faith IS ,all have a measure of it to " profit withal"
Faith works in the same way in the world ( my analogy of the bus proves it) as it does when our faith is in God .
It's the same faith .
The religious baggage that has been added to it is quite awful .
We do not have to get faith . We use our faith every day . If you havevever got on a plane . Not only have you put your faith in the pilots but also wether you understand them or not the laws of physics .
WORSHIPPING IN TRUTH AND IN SPIRIT. What does that mean? Let's try to see it through sacrificies. In The Old Testament times the Jews were going to the Temple of Solomon and worshiped God by offering sacrifices. We do the same, but the sacrifices are different now.
Romans 12:1-2 "I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a LIVING SACRIFICE, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God."
So we offer ourselves as living sacrifices, a pure life full of God's Spirit.
1 Peter 2:5 "Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up SPIRITUAL SACRIFICES, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ" We have a spiritual Temple/House now ("Temple" in grk (Naos) means "Place of Residence") and as priest we offer our prayers for people as spiritual sacrifices to Father God.
Rev 5:8 "And when he had taken the book, the four beasts and four and twenty elders fell down before the Lamb, having every one of them harps, and golden vials full of ODOURS, which are the prayers of saints"
Rev 8:3 "And another angel came and stood at the altar, having a golden censer; and there was given unto him much incense, that he should offer it with the prayers of all saints upon the GOLDEN ALTAR which was before the throne"
So, again, our prayers stand as spiritual sacrifices.
Hebrews 13:15 "By him therefore let us offer the SACRIFICE OF PRAISE to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name." Although a more accurate translation is "confessing His name" So confessing, praising and thanksgiving are also spiritual sacrifices.
Thus filling ourselves with the Spirit of God (since we have no ability to do anything on our own) and staying in the Truth of God's written Word is worshipping God now(as well)
Aunt Bea, It says in the Word that we are dust and to dust we will return, meaning, we are made from the same materials that constitute dirt. So that when we die, we will decomposed and be reduced to the most basic elements of our beings=the molecules that make up dirt. So, the ashes of someone whose body is burned up, whether before or after death, has just been reduced to those molecules more quickly than normal decomposition. Embalming people at death deters decomposition to a degree that it takes much longer than normal to decompose into dirt. Therefore, since our final state after death is dirt in each case, it does not matter whether we are buried or cremated or torn apart by beasts with our parts dragged away to different locations. The Bible does not mention the practice of cremation except in one case, I believe.
Our bodily resurrection does not depend on if we were buried or cremated. Our present body is marred by sin, and so our decomposed remains (dirt) is also marred by sin. In the resurrection, these remains will be reconstituted into a flesh and bones body like Jesus has and not be marred by sin every again.
Because during the millennium reign of Christ on earth everyone will be compelled to obey or suffer the consequences . Satan is bound by chains for this season so he can't deceive anyone .
But after that 1000 years he is again loosed for a short while and those who have learnt nothing from the last righteous reign of God on earth ll be again deceived ,blinded and make war .
It is inconceivable that no one will be converted by the goodness of God and will resist the temptation and turn to zGod . But not many ,the gleanings that which is left over after the msin harvest.
Then all is gathered in nothing is lost . Then cometh the end .
You will have to back that up with scripture and more than one verse at that .
With an argument to show how you reach that conclusion .
For I see no teaching of it in that regard .
For God is not a woman inside He has revealed himself to be the Father .
And we are to pray " Our Father ".
God is light He is light in out and all light and in him there is no darkness .
There is not a woman inside a man ( trying to get out?) The Lord was a man who did not have a woman inside him mystical or not. But He himself said it was " The Father in Him who did the work".
There is a reason why we have the scriptures . It is very difficult to make them say what they do not . The only way of course is to " twist the scriptures" or change them to a persons subjective thinking . This has also been done.
The Holy Bible has its own internal logic . It must be so and is because there was but one mind even Gods behind it .
If we are to get anywhere we have to learn to follow its logic and reasoning . Not our own .
In that way our lives are transformed by the renewal of our minds .
Nice comment. "It is often said in the UK that people are losing faith in their politicians". Only in the UK? Don't be unfair with your country, this is a wordwide pandemic desease. Politicians seem to belong to a separate "world" nomatter the country, but we ought to pray for them...
You also wrote "A man who cannot keep his oath to his wife is unlikely to keep his oath to those who elected him .
A politician who cannot judge on such a simple matter ... will find it increasingly difficult to judge aright on the more graver issues facing a nation". I was always thinking the same. The Bible says that if you are not faithful/righteous in least, then you will not be faithful/rightous in much, Luke 16:10.
It is recorded in the scriptures that two thieves were crucified on either side of the Lord .
A careful and prayerful reading of the gospels reveals that at the beginning both thieves reviled the Lord .
There was no difference between them.
But as time passed ,things were said and done it made one thief THINK .
He thought of his past ,not good .
He thought of his present .not good .
He thought of the little future he had .not good .
Then he got really concerned for he saw his coming death and him standing before God .
When the other thief began to mock the Lord again ,this thinking thief " rebuked him and said ,"do you not fear God"?
We are are here for all our sins and fully deserve our fate . He judged himself and spoke the truth about himself .
But this man he continued " has done nothing worthy of death " . He judged Christ and spoke the truth about Him .
I hazard the thought no man speaks the truth about himself or of the Lord until he catches a real glimpse of Calvary .
Then this thief did a remarkable thing ,he turned ( his head at least) to the Lord and said " Lord remember me when though cometh into thy kingdom ".
Clearly the man has gone mad !?
For he is talking to a man in far worse agony than himself .
Mental agony : My God myGod why hast thou forsaken me ?" The Lord knew full well why The Father had forsaken Him .yet the mind of the man could not understand it . Not only was it real but scripture and it's fulfilment became one .
Physical agony : forget about the Turin shroud with its few artistic stripes of blood . His back had been so badly whipped " it looked like a ploughed field" his head pressed down with huge thorns . His face mot some handsome rugged man but one where his beard had "been plucked " from his face and who's face was so marred it was hardly recognisable as a man.
Spiritual agony : "He who knew no sin became sin" all the sin of the world ,past present and future was laid on Him .
Ephesians 1:14. The concept of the Kinsman-Redeemer was in the Book of Ruth; as to Boaz obtaining Ruth as part of his inheritance; or you could say "property". The concept of ownership is foreign in today's culture in terms of slavery; however we should look at verses such as Luke 17:10 on us being "unworthy servants" when we do what we are told. With the story of Ruth she was from a Gentile origin; and her sister Orpha decided to abandon Naomi when she told her to go back to her people (the Moabites). Apparently Ruth's first husband was an Israelite but he had died. Ruth hanging on despite Naomi asking her to go back reminds me somewhat of the tenacity of the Gentile woman asking for healing in Matthew 15:26. The colloquialism Christ used was of the dogs; yet she was commended for her faith.
Obviously; Christ redeemed us as His bride from among all mankind according to the Ephesians quote and this is mentioned in many other verses (Google search is always very helpful). As Boaz brought value to Ruth by marrying her and continuing the lineage of Naomi's family we are adopted as sons ( Romans 8:14-17). God took us; worthless sinners hopelessly lost and His enemies and took on our sin defeating it with His blood sacrifice once and for all at the Cross. He purchased us and it even pleased God to crush Him to accomplish this ( Isaiah 53:10). God's love therefore transcends our own as we would scarcely die for a righteous man let alone a wicked one (according to human standards) according to Romans 5:7.
Now that we are part of His family; we also will recieve crowns as a reward for faithfulness ( James 1:12 etc). We shall rule and reign with Him ( Matthew 19:28-29) but notice the caviat; "if we suffer for Him". We are warned in Revelation 3:11 about losing our reward; that is not a salvation issue. However; we need to make sure that we are producing fruit "meet of repentance" ( Acts 26:20). If He lives within us we are transformed and a new man.
It's not in the Bible . Do not worry too much about this, God is all powerful and is able to do anything that He wants to with any part of His creation .
Beautiful comment Gerald. This is what I believe as well.
But you wrote "Those who are saved after the millennium reign of Christ are the gleanings". What makes you think that people are going to be saved after (or at the end) of the millenium?
We need to read the Word of God so to know how to behave in every situation in our life. But often we can't do what God asks us to do. Here is where the Spirit of God comes in. He gives us the strength to do what we have learnt (and still learning) what to do by reading or hearing the Word of God. So we know, for example, that we must love pur enemies, but we cannot do that without receiving God's grace. GBU
We often don't enhance our understanding of doctrines we learned when young. But when we do dig deeper as we age and our brain and faculties mature, the Holy Spirit uses these to help us have a more robust understanding of spiritual teachings.
And, yes, it is true that in this life we see oh so darkly. But in heaven we will know more fully! Can't wait!
You wrote "A true born child of God of the Word and the Spirit have righteous works that will be rewarded . " For He will not forget our labour of love" nor is God any man's debtor." How true this is! We often think (wrongly) that God owes to us for obeying Him, something like a wage for our obedience. And we forget that we are servants who ought to do what their master orders us to do. It is God's love and mercy (and justice) that gives us what we ask for. In my life I got things from God even when I had no faith at all. Is this possible, doesn't the Word say that without faith we will not get anything from God? Yes it does, but God doesn't have a list of requirements for giving and if we don't fulfil all of them, then we are not eligible for getting our requests. God loves us, His children, and often He ignores our weaknesses. So it is always God's Love...
And by the way, when we obey God it is useful for us, God has nothing to win from that. GBU
From what I learned, the books of the Bible had to coincide with the other books printed.
There are at least four 'different' men in the Bible named Enoch ( Genesis 4:17; 5:18; 25:4; 46:9). We should note that, in Genesis 25:4 and Genesis 46:9, the NIV gives the name "Hanok," while some other translations, such as the Darby translation, give the name "Enoch" instead. In both verses, the name "Hanok" is from the same Hebrew word translated "Enoch" in Genesis 4:17 and Genesis 5:18. Other translations say "Hanoch" or "Henoch." The only difference is one of English spelling.
Hebrews 11:5 gives a little more detail: "By faith Enoch was taken from this life, so that he did not experience death: 'He could not be found, because God had taken him away.' For before he was taken, he was commended as one who pleased God." This being "taken away" is what Enoch is most famous for. Only two people in the Bible are said to have been chosen by God to escape death, Enoch and Elijah. Enoch appears to have been given this privilege due to being a man who walked faithfully with God ( Genesis 5:24) and pleased God ( Hebrews 11:5).
For what purpose was Enoch taken away? The Bible does not specifically say. The most common assumption is so that he could serve as one of the two witnesses, alongside Elijah, in the end times. Jude 14.
Yes, you are right dear Gigi, well said about Jesus humbling Himself. The Almighty God who made the vast universe from nothing with just His Word became a poor man, was born between animals, was humiliated by people and at the end He died a horrible death. This is what perfect love is. We are born in christian countries so we become familiarized with these things since childhood and they don't impress us any more. But if you think about them...
About Jesus' conception in Mary I wouldn't try to explain it, there is much we don't understand, we have to wait until we go to Heaven, then we will aquire the perfect and complete knowledge of everything. GBU
I'm with Jesus, He wasn't cremated. Jesus also rose in three days. I looked up a few verses about 'burial' and it talks alot of burials of people. I believe what the Bible says about our bodies being a home/shell for the Holy Ghost. Amen.
Now one may think, "if I devote myself to a mission then I don't have to work, the church should provide for me and my family". Is this right? What does the Bible says about that?
It is true that God gives to people who are missioners for Him the right not to work but live with what the church provides for them, so that they are not distracted from their mission, it is not possible to go travelling and work at the same time, it is very hard to work and supervise a church at the same time. There is hardly enough time for both. Paul deals with that extensively in 1 Corinthians 9:1-14.
But through ages a major problem has been created in Christianity. A right that was given by God to His people to help them to work for Him, has been taken advantage of by many to make it a profession and live from it. There are a lot of people who choose it as a profession. There are also many that they make millions from that. They often claim that God provides them with plenty of money for their mission to become easier. And they don't stop asking from believers persistently even by using/twisting God's Word, the tiths, which tiths are not valid now in New Testament.
The same problem seems to have occured in Paul's time. So what Paul decided to do was to deny that right and work with His own hands for him and his accompanions, 1 Cor 9:15-18. He also suggests that to the elders in Ephessus, Acts 20:32-35. But it also seems that many times he accepted help from churches, since it wasn't always easy to find a job in those places he travelled to. And many times he was left hungry and thirsty... 1 Cor 4:11-12.
First, let me say thank you for taking the time to share your understanding of the word faith. You have shared some things that I fully agree with.
It looks to me from reading through your 3-part post, that you believe there are two types of faith. I also believe there are two types of faith, human faith which everyone has, both believer and non-believer alike. And then there's the faith that the Bible speaks of. Every one has human faith. But not everyone has biblical faith.
I believe I have a strong understanding of biblical faith, as you also believe you do. I will keep this as short as I can, but will try and further share why I believe the way I do.
But please know that I am only sharing my understanding the same way you shared yours. I am not looking for an argument on the word faith, just sharing what I firmly believe.
First of all, the word faith in Greek is PISTIS. It is from the word PEITHO which means to persuade. If you're into the study of Greek culture or Greek mythology, you know that Peithos was the goddess of persuasion.
But Peitho is the root word for the word faith. The verb form of Pistis is the word that means to believe.
In Greek, not so much English, but in Greek, how a Hellenist or Greek speaking person would understand faith, he or she would understand it as persuasion.
People hear the word faith and they go in all different directions as to what faith is. But faith is Pistis. And it means persuasion.
There are two kinds of faith because there are two sources of faith. And remember that every time we say faith, we are making reference to persuasion. But there are two kinds of faith, and two sources of faith. One is human, and one is from God as a source.
The human kind of faith is when the human being persuades himself or herself to believe. That's not biblical faith.
I am going to need a little more space so please bear with me!
It does exist in Christ in a nondualistic way, that means that the masculine and feminine qualities is united in a sacred marriage within Him. Without division in two separate outer forms . That is the reason why we do not marry in heaven as is often seen on earth.
Dear Heavenly Father, we ask You in the name of Jesus to come to Peter's aid right now and break the power of the evil these people are devising against him. We ask that You protect Peter's life and faith. Keep his mind safe from evil influences and turn these wicked people away from him and cause them to remove themselves far, far away from him. Father, renew Peter's sense of safety and peace as You intervene mightily in this situation. Give Peter wisdom and discernment to correctly evaluate this situation and be well aware of what is happening. Be his fortress and guard, protecting him from harm each and every moment. Amen.
I agree that it is the Holy Spirits task and pleasure to open up our understanding of Scripture. He is glad to do this when we honestly seek Him to show us what is true. We may need to check our biases and preconceptions before He will do this, but He is faithful to reach us through the Word and through one another.
Then after finding that this Man was in the same boat as he, presumably unable to save Himself or the others, his anger & reviling Jesus was his first painful utterance. But as you said, it was then that faith took hold: from what he knew of Jesus, what he saw of himself, turning his reviling into repentance. Death was certain for each of them; the thief's only life-line rested completely in the One Who was called Jesus the Christ, the Son of God.
Hebrews 11:1 might be evident here also: the little faith that arose in the thief gave him the 'substance' (assurance) of what he hoped would be for him at the end of the line; and became 'evidence' (the proof that fully persuades the heart) of what could not be seen with the human eye or conceivable in the mind. Jesus saw both the man & his heart & gave him the double assurance with the promise that he would be with Him in paradise. This thief made it in just as salvation's doors were shutting on him - the other & so many others then & today, remain resistant to the Love of God in Jesus, will never make it and never get another chance to re-consider their error.
Amen, all praise, glory, and honor to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ!!!
I hope you don't think I was accusing you of posting things "for fruitless arguing or for just beings' different' or contentious."
I would not do that. I thought I was respectful in what I shared with you. I did thank you for what you shared and I even told you that I agreed with much of what you said.
All we can do here is share our understanding, whether it be right or wrong.
You are absolutely correct in saying "there is no guarantee that knowing Greek or Hebrew will give you a right understanding of the scriptures.
That is true. There's also no guarantee that reading the English text is going to give us an understanding.
The only way we can understand scripture is if God through His Spirit reveals it to us. We have no way of comprehending God's word without His help. And we can only know if He wants us to know. There's so much scripture I still do not understand but it does not get me down because I come to realize that the reason I don't understand something is because He knows I'm not ready to understand it. The Lord will only give me what He knows I am ready to handle, and I'm okay with that.
Again, thank you for the things you've shared.
I'm afraid it's no use for you or anyone to give me the Greek or hebrew for I neither know enough about both to use them correctly or know if another is .
There's also no guarantee that knowing Greek or Hebrew will give you a right understanding of the scriptures .
For did not Saul of Tarsus know the scriptures ,more than most . Was not Hebrew his mother tongue ?
Yet did he understand the scriptures ? No! He so did not understand the scriptures he persecuted the church agreed with Stephens death and was charged with persecuting the Lord .
The Pharisees ,Sadducee's and Drs of the law did they understand the scriptures ? No! Yet Hebrew was their mother tongue yet so not unde4stoid the scriptures crucified the Lord himself .
If you know and understand Greek or Hebrew ( which is fine) be sure to still not lean upon your own understanding of Greek and Hebrew for that danger is even more prevalent. Not to undeminevyiur confidence in the Lord but rather to warn you or any that understanding both is no guarantee of understanding the scriptures as they were and are meant to be so .
We are not persuaded by faith but being persuaded by understanding the Word of God ,for faith in God comes by understanding the Word of God . It is not a product of faith . Faith is what you use when you have understood and intelligently respond in faith to what you know to be the truth .
There are not two types of faith . According to what faith IS ,all have a measure of it to " profit withal"
Faith works in the same way in the world ( my analogy of the bus proves it) as it does when our faith is in God .
It's the same faith .
The religious baggage that has been added to it is quite awful .
We do not have to get faith . We use our faith every day . If you havevever got on a plane . Not only have you put your faith in the pilots but also wether you understand them or not the laws of physics .
WORSHIPPING IN TRUTH AND IN SPIRIT. What does that mean? Let's try to see it through sacrificies. In The Old Testament times the Jews were going to the Temple of Solomon and worshiped God by offering sacrifices. We do the same, but the sacrifices are different now.
Romans 12:1-2 "I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a LIVING SACRIFICE, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God."
So we offer ourselves as living sacrifices, a pure life full of God's Spirit.
1 Peter 2:5 "Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up SPIRITUAL SACRIFICES, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ" We have a spiritual Temple/House now ("Temple" in grk (Naos) means "Place of Residence") and as priest we offer our prayers for people as spiritual sacrifices to Father God.
Rev 5:8 "And when he had taken the book, the four beasts and four and twenty elders fell down before the Lamb, having every one of them harps, and golden vials full of ODOURS, which are the prayers of saints"
Rev 8:3 "And another angel came and stood at the altar, having a golden censer; and there was given unto him much incense, that he should offer it with the prayers of all saints upon the GOLDEN ALTAR which was before the throne"
So, again, our prayers stand as spiritual sacrifices.
Hebrews 13:15 "By him therefore let us offer the SACRIFICE OF PRAISE to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name." Although a more accurate translation is "confessing His name" So confessing, praising and thanksgiving are also spiritual sacrifices.
Thus filling ourselves with the Spirit of God (since we have no ability to do anything on our own) and staying in the Truth of God's written Word is worshipping God now(as well)
GBU.
Our bodily resurrection does not depend on if we were buried or cremated. Our present body is marred by sin, and so our decomposed remains (dirt) is also marred by sin. In the resurrection, these remains will be reconstituted into a flesh and bones body like Jesus has and not be marred by sin every again.
But after that 1000 years he is again loosed for a short while and those who have learnt nothing from the last righteous reign of God on earth ll be again deceived ,blinded and make war .
It is inconceivable that no one will be converted by the goodness of God and will resist the temptation and turn to zGod . But not many ,the gleanings that which is left over after the msin harvest.
Then all is gathered in nothing is lost . Then cometh the end .
With an argument to show how you reach that conclusion .
For I see no teaching of it in that regard .
For God is not a woman inside He has revealed himself to be the Father .
And we are to pray " Our Father ".
God is light He is light in out and all light and in him there is no darkness .
There is not a woman inside a man ( trying to get out?) The Lord was a man who did not have a woman inside him mystical or not. But He himself said it was " The Father in Him who did the work".
There is a reason why we have the scriptures . It is very difficult to make them say what they do not . The only way of course is to " twist the scriptures" or change them to a persons subjective thinking . This has also been done.
The Holy Bible has its own internal logic . It must be so and is because there was but one mind even Gods behind it .
If we are to get anywhere we have to learn to follow its logic and reasoning . Not our own .
In that way our lives are transformed by the renewal of our minds .
But in spite of all that The Lord inspired him to see something else .
" Lord remember me when you come into your kingdom"
He saw a King! Who even now inspired confidence and submission ,"Lord".
He not only saw a king but one who would conquer death and inherit that kingdom .
The Lord also inspired faith in him for he also saw that he could save him also .
" Lord remember me when you come into your kingdom "
God always responds to real faith and in turning his head the Lord said " this day shalt thou be with me in paradise "
That thief went into eternity with a promise .
In turning his head to the repentant thief ,the Lord turned his head away from the unrepentant thief who entered eternity with nothing .
Don't leave it to your death bed to repent you just may not have the time ,chance or indeed the attitude to do so.
The time to consider your ways and repent is now and turn to the Lord now.
For today is the day of salvation ,boast not yourselves of tomorrow for you no not what to,or row will bring forth ".
You also wrote "A man who cannot keep his oath to his wife is unlikely to keep his oath to those who elected him .
A politician who cannot judge on such a simple matter ... will find it increasingly difficult to judge aright on the more graver issues facing a nation". I was always thinking the same. The Bible says that if you are not faithful/righteous in least, then you will not be faithful/rightous in much, Luke 16:10.
A careful and prayerful reading of the gospels reveals that at the beginning both thieves reviled the Lord .
There was no difference between them.
But as time passed ,things were said and done it made one thief THINK .
He thought of his past ,not good .
He thought of his present .not good .
He thought of the little future he had .not good .
Then he got really concerned for he saw his coming death and him standing before God .
When the other thief began to mock the Lord again ,this thinking thief " rebuked him and said ,"do you not fear God"?
We are are here for all our sins and fully deserve our fate . He judged himself and spoke the truth about himself .
But this man he continued " has done nothing worthy of death " . He judged Christ and spoke the truth about Him .
I hazard the thought no man speaks the truth about himself or of the Lord until he catches a real glimpse of Calvary .
Then this thief did a remarkable thing ,he turned ( his head at least) to the Lord and said " Lord remember me when though cometh into thy kingdom ".
Clearly the man has gone mad !?
For he is talking to a man in far worse agony than himself .
Mental agony : My God myGod why hast thou forsaken me ?" The Lord knew full well why The Father had forsaken Him .yet the mind of the man could not understand it . Not only was it real but scripture and it's fulfilment became one .
Physical agony : forget about the Turin shroud with its few artistic stripes of blood . His back had been so badly whipped " it looked like a ploughed field" his head pressed down with huge thorns . His face mot some handsome rugged man but one where his beard had "been plucked " from his face and who's face was so marred it was hardly recognisable as a man.
Spiritual agony : "He who knew no sin became sin" all the sin of the world ,past present and future was laid on Him .
Yet in spite of all
Obviously; Christ redeemed us as His bride from among all mankind according to the Ephesians quote and this is mentioned in many other verses (Google search is always very helpful). As Boaz brought value to Ruth by marrying her and continuing the lineage of Naomi's family we are adopted as sons ( Romans 8:14-17). God took us; worthless sinners hopelessly lost and His enemies and took on our sin defeating it with His blood sacrifice once and for all at the Cross. He purchased us and it even pleased God to crush Him to accomplish this ( Isaiah 53:10). God's love therefore transcends our own as we would scarcely die for a righteous man let alone a wicked one (according to human standards) according to Romans 5:7.
Now that we are part of His family; we also will recieve crowns as a reward for faithfulness ( James 1:12 etc). We shall rule and reign with Him ( Matthew 19:28-29) but notice the caviat; "if we suffer for Him". We are warned in Revelation 3:11 about losing our reward; that is not a salvation issue. However; we need to make sure that we are producing fruit "meet of repentance" ( Acts 26:20). If He lives within us we are transformed and a new man.
But you wrote "Those who are saved after the millennium reign of Christ are the gleanings". What makes you think that people are going to be saved after (or at the end) of the millenium?
We need to read the Word of God so to know how to behave in every situation in our life. But often we can't do what God asks us to do. Here is where the Spirit of God comes in. He gives us the strength to do what we have learnt (and still learning) what to do by reading or hearing the Word of God. So we know, for example, that we must love pur enemies, but we cannot do that without receiving God's grace. GBU
We often don't enhance our understanding of doctrines we learned when young. But when we do dig deeper as we age and our brain and faculties mature, the Holy Spirit uses these to help us have a more robust understanding of spiritual teachings.
And, yes, it is true that in this life we see oh so darkly. But in heaven we will know more fully! Can't wait!
You wrote "A true born child of God of the Word and the Spirit have righteous works that will be rewarded . " For He will not forget our labour of love" nor is God any man's debtor." How true this is! We often think (wrongly) that God owes to us for obeying Him, something like a wage for our obedience. And we forget that we are servants who ought to do what their master orders us to do. It is God's love and mercy (and justice) that gives us what we ask for. In my life I got things from God even when I had no faith at all. Is this possible, doesn't the Word say that without faith we will not get anything from God? Yes it does, but God doesn't have a list of requirements for giving and if we don't fulfil all of them, then we are not eligible for getting our requests. God loves us, His children, and often He ignores our weaknesses. So it is always God's Love...
And by the way, when we obey God it is useful for us, God has nothing to win from that. GBU
There are at least four 'different' men in the Bible named Enoch ( Genesis 4:17; 5:18; 25:4; 46:9). We should note that, in Genesis 25:4 and Genesis 46:9, the NIV gives the name "Hanok," while some other translations, such as the Darby translation, give the name "Enoch" instead. In both verses, the name "Hanok" is from the same Hebrew word translated "Enoch" in Genesis 4:17 and Genesis 5:18. Other translations say "Hanoch" or "Henoch." The only difference is one of English spelling.
Hebrews 11:5 gives a little more detail: "By faith Enoch was taken from this life, so that he did not experience death: 'He could not be found, because God had taken him away.' For before he was taken, he was commended as one who pleased God." This being "taken away" is what Enoch is most famous for. Only two people in the Bible are said to have been chosen by God to escape death, Enoch and Elijah. Enoch appears to have been given this privilege due to being a man who walked faithfully with God ( Genesis 5:24) and pleased God ( Hebrews 11:5).
For what purpose was Enoch taken away? The Bible does not specifically say. The most common assumption is so that he could serve as one of the two witnesses, alongside Elijah, in the end times. Jude 14.
About Jesus' conception in Mary I wouldn't try to explain it, there is much we don't understand, we have to wait until we go to Heaven, then we will aquire the perfect and complete knowledge of everything. GBU
Now one may think, "if I devote myself to a mission then I don't have to work, the church should provide for me and my family". Is this right? What does the Bible says about that?
It is true that God gives to people who are missioners for Him the right not to work but live with what the church provides for them, so that they are not distracted from their mission, it is not possible to go travelling and work at the same time, it is very hard to work and supervise a church at the same time. There is hardly enough time for both. Paul deals with that extensively in 1 Corinthians 9:1-14.
But through ages a major problem has been created in Christianity. A right that was given by God to His people to help them to work for Him, has been taken advantage of by many to make it a profession and live from it. There are a lot of people who choose it as a profession. There are also many that they make millions from that. They often claim that God provides them with plenty of money for their mission to become easier. And they don't stop asking from believers persistently even by using/twisting God's Word, the tiths, which tiths are not valid now in New Testament.
The same problem seems to have occured in Paul's time. So what Paul decided to do was to deny that right and work with His own hands for him and his accompanions, 1 Cor 9:15-18. He also suggests that to the elders in Ephessus, Acts 20:32-35. But it also seems that many times he accepted help from churches, since it wasn't always easy to find a job in those places he travelled to. And many times he was left hungry and thirsty... 1 Cor 4:11-12.
GBU
First, let me say thank you for taking the time to share your understanding of the word faith. You have shared some things that I fully agree with.
It looks to me from reading through your 3-part post, that you believe there are two types of faith. I also believe there are two types of faith, human faith which everyone has, both believer and non-believer alike. And then there's the faith that the Bible speaks of. Every one has human faith. But not everyone has biblical faith.
I believe I have a strong understanding of biblical faith, as you also believe you do. I will keep this as short as I can, but will try and further share why I believe the way I do.
But please know that I am only sharing my understanding the same way you shared yours. I am not looking for an argument on the word faith, just sharing what I firmly believe.
First of all, the word faith in Greek is PISTIS. It is from the word PEITHO which means to persuade. If you're into the study of Greek culture or Greek mythology, you know that Peithos was the goddess of persuasion.
But Peitho is the root word for the word faith. The verb form of Pistis is the word that means to believe.
In Greek, not so much English, but in Greek, how a Hellenist or Greek speaking person would understand faith, he or she would understand it as persuasion.
People hear the word faith and they go in all different directions as to what faith is. But faith is Pistis. And it means persuasion.
There are two kinds of faith because there are two sources of faith. And remember that every time we say faith, we are making reference to persuasion. But there are two kinds of faith, and two sources of faith. One is human, and one is from God as a source.
The human kind of faith is when the human being persuades himself or herself to believe. That's not biblical faith.
I am going to need a little more space so please bear with me!