Bible Questions & Discussion PAGE 510

  • Adam - In Reply - 1 year ago
    Dear Street preacher,

    I'd like to ask about the notition that marijuana is made by God and cocaine isn't.

    God made everything, including the box jellyfish, but that doesn't mean we should swim with them or eat them. We live on cursed ground. Thorns, poison plants, dangerous animals.

    Marijuana is less processed than cocaine, but both are processed. I've seen videos of them using gasoline to break down the compounds, but cocaine also comes from a natural plant. How is one "good" and the other "bad"? Isn't it possible that both can be harmful, that both can kill?

    A common repeated lie is that "no one has ever died from marijuana", despite it taking only seconds to search online and find articles about deaths as a direct result of it, like car crashes. It's similar to the lie that covid vaccines are "safe" despite more than 30,000 deaths reported just in the US. People freak out about a school shooting where 10-20 die, but 30,000 is somehow dismissed as being ok.

    There was a deadly plane crash in Africa where all passengers died and the pilots tested positive for marijuana use. Maybe there would be more reports if people wanted reports and if it stayed in the system longer by the time the autopsy was conducted. Just like the corrupt pharma industry there are millions in lobbying and grants for studies showing positive effects, but probably zero money for showing its negative effects. People will then hear what they want to hear and proclaim that as truth. It's addictive and people become slaves to it as a stronghold and as even an idol above God. It also serves as a stepping stone into harder drugs. People's lives have been absolutely destroyed from drugs. So, I do not recommend it for anyone, especially a Christian. God bless.
  • Amos on Job 34 - 1 year ago
    Ankara Eitim Kou

    Greetings! Very helpful advice within this post!

    It's the little changes that produce the most important changes.

    Many thanks for sharing!
  • Lisanne - In Reply - 1 year ago
    "I think in those days they may not have used the term drugs or pharmaceuticals but maybe used the word "medicine" for the sick and terms like "sober" vs not sober for being in a state of mind altering substances."
  • Lisanne - In Reply - 1 year ago
    I think in those days they may not have used the term drugs or pharmaceuticals but maybe used the world "medicine" for the sick and terms like "sober" vs not sober for being in a state of mind altering substances.
  • Lisanne - In Reply - 1 year ago
    Try this;

    Link

    Back in those days, I don't think they referred to drugs as drugs but more like sober vs not.
  • Chris - In Reply on John 13 - 1 year ago
    Page 3.

    In my mind, this becomes a salvation based on human effort to please God, rather than a believer's spirit & Will secured & resting in God's Salvation & living the Christian life (with its ups & downs) in the power of the Spirit. And it is the Holy Spirit that secures & nourishes the believer to remain faithful & true to the One Who has purchased him and not our efforts to ensure our salvation is secure.

    What the apostles did by warning the Churches was to alert them to false teaching & if they were truly saved, to avoid the disciplining of the Lord, which He gives to all whom He loves. Just thought to add my belief to further define the life of a truly saved believer & God's continual work in him, ensuring nothing separates him "from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord". Blessings to you brother.
  • Chris - In Reply on John 13 - 1 year ago
    Page 2.

    Even if I use a personal example: when have I strayed into some sin & not felt the gentle tug of the Spirit - when have I persisted in that sin & not been drawn into deep conviction & sorrow for grieving the Lord Whom I love? Can I ever see myself being so drawn away, that I am willing to give up Christ for the World? Never. God's Spirit will persist with me, bearing upon my self-will & obstinacy, to restore me back to the Father. At least that's been my experience, & I perceive what Jesus spoke concerning the eternal security of those whom the Lord has secured ( John 6:39; John 10:27,28). But if I sense no conviction & a life of sin is more preferable, I would readily admit that I wasn't even saved - at least not saved by God, but saved by my reckoning.

    Then in contrast & what perplexes me: if I would believe that my salvation could be lost due to gross sin or leaving the faith, that would mean that I would never know in the present, that I'm truly saved & accepted. Why? Because of the real possibility that I could become unsaved. Then what should I do to return back to the Lord & re-gain His Holy Spirit? Obviously, to repent of my sin & cleave to Him, as I did at the first. But would that be enough, since I would never know the intensity of the sin that separated me from God, to the measure of righteousness that would please Him & send His Spirit back to me. Then how much could I obey Him & earnestly follow Him to ensure my salvation? Or maybe, to hold such a belief means that only in that Day of Judgement will a Christian know whether he has believed enough, done enough, repented enough, to be accepted by God?
  • Chris - In Reply on John 13 - 1 year ago
    Page 1.

    Thanks again brother for your response. Actually, I see that my understanding of who are blood-bought, Spirit-filled believers & followers of Christ are not always the same as another's understanding. Maybe, my view is too restrictive, too narrow; but I feel compelled to hold this view considering what Jesus & the apostles described of one who is genuine & a true believer. As well, I try my best to avoid making judgement on the spiritual condition of others who profess belief in Christ - I simply don't have that authority or the ability to discern a heart's condition. If I have to deal with struggles within myself, I certainly would not be in a position to discern where a person is at before the Lord. Therefore, in the Church, there can not only be false teachers (as we've already discussed & seen in the epistles), but also false Christians (i.e. amongst the laity & Church leadership). Just because a 'Christian' appearance is seen by man, doesn't mean that this reflects the condition of the heart before God. And yet, we must accept one another as those in Christ, & encourage one another in our walk of faith.

    So, if we understand that a true believer is one who is saved through Christ's Sacrifice & has the Holy Spirit in residence, becoming God's blood-bought child, what would it take for God to allow such a child to increasingly become wayward, returning back to his old sinful life, & be lost into Satan's clutches? I not only see that God would not permit it (as His Spirit cannot be willy-nilly given & taken away making God's deep work in the heart a farce), but also He immediately lovingly applies intervention to alert & restore the wayward one.
  • Richard H Priday - 1 year ago
    Revelation-introduction

    The theme of "was; is and is to come" is seen in both Revelation 1:8 and 4:8. With the book of Revelation talking about the "Alpha and Omega" and describing the glorified Christ where John fell at His feet as though dead (1:17); not to mention the theme of His opening the seal judgments; being the sole victor at Armageddon; and ruling on earth it is inconceivable that some have actually suggested that Christ ISN'T the main theme of the whole book of Revelation.

    The fate of every individual; whether taking the mark of the Beast or not; and of all who are saved or lost; what their judgments will be; and the absolute determination of the time and manner of judgments is determined by the Godhead alone; specifically the Father and Son. Only those who have the Spirit are those "wise who will understand". ( Daniel 12:10; to be read in context with the rest of the verse). God will indeed use the Tribulation to sanctify some; to do a quick work on the earth. But the unregenerate despite whatever facts that they have at their disposal curse God; and rebel against Him whether during the worst trial the world has ever seen ( Mark 13:19); as well as after the descendants of the survivors of the Tribulation into the Millennium who have the BEST world imaginable who follow Satan in the last rebellion.

    The wicked truly will think they are doing God a favor in killing true believers ( John 16:2). We have seen these things before in history with martyrdom; but never at the scale and madness of the Tribulation. We need to see the intensity of that time as part of the great final harvest; a purification to finally wake up the nation of Israel (the one third who come to faith in Zech. 13:9) as well as bring in those of an uncountable number who hear the message of the 144,000 ( Rev. 7:9-17). The consummation of the ages brings His church back to rule and reign with Christ and then final judgment of the wicked. Then comes a sinless new heaven & earth.
  • Fred Scanlan - In Reply on Exodus 27 - 1 year ago
    God the Father is the creator! He is the perfect one! No one ,No one can stand before Him or look upon Him! He sends His Son, a part of Himself to reveal Himself unto us!

    I know, and do not know ,why He would do this.

    In all His benevolence,in all His person of who He is ,He reaches out to man in and through His son Jesus! These things started long ago through a promise given to Abraham! This is the explanation in His word!

    So, our God wants us to know who He is!

    Our God is who He says He is, the creator of all things!

    Even so, we cannot know Him on our terms, or with the nature we have. There must be reconciliation. A reconciliation (A Path ) that will provide a way unto Him.

    These are the conditions. Only, Because of sin.

    The same sin as was from the beginning and is still born within everyone of us! (original sin).

    Knowing these things is the groundwork required for knowing the heavenly of Him! If you are drawn unto Him, then this is the treasure that is before you! Jesus died that you and I might know Him! This is the treasure set before you!

    Repent and be Baptized
  • GiGi on Exodus 27 - 1 year ago
    Ex. ch. 27

    In this chapter the altar of sacrifice is described. It is made of brass (brazen) not gold. It is outside of the Holy of Holies, separated from the Presence of God on the mercy seat of the ark in the Holy of Holies. It has a brass grate in a hallowed out center with a catch basin to collect the ashes that fall through the grate when the sacrifice is burned on top of the grate. Wood is used as the fuel that burns the sacrifice, not oil.

    The altar is were the sacrifice for sin is made. This reminds me that the cross is where Jesus took all of our sins upon Himself. He became the sacrifice for our sins. They were all destroyed, like ashes, at the cross, just like the ashes we collected beneath the altar. So the altar of sacrifice was the place of removal of sin from the Israelites, and the cross is the place of the removal of all of our sins, once and for all (unlike the brazen altar where sacrifices are made daily for the sins of the people).

    This sacrifice needed to be done outside the "temple" because sin cannot come into the presence of our holy God. Jesus was crucified outside the temple, outside the walls of the city on an elevated place (altar), Golgotha (place of the skull).

    This altar in the tabernacle reminds the Israelites that sin requires an atonement of death of a sacrifice. It required the shedding of blood unto death. It requires the death of one who is without sin to (without spot or wrinkle) to be a substitute for our sinful persons. The differences between the sacrifice of lambs and bulls on this altar and the sacrifice of Christ are that animals are not a perfect substitute for man. The perfect substitute must be a sinless human. And that the animal sacrificed stayed dead, but Jesus, because He was God, too, rose from the dead, thus justifying us with His righteousness. He did not see decay, no, not as the ashes of the sacrifice on the altar. He rose up bodily without decay, but with the wounds of His crucifixion upon his body.
  • GiGi on Exodus 27 - 1 year ago
    Exodus Ch. 26

    In this chapter, the tabernacle is described in detail, from the curtains, to the pillars, to the hooks and fasteners, to the wood overlayed in gold or brass, to the brazen altar for sacrifice, to the roof of skins, to the veil before the Holy of Holies. There were a lot of specific measurements concerning the tabernacle. God was exacting in his requirements since the tabernacle was a representation of what was true in heaven.

    For me, what stood out was the care that was taken about making the tabernacle enclosure somewhat impenetrable except when one went through the front entrance. There is only one way to the presence of God, that is through the body and blood of Jesus Christ, the door. No other way is possible to come into the presence of the Godhead.

    Also, once inside the tabernacle, there was an outer court and an inner court which was curtained off. Inside this Holy of Holies was the ark where the presence of God was manifested to the high priest only, once a year. This reminds us that it is Jesus only who can stand before the Father, who dwells in impenetrable light. Jesus is worthy to stand before the Father and live, not us. He is the Mediator between God and man, He alone. No other being can reconcile us to God nor bring needs and prayers. Jesus is our intercessor before the Father. All of our prayers and requests go through Jesus to the Father. That is why Jesus told us that our requests will be answered by the Father in the name of Jesus. ( John 16:23) In Hebrews it says that because the curtain was torn in two between the Holy Place and the Holy of Holies, giving us entrance to the Presence of the Father, however the curtain is Jesus body, sacrificed on the cross for us. So, if we are ever to stand before the Father, it will always be with Jesus, not on our own, and it is because we are "in" Him that we can be brought into the Father's presence.

    We shall see how this goes when we get to heaven and possess all of our inheritance.
  • Giannis - In Reply on John 13 - 1 year ago
    Hello Chris

    I've read your answers and I see how you understand some scriptures and since it seems that we see things differently, I will make a summary of what we agree with and of what we disagree.

    It seems that we agree that a man who was saved by God's grace may sometimes, for his own (bad) reasons, change course and return to his original sinful life with all those consequences that accompany such an action. One may as well stay in the church but live in a sinful condition, that is he doesn't want to correct some things he does wrongly.

    God uses any way His wisdom chooses to bring that child of His back, often by permitting hard situations to go through one's life or even permits satan to "distruct" them to a specific extend, or even He Himself "punishes" His children for a good purpose.

    And it is here where our disagreement begins from, if I get it right. In my opinion you don't consider that God is powerless in front of some situations, He is actually powerless in front of man's free will, He can not violate it, He can not force people to do something they don't want to do. He works in many different ways, He makes all sort of efforts, He uses any possible way, to make people repent and return back even in the last minute of their lives. But those efforts do not always succeed not because God is not capable of but because man does not cooperate with Him, does not obey, does not repent, keeps his heart hard as stone.

    God's will is that all people get saved, but not all will be saved. His Will stops infront of man's will. This is what His righteouness says to Him. There is always a condition for people to get and keep salvation. Their cooperation with God

    Your belief is that finally God always succeeds in His efforts to bring His children back into repentance. But I think that there are many examples in both NT and OT that show us (in my opinion) that the opposite may sometimes happen.

    Anyway, thanks for your response and the conversation we are having.

    GBU
  • Russelll gray - 1 year ago
    where is the Bible does it says to stay away from drugs. Pharmasuticals?
  • GiGi again - In Reply - 1 year ago
    Most definitely praying for Brenda and her situation. God is amazing and loves us so. I am trusting that He will come through for Brenda and her family quickly. May He move mountains for her today.
  • Samala - 1 year ago
    Q. Does this indicate the second anointing and the perfection comes the end of the century? (answer to Alex on Mark 8 v 22 KJV)
  • Linda - In Reply - 1 year ago
    Prayers up
  • T. Levis - In Reply on Matthew 6 - 1 year ago
    Proverbs 19:17,

    Exodus 22:21-27, Exodus 23:1-12, Deuteronomy 24:12-15, Psalms 14:6, Matthew 25:31-46, Psalms 41:1, Psalms 82:3,4, Psalms 112:9, Proverbs 14:31, Proverbs 21:13, Matthew 19:21, Mark 10:21, Luke 14:13,14, Luke 18:22, 2Corinthians 9:9,

    Proverbs 13:7,

    Hopefully helpful
  • S Spencer - In Reply - 1 year ago
    Hi Mishael.

    Your prayer request has been granted.

    God bless you.
  • Jesse - In Reply on Matthew 6 - 1 year ago
    Mark,

    Jesus said, lay not up for yourselves treasures on earth, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven. How much emphasis do we put on working hard and laying up for ourselves, for our retirement, and for everything here on the earth, and we bypass the spiritual things of God? We can go through serious financial struggles and cry out to God, but do we realize that God will do that at times when our dependency is on the world's means? It does not say it is wrong to have things. But if our dependency is on them, then we have a problem!

    Matthew 6:21 says, "For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also." The Jews used to have a phrase, "Wherever you are at all times is where you treasure is, and that is where your heart is going to be."
  • Mark on Matthew 6 - 1 year ago
    Matthew 6:19. Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal:

    Matthew 6: 20. But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal:

    Please help me... What means can I lay up for myself treasures in heaven?

    Thank you.
  • Joyce Bayley on Proverbs 10 - 1 year ago
    Proverbs10:11. How truthful The mouth of a righteous man can be used in uplifting, edifying bringing peace to others all he wants to talk is about God's love and what God has done for him
  • Srburwell1 on Psalms 136 - 1 year ago
    Psalms 136: God's mercy is truly why we are all saved. What I do see in this Psalm is a back and forth between the speaker and the congregation. The speaker gives the statement, the congregation gives back "His mercy endureth forever". Beautiful and pleasant, a reminder of what Israel has gone through.
  • Chris - In Reply on Luke 17 - 1 year ago
    Hi Carl. There was a leper in Syria, a captain of the King's army, who was healed of his leprosy by God through the prophet Elisha. You can read about it in 2 Kings chapter 5. Don't know if this story comes close to what you're looking for.
  • Alex N - In Reply - 1 year ago
    The Transfiguration on the 7 th day was Christ presenting the Church ( his Raiment ) without spot of wrinkle to God.. Matthew 17: 1-13...I was naked and you clothe me....We are his Raiment.....He was presenting to God a Glorious Church without spot or wrinkle... when they saw him on the mount....Tho your sins be as scarlet that shall be white as Snow....They saw his Raiment white as Snow....We are his Raiment....Abide in me and i in you....There is no fuller on earth that can whiten us like his blood....His raiment was white as Snow thats us sinners...His face shown as the Sun....The sun shines on every body....He makes his Sun to shine on the good and the bad...If i be lifted up I will draw all men unto me....Nobody can escape the light of the world....The sun/Son Christ Jesus THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD

    ......When he was on the Cross shedding his blood for humanity....He was PRESENTING up to God a Glorious Church without spot or wrinkle US SINNERS ...The New Covenant IN HIS BLOOD....Tell the vision to no man till the son of man is risen again...( when the book is opened )
  • Luke - In Reply on Habakkuk 3 - 1 year ago
    Not bad, it's Referring to the smitings of God on the enemies of Israel,,, Israel meaning Christ, the enemies of Christ, The Chief Singer
  • Chris - In Reply on John 13 - 1 year ago
    Page 3.

    Does Satan have the authority to take away life? I believe that only God gives & takes away life. In Satan's domain (i.e. outside the Church to which a sinning believer might be sent), pain & destruction may well be the physical demise of the believer, to the end that his "spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus".

    Re: "untimely death". I mean that a life was shortened because of God's action against sin. We see this in many instances in the OT & NT, & especially that we have already mentioned Ananias & Sapphira ( Acts 5); 1 Corinthians 11:27-30; Acts 12:21-23.

    Re: Hebrews 10:26,27 & we can add, Hebrews 6:4-6 as well; these verses have been discussed previously by bro Jesse & myself & too long to deal with here.

    Re: Acts 21:20. All I can see from this limited detail, is that the Church (the Jewish component), hadn't properly dealt with the separation of the Law & the liberty they ought to have enjoyed in Christ. Much like today, when those coming out of other religions or cults, might take a long time to understand & resolve matters that have been indoctrinated deep into their minds. The fact that the Jerusalem council seemed to understand & accept this matter didn't warrant them to address it. However, Paul always did & was taken to task for doing so.

    I hope I've addressed the points you raised, brother. I know we will see these things differently, but I hope you can also see how I understand it: the Lord knows His children & they have been brought into His family by His indwelling Spirit. Does God make an error in doing so? Or, are His children secure in Him & when they err, His correction done in love, will always bring us back into fellowship. If it doesn't do so, then, speaking personally, I would have to question my salvation, that it was merely a mental or emotional assent given, without a true change in heart & spirit. And that's the only way I can understand some of these difficult, apparently contentious, Scriptures. Every blessing.
  • Chris - In Reply on John 13 - 1 year ago
    Page 2.

    b. I note your understanding of the two Greek words in question, that there is no significant difference between them. But why I earlier suggested that "fail" indicates 'falling short', is because of the earlier verses 5-11, indicating that believers who err, must be recipients of God's Chastisement - if not, those believers are imposters (illegitimate). So why then do we read verses 12-15, speaking about their learning from God's Discipline, to follow peace with all men, & holiness of life, and having careful introspection (episkopeo)? That they might not 'fail' (fall short) of God's Grace. If we apply 'failing God's Grace' to 'loss of salvation', then God's Discipline seems unnecessary, as that would provide no correction to bring one back to holy living. But to the true believer, God's Discipline must bring about the desired results, because if it didn't, then we would be illegitimate, even as Esau relinquished his birthright & was rejected.

    c. Re: the prodigal son parable. I think that the point of the story was that a son wanted to go out on his own, fell into hard times, came to his senses, & was joyfully received back by his father. I don't see any reference here to "God's punishment to cause a change of course & come back". It is as you say, 'the son's decision' to return & he was welcomed home, just as a wayward believer would, returning back setting his eyes only on God. No chastisement or punishment here, as this parable wasn't suggesting that. But we do read of God's disciplining in Hebrews 12. How that takes place can be different to each one of us: whether the gentle urging of the Holy Spirit, a stern message from the pulpit, sickness, even death (as was for Ananias & Sapphira). The point is, that a believer will receive the Word from the Lord in some way & will be corrected. Why? Because he is a blood-bought child of a loving God, even as a loving earthly father would never reject his child but first offer correction & restoration.
  • Chris - In Reply on John 13 - 1 year ago
    Page 1.

    Thank you bro Giannis for your lengthy reply - & I trust you had a profitable time away. I'll try to deal with the points you raised.

    a. Agreed, Galatians is written to believers & in Galatians 5:1, we read of Paul's urgent warning to stand fast in the liberty given by Christ & not be swayed by others to become entangled into legalistic bondage (the Law/circumcision). And so Paul lays out the Truth to these who may be considering/drifting towards this false teaching: 'if your justification comes by obedience to the Law, then God's Grace (salvation) would no longer be yours.' I see this as a warning towards a principal: 'Law & Grace don't mix, so stand fast in Christ's liberty.' Hopefully, those erring Galatians would heed Paul's teaching rather than the false ones, & hold onto the Truth.

    But your question would be, 'what about those who don't heed it, won't they fall from God's Grace?' I agree that they would, but did anyone from their midst, come to this sad state of losing their salvation? Or was it simply Paul's warning to the Church about this false doctrine, that righteousness doesn't come by obedience to the Law, therefore don't be fooled by this teaching. And to add, Paul says in verse 10, "I have confidence in you through the Lord, that ye will be none otherwise minded: but he that troubleth you shall bear his judgment, whosoever he be." I guess, it depends how one wants to view this passage in Galatians: as a warning against false teachers or as a teaching that salvation can be lost.
  • Fred Scanlan - 1 year ago
    Peter comes again to Capernium with Christ. Peter see's the tax collecters waiting for Him, Jesus goes ahead into the house. Why they would ask Peter for the tribute money and not Christ, poses a question. Why, would they seek the money from Peter, and not ask Christ himself?

    Surely they knew Christ had nothing, only the tatered clothing on His back! No place to stay, homeless! Yet,

    Peter a fisherman, could not have been doing very well either, since He nad not worked in awhile following Christ in His ministry.

    Taxes can become an overwhelming affair, for anyone who has not worked , living and working with Christ the king!

    Peter comes into the house, by now overwhelmed with idea how he is going to pay!

    Jesus could have sent Peter anywhere to retrieve this mony! Instead He sends Him to the place of His employment! The sea!

    Imagine Jesus sending you a fisherman with one hook! Telling you the first fish you catch, open its mouth too discover the coin that would pay this money!

    Peter goes with the words of Christ, as He goes pondering Jesus word of freedom of those who are the children of the king. With the they serve. No longer strangers, but now children in the kingdom of freedom!

    Freedom in light of the King we serve, experiancing the miracles of God! This experiance while gone, we wait to see the expresion on Peter's face as He flips the coin too them!

    Serving the creator, is serving the King. If you are serving the KIng, then you are indeed free!

    Repent and be Baptised


Viewing page: 510 of 5347

< Previous Discussion Page    Next Discussion Page >

500   501   502   503   504   505   506   507   508   509   510   511   512   513   514   515   516   517   518   519  

 

Do you have a Bible comment or question?


Please Sign In or Register to post comments...