As for the cheek kissing , I personally think it's lovely , however I can imagine that it could cause problems . Imagine how long it would take you to kiss every member of your congregation on a Sunday ! I would have to get to church an hour early ! Also , we would have to be very conscientious about making sure that we kissed everyone , otherwise this could cause hurt feelings and jealousies as we are all only very much human . It would have to be an all or none situation I think and then , would it be genuine ? If you are only kissing one person out of duty , so they don't feel left out , that's not an honest kiss of affection or respect is it ? Then the whole thing could become a duty or even a chore ! What a can of worms to open ! How complex things become when human feelings get involved :) Best keep our lips to ourselves I think , unless you are a member of a very small congregation :) .
Of the churches I've attended they never had a court or an official structure to settle disputes within the church body, but after reading 1 Cor 6 I wonder if that's what it means. Paul emphasizes how we should be separate from the world's way of doing things, that believers will even judge angels so surely we can handle our own petty disputes.
Disputes I've had in the past haven't been with members of my specific church, however, so I wonder if it implies some kind of inter-church cooperative dispute resolution service or if it just means within one church location. Does anyone have any thoughts on this topic?
Thank you for sharing your thoughts GiGi as you progress on the Attributes of God using the alphabet - very interesting & edifying as also the great submissions from Richard. As I read yours, and you quoted Deuteronomy 4:7, my thoughts went to the very Name of God in respect to this.
The Israelites were indeed reminded that the LORD God was always near to them - with them; and yet they should have known (or, maybe it wasn't revealed to them at that stage), that this God is also known by His compound Name, YHWH-Shammah: "The LORD Who is Present". And this we see in Ezekiel 48:35, the very last statement in the very last verse of Ezekiel's prophecy (which is generally understood to refer to Israel's existence in the Millennial Kingdom; Ezekiel chapters 40 to 48).
In that verse, the Hebrew reads, "wasem ha-ir mi-yowm Yahweh sammah" ('and the name of the city from (that) day (shall be) YAHWEH (is) THERE'). Israel of old knew that God was with them by all His marvelous Works yet they still resorted to the flesh & idolatry. But the day will come when they will truly know Him as Yahweh Shammah, the LORD Who is present, with them, very near to them, for Christ Jesus their Messiah will be the Lord Whom they will know & Who will rule over them (also speaks of Christ's indivisible Deity). And what we, as those who have now received Christ's Spirit in our hearts, know Him in a personal way & a powerful Presence in our lives, still remain to them as a distant hope & a vain search, all the while clouded in disbelief, darkness, & rejection of their Messiah's first coming. Thank you for reminding us that the LORD has never left us - He has constantly been involved in all our affairs, even though at times in our personal & global existence, He might appear absent. But unto 'us who believe, He is precious' & we ought to live in such a manner befitting His Name, 'the LORD Who is Present with(in) us'.
This chapter speaks warning to the Israelites before they enter the land.
They are not to be afraid of the strong nations they will encounter when they go forth to take the lands. God promised to destroy the peoples. So it was not up to the might of the Israelites for the victory to occur, but upon the almighty power and will of God.
The part the Israelites will play in the conquest is to destroy ALL the people, ALL their idols and places of worship. The Israelites responsibility was obedience. God named the 7 nations they were yet to conquer.
He commanded them to not intermarry with members of the nations of this land. They are to be a people separate from the idolaters. They were not to intermix with them in marriage, business, and in everyday life. God knows the power of sin and temptation. He was warning them for their good, not just to put restrictions on their lives. It is wise to follow God in this way, to not be involved with idolaters, those who hate God, those who, in ignorance or rebellion fail to worship and serve Him. These idolaters do not have much to offer us in way of relationships. Their company will usually lead us into sin rather than bring reformation to them. But we still are to be witnesses in and out of season.
God promised to make the Israelites fruitful in every way. Being fruitful is a blessing, being barren is not. We should have this same attitude in our lives. We should greatly desire to be spiritually fruitful, fruitful in our work habits, fruitful in our marriage, fruitful in our relations with other believers as we pray and study the Word together.
I am thankful that I married a believer. This was God's doing. It has led us to have a harmonious marriage. We are coming up on our 44th wedding anniversary in a few weeks. God has blessed us so much. May we show gratitude to each other even more so in the years ahead!
Disputes I've had in the past haven't been with members of my specific church, however, so I wonder if it implies some kind of inter-church cooperative dispute resolution service or if it just means within one church location. Does anyone have any thoughts on this topic?
The Israelites were indeed reminded that the LORD God was always near to them - with them; and yet they should have known (or, maybe it wasn't revealed to them at that stage), that this God is also known by His compound Name, YHWH-Shammah: "The LORD Who is Present". And this we see in Ezekiel 48:35, the very last statement in the very last verse of Ezekiel's prophecy (which is generally understood to refer to Israel's existence in the Millennial Kingdom; Ezekiel chapters 40 to 48).
In that verse, the Hebrew reads, "wasem ha-ir mi-yowm Yahweh sammah" ('and the name of the city from (that) day (shall be) YAHWEH (is) THERE'). Israel of old knew that God was with them by all His marvelous Works yet they still resorted to the flesh & idolatry. But the day will come when they will truly know Him as Yahweh Shammah, the LORD Who is present, with them, very near to them, for Christ Jesus their Messiah will be the Lord Whom they will know & Who will rule over them (also speaks of Christ's indivisible Deity). And what we, as those who have now received Christ's Spirit in our hearts, know Him in a personal way & a powerful Presence in our lives, still remain to them as a distant hope & a vain search, all the while clouded in disbelief, darkness, & rejection of their Messiah's first coming. Thank you for reminding us that the LORD has never left us - He has constantly been involved in all our affairs, even though at times in our personal & global existence, He might appear absent. But unto 'us who believe, He is precious' & we ought to live in such a manner befitting His Name, 'the LORD Who is Present with(in) us'.
He has blessed us in so many different ways.
They are not to be afraid of the strong nations they will encounter when they go forth to take the lands. God promised to destroy the peoples. So it was not up to the might of the Israelites for the victory to occur, but upon the almighty power and will of God.
The part the Israelites will play in the conquest is to destroy ALL the people, ALL their idols and places of worship. The Israelites responsibility was obedience. God named the 7 nations they were yet to conquer.
He commanded them to not intermarry with members of the nations of this land. They are to be a people separate from the idolaters. They were not to intermix with them in marriage, business, and in everyday life. God knows the power of sin and temptation. He was warning them for their good, not just to put restrictions on their lives. It is wise to follow God in this way, to not be involved with idolaters, those who hate God, those who, in ignorance or rebellion fail to worship and serve Him. These idolaters do not have much to offer us in way of relationships. Their company will usually lead us into sin rather than bring reformation to them. But we still are to be witnesses in and out of season.
God promised to make the Israelites fruitful in every way. Being fruitful is a blessing, being barren is not. We should have this same attitude in our lives. We should greatly desire to be spiritually fruitful, fruitful in our work habits, fruitful in our marriage, fruitful in our relations with other believers as we pray and study the Word together.
I am thankful that I married a believer. This was God's doing. It has led us to have a harmonious marriage. We are coming up on our 44th wedding anniversary in a few weeks. God has blessed us so much. May we show gratitude to each other even more so in the years ahead!
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