It is our heart that God looks at . When Christ returns he won't judge us by the sight of his eyes , he will go straight to our hearts . Many people , Christian and none Christians , do good deeds all day long , there is nothing wrong with that but people can do good deeds and be atheist or idolators . Do we have a heart of flesh or a heart of stone ? Jesus knows . I know many soft hearted Christians who are not physically capable of doing very much through illness and disability . I know many kind hearted atheists who wouldn't heart a fly . First and foremost we must learn ( yes , learn , I had to ) to love God and Jesus . This can take a long time , it didn't come naturally or easily to me . Love is the key . Once we begin to feel love for God and for Jesus we are on the right track . I don't love either of them enough . When I look back through my life and see them , in retrospect , always with me , saving me from myself and others , planting me in a safe place , keeping me from harm , feeding me , clothing me , I didn't see them at the time because I didn't recognise their love working for my benefit in my life . It's a bit overwhelming to me at times . I know that no person loves me more than God does or more than Jesus does . It's hard to love some one that you can't see . But , if you take time to think , you can see them , in your life now and through your past . Guiding you , protecting you , providing for you . Once you recognise their love in your life , once you see them you start to appreciate and feel their love for you , it becomes easier and more of a natural progression for you , to love them . Good deeds ? Yes of course ! But they must be done in LOVE .
Regards to your belief on unsecure salvation: how many sins does it take to lose your salvation? The bible tells us here in Romans 3:23. All have sinned and come "short" of the glory of God, meaning we don't deserve it, that it is a gift. As far as the east is to the west no one can pluck us out of His hands.
There is only one sin that sends you to hell and that sin is to reject Christ. Do you believe that?
Because according to what your saying is that, a person would have to be completely sinless to hold onto their salvation.
I was saved 23 years ago and I was so born again, became a new creature, repenting of all sin, giving my whole life to God. No longer of the world, and still that way, except in the last 12 years I backslid lacking in visitation, and commiting to church activities. But before that I head usherd, cleaned the church, went on visitation, led my mom and brother to Christ and spread the word to others, worked in the church office adding up tithes. I had to stop a lot of that because of health reasons; it kept me from being faithful to my services. I don't think God is going to close the doors on me for that.
Dear Todd , firstly don't despair , God doesn't stop loving us when we mess up , He knew you before you were born and He knew you would get into trouble sometimes , that's why He gave us Jesus . You don't say if your partner is also a Christian . If you are both totally sure that your relationship is definately over you should probably go your separate ways as quickly as possible . You both need time and space to rebuild your relationship with God , admit your faults to Him and ask for forgiveness , pray often read your Bible often and get yourself back on track in your relationship with Him . He is very loving and forgiving . If you are still in love with your partner and she with you then perhaps you can work on your relationship but not live together , God should be both of your priorities . Get back to Him before trying to get back to each other . Do not despair God loves you , that will never change . Try to stay calm and treat each other with respect and honesty , space and time apart from each other and with your Heavenly Father should help you both see things more clearly . Trust in Him .
I have so many questions on mark 4 today I seen God earnestly followed him thru traffic and forgot that he comes in many forms I missed him because I thought the friend I was with was on the wrong path and had I known to truly seek him without distraction I we would have met him and perhaps got our fill of our measure due to us now I let the devil in with my misunderstandings of his word and my partners misunderstandings of her role in the search I have tried to be pure of heart and be kind and forgiving yet always put to the test and forgetting what I had learned from my last spiritual awakening she I think expected a different path or a bolt of lightninhg
I expected her to be on the same page we both failed her sin was greed I knew I had the special tool to receive his word she wanted it all and took it from me that put us apart it's more than being together we could have been on separate beds and yet together but it wasn't working greed brought us both to lust then the father of all lies spoken lies that I could only respond with anger now my friends think I'm a nut my partner even crazier and everyone in my circle hates me and we all missed our word I said some aweful mean things and repeated things I should have kept to myself and this girl who I would have givin my life for has need of an excorsist it's all messed up I had resisted lust up to a point but satan persisted in us both now my special tool is gone and so is our friendship hope faith and there's no more love and it makes me sad and I've been now overlooked and so has she what can we expect now now from what mete shall I be took from I can't help but to feel despaired and lonely and empty I haven't talked to her but I know she feels the same what can we do now? The devil clouded me until 1:11 am then I remembered mark 4 omg I feel so sick looking to free myself from this pollution I feel now I missed it and I'm gonna die alone I'm afraid I will be stuck here eternally to re dieoverandove
I just wanted to tell you that I so very much appreciate the option you give to 'listen'. I just recently started listening, and it is blessing me so much. My mind tends to stray sometime when I read but when I listen I can follow so much better. It reminds me of the scripture that says "faith comes by hearing". I love the man's voice, he does an excellent job of reading the Word. Thank you.
Abigail, the Bible is the word of God. If you have to ask, you don't understand the Lord. Please turn your heart and soul, your life to Him. Faith will show you how. Talk to your pastor, rabbi, or another Christian. I'll pray with you. May the Lord reach out and touch your soul.
We live in a world where the is various sin and partiality is just one of them. To ask why is it partiality exist in a fallen world where sin has no boundaries, you would have to ask why do men kill, steal, lie, commit fornication, abortion, same sex marriage, ECT.. If we get our answer from the bible you will find the answer is "SIN" and if you did one you have done them all, no matter what color you are!
So the question should be why do anyone treat anyone bad.
Or why do white people treat white people bad?
Or why do black people treat black people bad? The same thing goes for any nationality. This is a evil and dark world we live in, and we all have fallen short of Gods commandments,
THERE IS A SIN PROBLEM!! We go to the world for a solution when we should go to the Lord and the word!
Jesus is calling people out of the world into his glorious light, There is no where in the bible where it says the Lord is coming back to make a better world, he is coming back to judge the world and destroy it and create a new Heaven and Earth. Man has never been able to solve mans sin problem.
Lets seek the Lord with all our hearts and let him fill us with his spirit.
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. Romans 12:2.
I know God had many fiery trials and he suffered and so will we. It's very painful living in a world where there is so much hate. Knowing that we're only here for a little while. We want to live comfortable. Why are we as Black People feel as if we don't belong? God created us just as he created other race of people. My Mom and Dad taught us to Love everybody and treat everyone with dignity and respect. I teach my kids the same. Why are we treated so bad as a people of color? This is a God created world. God Loves us all the same. God is Love.
Thank you Jesse! Yes my brewery days have been over for quite a while :).
This maybe was the most amazing event I ever witnessed in my almost 30 years of being a born again Christian. My friend (a male) who I still hear from every year or so was Jewish but not really practicing what he had been taught. We were on a similar path until that day. Time remains. :)
God Bless the work in Jesus Christ and God Bless those who live in Him and share His peace!
You have to forgive me for this, but sometimes I read things too fast and see words that are not there. When I was reading what you said, I thought I read that you were sitting next to a friend at an NYC Brewery. I thought what in the world is he doing at a brewery? Anyways, that's not what you said!
What an awesome testimony of the power of God's Word. His word is very powerful. Everyone has some sort of response to it. We either are drawn to it, or we want to get away from it. But there will always be a response. I pray for your friend that the seed which has been sown will take root in his/her heart and that he/she might see their need for Christ, and surrender their life to Him!
I have a close friend who was sitting next to me at the NYC Bowery Mission while the Gospel was being preached. Tears were streaming down his cheeks as he listened. All of a sudden he tightened and shook and stopped what ever was happening inside of him.
No, not in that condition. The people in this section of the Parable of the Sower have hearts that are hardened. The word of God is just sitting there. There's no penetration. These are people who hear the gospel, but because of the hardness of their hearts, they do everything in their power to get away. As long as they continue on in this condition, they have no hope of salvation.
One of the most influential verses spoken by Jesus if you are searching for the truth or correct interpretation of the scriptures.
I found it that way a number of times when seeking truth .
Your intensity in listening with out bias or preconceived ideas when reading the Bible , Gods word gets louder than all other views or interpretations. It's up to you to give ear to what Gods word is saying , your future depends on it .
The only remedy for indoctrination that is so damning .
There's nothing in the narrative ( Mark 4:36-41) to suggest that Satan had anything to do with the storm. I feel that it was just a normal weather phenomenon as apparently was quite common at the Sea of Galilee. It could be quite calm & in the next moment a violent storm could build up. This was partly due to its location where the wind comes over the mountains in the East & drops suddenly & violently towards the Sea. However, Jesus always took the daily experiences of the people to teach them, not about nature, but of the deeper spiritual life & God's operation over mankind.
"Man was made in the image of God. All agreed?" Fully agree.
"So why does man not have 3 heads?" Does God have three heads?
"Or at least 3 distinct personalities?" The Bible speaks of man having a body, soul & spirit ( 1 Thessalonians 5:23), which doesn't in the least equate to the Persons in the Godhead, but does indicate that a trinity is necessary for man so that he is how God intended him to be & exist. If one aspect of our trinity is missing, then what do we have left?
Then the question should be: What is God's Image? There can be many answers to this as Scripture doesn't reveal it clearly, but one thing is clear, that our image is not of any physical appearance to God. God is Spirit & no one has seen Him, except the revelation of Him in and through His Son. So I see God's Image to be the character of God that He has imparted to mankind but for sin that has marred & distorted that image. Virtues as godly love, self-awareness, justice, mercy, kindness, hope, eternity set in our heart & many more no doubt, would count for Who God is & what He has imparted to us, that which animals don't possess.
What Jesus spoke of in Mark 4:11,12 is an echo of what God said to Isaiah in Isaiah 6:8-11. In that portion, Isaiah actually had to tell the people that they would not understand God's message to them as an indictment to the stubbornness of their hearts.
Jesus gives the same warning to those living during His times, as they too were hardly ready to receive great spiritual Truths when they had to first realize that 'indeed, the Messiah of God had come amongst them'. So it was through parables, using illustrations that the people could easily understand, that people would be drawn to listen as well as the many miracles He performed in their sight.
Many did believe that Jesus was the coming Christ as a result of this, but it was only after the Cross that Jesus' Words could be understood for the wisdom that was contained in them. However, to His disciples, they were given special insight, and even here, we often sense that they too were sometimes 'hard of hearing' & wondered as to the words of Jesus. For one such example, see Mark 8:14-16. But the Blessed Teacher was there to give them Light, drawing them closer to fully understanding Who He was & the purpose of His Coming.
The self righteous Jews of that time Jesus spoke in parables to them , if they really knew God as they claimed they would have understood Jesus is Of God and spoke truth .
This is not in reference to all men just the self righteous at that time . Another fulfillment of prophecy.
Hopefully these are helpful in your discussion & study
There is only one sin that sends you to hell and that sin is to reject Christ. Do you believe that?
Because according to what your saying is that, a person would have to be completely sinless to hold onto their salvation.
I was saved 23 years ago and I was so born again, became a new creature, repenting of all sin, giving my whole life to God. No longer of the world, and still that way, except in the last 12 years I backslid lacking in visitation, and commiting to church activities. But before that I head usherd, cleaned the church, went on visitation, led my mom and brother to Christ and spread the word to others, worked in the church office adding up tithes. I had to stop a lot of that because of health reasons; it kept me from being faithful to my services. I don't think God is going to close the doors on me for that.
I expected her to be on the same page we both failed her sin was greed I knew I had the special tool to receive his word she wanted it all and took it from me that put us apart it's more than being together we could have been on separate beds and yet together but it wasn't working greed brought us both to lust then the father of all lies spoken lies that I could only respond with anger now my friends think I'm a nut my partner even crazier and everyone in my circle hates me and we all missed our word I said some aweful mean things and repeated things I should have kept to myself and this girl who I would have givin my life for has need of an excorsist it's all messed up I had resisted lust up to a point but satan persisted in us both now my special tool is gone and so is our friendship hope faith and there's no more love and it makes me sad and I've been now overlooked and so has she what can we expect now now from what mete shall I be took from I can't help but to feel despaired and lonely and empty I haven't talked to her but I know she feels the same what can we do now? The devil clouded me until 1:11 am then I remembered mark 4 omg I feel so sick looking to free myself from this pollution I feel now I missed it and I'm gonna die alone I'm afraid I will be stuck here eternally to re dieoverandove
It is historically and factually true, constitutionally protected speech.
There is nothing intrinsically offensive in those words.
We live in a world where the is various sin and partiality is just one of them. To ask why is it partiality exist in a fallen world where sin has no boundaries, you would have to ask why do men kill, steal, lie, commit fornication, abortion, same sex marriage, ECT.. If we get our answer from the bible you will find the answer is "SIN" and if you did one you have done them all, no matter what color you are!
So the question should be why do anyone treat anyone bad.
Or why do white people treat white people bad?
Or why do black people treat black people bad? The same thing goes for any nationality. This is a evil and dark world we live in, and we all have fallen short of Gods commandments,
THERE IS A SIN PROBLEM!! We go to the world for a solution when we should go to the Lord and the word!
Jesus is calling people out of the world into his glorious light, There is no where in the bible where it says the Lord is coming back to make a better world, he is coming back to judge the world and destroy it and create a new Heaven and Earth. Man has never been able to solve mans sin problem.
Lets seek the Lord with all our hearts and let him fill us with his spirit.
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. Romans 12:2.
God bless you.
You'll need to do some reading and meditating on these parallel Scriptures:
Mat 24:1-25:46
Mar 13:1-37
Luk 21:5-36
Never Read A Bible Verse!
Always, always, always read the verses BEFORE and AFTER.
Read parallel passages.
Context is king!
This maybe was the most amazing event I ever witnessed in my almost 30 years of being a born again Christian. My friend (a male) who I still hear from every year or so was Jewish but not really practicing what he had been taught. We were on a similar path until that day. Time remains. :)
God Bless the work in Jesus Christ and God Bless those who live in Him and share His peace!
Stay the course Jesse.
Carleton
You have to forgive me for this, but sometimes I read things too fast and see words that are not there. When I was reading what you said, I thought I read that you were sitting next to a friend at an NYC Brewery. I thought what in the world is he doing at a brewery? Anyways, that's not what you said!
What an awesome testimony of the power of God's Word. His word is very powerful. Everyone has some sort of response to it. We either are drawn to it, or we want to get away from it. But there will always be a response. I pray for your friend that the seed which has been sown will take root in his/her heart and that he/she might see their need for Christ, and surrender their life to Him!
:(
One of the most influential verses spoken by Jesus if you are searching for the truth or correct interpretation of the scriptures.
I found it that way a number of times when seeking truth .
Your intensity in listening with out bias or preconceived ideas when reading the Bible , Gods word gets louder than all other views or interpretations. It's up to you to give ear to what Gods word is saying , your future depends on it .
The only remedy for indoctrination that is so damning .
"So why does man not have 3 heads?" Does God have three heads?
"Or at least 3 distinct personalities?" The Bible speaks of man having a body, soul & spirit ( 1 Thessalonians 5:23), which doesn't in the least equate to the Persons in the Godhead, but does indicate that a trinity is necessary for man so that he is how God intended him to be & exist. If one aspect of our trinity is missing, then what do we have left?
Then the question should be: What is God's Image? There can be many answers to this as Scripture doesn't reveal it clearly, but one thing is clear, that our image is not of any physical appearance to God. God is Spirit & no one has seen Him, except the revelation of Him in and through His Son. So I see God's Image to be the character of God that He has imparted to mankind but for sin that has marred & distorted that image. Virtues as godly love, self-awareness, justice, mercy, kindness, hope, eternity set in our heart & many more no doubt, would count for Who God is & what He has imparted to us, that which animals don't possess.
So why does man not have 3 heads ? Or at least 3 distinct personalities?
It's obvious man is made in Gods image .
Jesus gives the same warning to those living during His times, as they too were hardly ready to receive great spiritual Truths when they had to first realize that 'indeed, the Messiah of God had come amongst them'. So it was through parables, using illustrations that the people could easily understand, that people would be drawn to listen as well as the many miracles He performed in their sight.
Many did believe that Jesus was the coming Christ as a result of this, but it was only after the Cross that Jesus' Words could be understood for the wisdom that was contained in them. However, to His disciples, they were given special insight, and even here, we often sense that they too were sometimes 'hard of hearing' & wondered as to the words of Jesus. For one such example, see Mark 8:14-16. But the Blessed Teacher was there to give them Light, drawing them closer to fully understanding Who He was & the purpose of His Coming.
This is not in reference to all men just the self righteous at that time . Another fulfillment of prophecy.