The voice on the video is my pastor![]()
why is it christmas time is the hardest time of the year, the time that makes my heart ache, I remember what was and I feel the pain again.... like I was 12 and living the nightmare all over again?
when it comes to the question of eternal life, we must be clear
Ephesians 2:8 (King James Version)
8For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
Salvation comes not from our own actions, but by faith in God. No one of us can stand before God and say I deserve eternal life, if we do we will be judged by our actions and sentenced to hell (see revelations chapter 20).
However, true faith is not without works.
James 2:17-18
17Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.
18Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works.
earlier a good brother quoted how we will be known by our fruits.
Yes, eternal life is a gift based on faith, however you want to state it, saved, born again, acheive eternal life, they are all based on our faith in the cleansing work of Jesus Christ, crucified, died, and risen, but true faith causes a change in our lives, we are remade a new creature alive spiritually where we were dead, which is seen through our actions. Our works are a testimony, proof, of our faith, and used by the Lord as a witness of the Gospel.
Paul in his writings fully expounds the salvation by grace doctrine, and yet look at how much time he gives to proper behavior. We are called to embrace a relationship and eternal life by faith, and to live our faith as a testament of our faith, to become true disciples (it says even in the old testament: Habakkuk 2:4 4Behold, his soul which is lifted up is not upright in him: but the just shall live by his faith. Even when under the law we can see the law was never meant to save, it was always Gods plan that faith will be the vehicle for eternal life). There is a connection between great faith and great works, and always great faith comes before the great works.
I dont want to sound like a know-it-all, or preachy, because I know very little, and we do have liberty in Jesus, but sound doctrine is sound doctrine, and we dont want any confusion where eternal life is concerned.
TC, yesterday's sermon at my church touched on the topic of us all having trophies... and scars, in our lives. Next week the sermon will focus on dealing with those scars, I'll take notes and pass them on to you. If you'd like, they usually broadcast the Sunday services online, live at 11:00am central time.
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PROVERBS 8:13
The fear of the Lord is hatred of evil.
Pride and arrogance and the way of evil
and perverted speech I hate.
And being a disciple means love what God loves, and hatred for the things that God hates. AND GOD HATES SIN! do you Hate sin? Or is there unconfessed sin in your life that you love? It says here that pride and arrogance are the way of evil, I would guess that some of us deal with pride and arrogance on some level, I know that I do. I need to NEVER minimize what those things are,EVIL in the sight of the Lord! God of heaven search my heart and cast out any hint of pride or arrogance in me today,and replace it with humility and contrition, That I might be obedient to you today and always.Thank you Jesus! Amen
TC, yesterday's sermon at my church touched on the topic of us all having trophies... and scars, in our lives. Next week the sermon will focus on dealing with those scars, I'll take notes and pass them on to you. If you'd like, they usually broadcast the Sunday services online, live at 11:00am central time.
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Oh wow, thanks for sharing that link.
TC, I hate to 'preach' on you but you do not need to deal with this by yourself, although you may chose to.Thank you for thinking of me, but this is something I have to deal with myself, thank you for thinking of me
I hope you have a safe and happy holiday
TC
You, your heart, and your pain are the very reason He came into this world.why is it christmas time is the hardest time of the year, the time that makes my heart ache, I remember what was and I feel the pain again.... like I was 12 and living the nightmare all over again?
TC, I hate to 'preach' on you but you do not need to deal with this by yourself, although you may chose to.
Matthew 11:28-30
Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.
You, your heart, and your pain are the very reason He came into this world.
Yes, He did come for salvation but He loved you first, so much so that He relinquished His thrown, at the right hand of His Father, to bring you comfort. His love is always there to comfort you...when you choose to seek Him with all of your heart.
God Bless You!
TC, I hate to 'preach' on you but you do not need to deal with this by yourself, although you may chose to.
Matthew 11:28-30
Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.
You, your heart, and your pain are the very reason He came into this world.
Yes, He did come for salvation but He loved you first, so much so that He relinquished His thrown, at the right hand of His Father, to bring you comfort. His love is always there to comfort you...when you choose to seek Him with all of your heart.
God Bless You!
That prayer is one of the best I've heard in a long time. Simple, and very direct. Thanks for sharing that,I will be saying that with an open heart as well.
PROVERBS 8:13
The fear of the Lord is hatred of evil.
Pride and arrogance and the way of evil
and perverted speech I hate.
And being a disciple means love what God loves, and hatred for the things that God hates. AND GOD HATES SIN! do you Hate sin? Or is there unconfessed sin in your life that you love? It says here that pride and arrogance are the way of evil, I would guess that some of us deal with pride and arrogance on some level, I know that I do. I need to NEVER minimize what those things are,EVIL in the sight of the Lord! God of heaven search my heart and cast out any hint of pride or arrogance in me today,and replace it with humility and contrition, That I might be obedient to you today and always.Thank you Jesus! Amen
Thank you, and you handle things your way, I handle them my way... I admit it may not be the best way but its who I am.....
TC
Thank you, and you handle things your way, I handle them my way... I admit it may not be the best way but its who I am.....
TC
awesome and true, how hard it can be to be a disciple. I still have the temptations of my past life, I have a way to deal with them and help, praise God, but they are still there, and there are times I get tired of fighting temptation. Pride is the root of many a temptation for me and many a sin, selfishness, putting myself above others is the form it takes many times. For me it is a daily rededication, daily reminder of the above quoted truth. how easy it is to forget, and how quick those things can ease into our lives and the trouble they can cause. How thankful we should be that we DONT get away with bad living and are convicted, somewhere it says something like the Lord loves who he chastises. Even in Biblical parenting in proverbs it says spare the rod spoil the child. Should we expect less from our Heavenly Father as he deals with us? This is not the easy life, but it is the best. This thread is helpful.
I am reading Hebrews and in ch 10 the last part talks of how we should come together and provoke each other to good works. I understand that the writer is talking about a local church, but the application has been made to this thread as we encourage, speak truths, and even convict. Though we are overcomers of sin, we are still people, we still hurt, we still fail, we still are tempted, we are imperfect, we are needy and Godly fellowship helps to fill some needs.
Let us never condone sin in this thread, but let us be Biblical about conviction, that out of a spirit of love we encourage, we instruct, we try to do what we can to help, knowing that we sin, we are imperfect, and even draw on our past failings and what has helped us.
I love to hear those who were immediately delivered from some vice upon receiving salvation, that is a marvelous tale of power of the Holy Spirit. But for many, conquering vice is a process, salvation is instantaneous, but living a sanctified life is a process and it is our duty as brothers and sisters to aid each other in doing so.
I am thankful for the reminders and encouragement I receive from this thread, please all continue to post, I need the help!
For many years (my oldest child is 22) my parents have not been grandparents. I overlooked them not calling my children on their birthdays, missing grandparents day at school, not attending at least once in 12 years of dance recitals... Two years ago this last spring, I had enough, my second child graduated high school and my parents didn't even pick up the phone to call. I haven't spoken to them since. As I said before, I am attending a new church now and I am seeing things in a different way. Yesterday my sister invited me to the family Christmas at her house and I accepted. One reason, because I miss my sister and her children but mainly, because my behavior for the last two years is not the way the Lord would want me to behave. I had put my pride above all else.
I freakin' LOVE Hebrews! - Once you really understand the Old Testament and realize its place for modern believers, you really seem to grow a love for it and the Jewish traditions and culture, as you see Christ in all of it.
x 10 ^^ what he said!!! I so agree, and please.. ..don't forget.. as Christians we should be praying for israel TODAY AND ALWAYS!! They Belong to God and are his treasured possesion!! It makes no matter that Christ has been made a stumbling block for them and many others!! God loved them first and through Israel we have the law, The very law that is a light to our path and a lamp to our feet!!ISRAEL will come still under great persecution but as a nation of belivers we should be praying for them, as Christ interceeds for us!! have a great day guys! God bless you all.
Hebrews is a great book, I just finished reading it today, it does a great job of tying the OT and NT together and showing that they are not seperate, but part of a single whole. It is also a great encouragement in reading of the actions of faith of many OT heroes and great reminder that even then faith was the way to please God.
Amen, to praying for Israel, they are still Gods chosen and it is part of our duty as a believer to pray for them.
Matthew 13
36 Then Jesus sent the multitude away and went into the house. And His disciples came to Him, saying, “Explain to us the parable of the tares of the field.”
37 He answered and said to them: “He who sows the good seed is the Son of Man. 38 The field is the world, the good seeds are the sons of the kingdom, but the tares are the sons of the wicked one. 39 The enemy who sowed them is the devil, the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are the angels. 40 Therefore as the tares are gathered and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of this age. 41 The Son of Man will send out His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all things that offend, and those who practice lawlessness, 42 and will cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth. 43 Then the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears to hear, let him hear!
^^^I find this frightening.^^^
A citrus tree, started from a seed, will produce bad fruit, but if a citrus tree is grafted, it will produce good fruit. We are started from seed, but unlike the citrus tree, we have to graft ourselves with the love of our Lord and Savior in order to produce good fruit.
Jesus answered, "Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and [of] the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.
John 3:5 'King James Version'
Flesh and blood give birth to flesh and blood, but the 'Spirit' gives birth to things that are spiritual.
John 3:6 'Gods Word Translations'
Just wondering tripster. What did you get out of this broheme?
I guess it's just a deeper personal understanding. I found it comforting.
From the Men's Fraternity Study we had last night:
Titus 3
Remind the people to be subject to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready to do whatever is good, to slander no one, to be peaceable and considerate, and always to be gentle toward everyone.
At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another. But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life. This is a trustworthy saying. And I want you to stress these things, so that those who have trusted in God may be careful to devote themselves to doing what is good. These things are excellent and profitable for everyone.
But avoid foolish controversies and genealogies and arguments and quarrels about the law, because these are unprofitable and useless. Warn a divisive person once, and then warn them a second time. After that, have nothing to do with them. You may be sure that such people are warped and sinful; they are self-condemned.
well I have obviously been in proverbs this last week, and how do you ever even pick just one? but this is the one that touched me tonight
Proverbs 11:14~ Where there is no guidance, a people falls,
but in an abundance of counselors there is safety.~
Thank you Lord Jesus!! Thank you oh lord for the abundance of counselors you have put in my life, Thank you for the guidance that you have provided me lord , Thank you God for not leaving me to my own devices, not leaving me to do what seems right in my own eyes ! Lord Jesus your word is a light to my path, Today and everyday! Lord I pray for increasing faith , knowledge and discernment,That I might know you more! Thank you for all you have provided!! amen.
“Man has fallen away from God and as a result his whole nature has become
perverted. Man’s whole bias is away from God by nature. His god is himself.
His own abilities and powers; his own desires are all for himself. He objects
to the demands that God makes on him. Furthermore, man likes and covets
the things which God prohibits and dislikes the things and the kind of life
God calls him to. These are not mere dogmatic statements. These are facts,
which alone can explain the moral muddle and ugliness that characterizes
our life.”
Since my faith is a little blurry these days can someone remind me of what Christmas is all about---because these days i think a lot(myself included) just see it as a massive spending spree.
James 4
1From whence come wars and fightings among you? come they not hence, even of your lusts that war in your members?
2Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not.
3Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts.
I love the Bible, what a great book, it unfolds God to us, gives us the mystery of eternal life, His plan for the world, the history of the world, and at the same time what a practical book. I just read James 4 today and these first three verses do much to explain the problems, unhappiness, and discontent we have in our lives. Thankfully it does go on to give the remedy for these things, humility before God, putting Him first, and turning from our sins. Oddly enough, that seems to be the answer that is given in other places of the Bible. That is another thing I love about the Bible, it is consistent, and at some level simple. What a great book. I wish more people used this book as a guide of how to live their life, including me!
I know this is not the prayer request thread but I want to put this out here. I ask that we all be in prayer this week for Christmas services. This is a time where many non-believers and those who have fallen away come to church. Let us all pray for the preaching and teaching of the services this week, that the Gospel will be clearly and simply presented and that peoples hearts will be open to Gods message. This is always a good prayer, but more so at times like now and Easter when the audience will be much larger. Most here will not preach, but we can play our part in prayer for power and clarity for those that will. Thanks to all!
I'm back.
I wanted to throw out something I found to be true with myself. As we know the KJV can be rather difficult to understand, but I like the way the words are unique. It makes me reread it many times, and almost have to decipher it in my own mind with words that are used more frequent today.
I also learned that A GREAT way to do some reading without getting overwhelmed with sitting for hours is to do this...
Take five verses from any chapter of the written Word, and only read five. Read it slow, and see every word. As I feel it's not how much you read, but how well you took in what you actually read.
Then go back and read the same five or so verses over again. To let it absorb. For things to sink into memory, re-introducing the chosen material hours later again will allow for remembrance to occur.
I say this makes reading a very simple, easy task to do daily. I keep my study Bible, and my pocket KJV right near my computer, so I can easily pick it up, read something, then get back to whatever I was doing. Very simple, very effective.
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Hope that helps someone, to find ease in making a few minutes of your day well spent.![]()
very true, with the bible it is quality over quantity, and it is consistency. Read and digest, really think about what is read, look at the context of what is going on in the text, what is the overall message, how is it built/supported, and most importantly personalize it, how can I make this a part of my life today? One tip in general, dont over spiritualize/mysticalize or overcomplicate the Bible, if it says something is good, it is good, if bad, it is bad and look at the individual text as a part of the whole, dont look at it as unto itself. Reading without thinking about the Bible message as a whole it is much easier to make the Bible "say" what you want to hear, instead of what God wants you to hear (I have definitely done that myself, ha ha!)