Originally posted by KingOnPointI think we should read books and talk to people who challenge our beliefs.
SwissGambit,
Why do we need to avoid reading other books that are anti-whatever we believe?
I was just pointing out that we can attempt to control our beliefs by not doing that. It's an indirect form of control at best.
Originally posted by SwissGambitThis looks like something that drunk Sam Harris would say.
Two things.
1) Mind control doesn't work on me.
2) You can't decide what you believe, so it makes zero sense to hold people accountable for a belief, or lack thereof.
3) Take it to Spirituality, Spanky.
Ahem. Three things.
Originally posted by SwissGambitI believe this is the type of belief Jesus called "tempting God" and we are commanded not to tempt God.
I cannot choose NOT to believe I will get hurt if I am hit by a speeding car. I am convinced by the evidence, which is overwhelming. Every single time a car hits something at high speed, damage occurs. I would have to be insane to expect otherwise.
Sure, I could CLAIM to believe I was invincible and could survive the car, but I would be lying.
I think that it is detrimental and sad that God is not more involved in our lives. I don't understand what keeps him from us? He talked to Adam and Eve and even Cain. He almost destroyed everyone on the planet until Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord.
We need Him so much, and yet He stays away from us.
Originally posted by KingOnPointI suppose we have become just too sinful.
I think that it is detrimental and sad that God is not more involved in our lives. I don't understand what keeps him from us? He talked to Adam and Eve and even Cain. He almost destroyed everyone on the planet until Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord.
We need Him so much, and yet He stays away from us.
RJHinds(And) ThinkOfOne,
I don't know the answer about why God stays apart from us, but the bible does tell,
King James Version
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Romans 5: 15-20
But not as the offence, so also is the free gift. For if through the offence of one many be dead, much more the grace of God, and the gift by grace, which is by one man, Jesus Christ, hath abounded unto many.
And not as it was by one that sinned, so is the gift: for the judgment was by one to condemnation, but the free gift is of many offences unto justification.
For if by one man's offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ.)
Therefore as by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life.
For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous.
Moreover the law entered, that the offence might abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound:
Originally posted by KingOnPointAnd the apostle Paul wrote ...
RJHinds(And) ThinkOfOne,
I don't know the answer about why God stays apart from us, but the bible does tell,
King James Version
=====================
Romans 5: 15-20
But not as the offence, so also is the free gift. For if through the offence of one many be dead, much more the grace of God, and the gift by grace, which is by one man, Jesus Ch ...[text shortened]... law entered, that the offence might abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound:
Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation, that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation.
Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ’s behalf, be reconciled to God.
(2 Corinthians 5:18-20 NKJV)
So we Christians are to act as His ambassadors until he comes in Glory.
Originally posted by KingOnPointThis is typical of just about everything you post. You make a statement and then produce a bunch of references which says nothing in support of your statement.
RJHinds(And) ThinkOfOne,
I don't know the answer about why God stays apart from us, but the bible does tell,
King James Version
=====================
Romans 5: 15-20
But not as the offence, so also is the free gift. For if through the offence of one many be dead, much more the grace of God, and the gift by grace, which is by one man, Jesus Ch ...[text shortened]... law entered, that the offence might abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound:
RajK and All Others,
This may seem repetitious to some, but. . .
Cold weather is coming and maybe snow possibly. How is weather for everyone else? I hope you all have a good coming few days. Who will be the coldest? 🙂
I <may> not post for a few days. However, I do want to say that even if love is one way to fulfill the Law of God. That is only part of the Law of God. There are many things to do in the Law of God, one of which is to offer a trespass offering. Because God wanted a way for Israel, I guess, who sin without knowing they sinned, to have an offering to cover the sin. It might be in Leviticus 5.
Loving God as the Law of God says is impossible for a human being to do without sinning unless God works a miracle every time possible sinning comes up. However, unlike what ThinkOfOne <might> think, we can sin while knowing and while not knowing. Don't think that the 10 commandments are all of the Law of God. Read in the Old Testament about every law that Israel was to keep.
The Gospel, or "Good News" is that the Lord Jesus is now the High Priest for everyone. No more priests of the Levites are needed to offer for Israel or the Gentiles. Christ offered His blood for our sins. His blood was accepted by God for our sins. Now, no more sacrificing for sins is needed. Christ's blood is the final sacrifice needed for sins.
King James Version
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Hebrews 4: 14-16
Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession.
For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.
Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.
Hebrews 7: 27
Who needeth not daily, as those high priests, to offer up sacrifice, first for his own sins, and then for the people's: for this he did once, when he offered up himself.
Hebrews 9: 12
Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us.
Hebrews 10: 10
By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.
Hebrews 2: 3
How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation; which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard him;
What should we do with the Bible? Should we be glad about the verses that tell of great things? Or should we ignore all of the verses that don't seem to apply to a person's answer?
I want to be on point, but there are verses that we as human beings can be glad about if they apply to us directly.
There is a place for following Christ's example of good behavior. But getting us to heaven on just good works will not be enough.
It takes God Himself to do for us what we cannot do for ourselves. Doing good works "can" show that a person has faith "already," but doing good works "can be" just trying to be good, nothing more. We are sinners who need to be born again. Only God will be able to do that. For being born again, we are totally dependent on God.
Originally posted by KingOnPointIt is God's love that fulfills the law of God. We have already failed in our love to fulfill the law of God because we all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.
RajK and All Others,
This may seem repetitious to some, but. . .
Cold weather is coming and maybe snow possibly. How is weather for everyone else? I hope you all have a good coming few days. Who will be the coldest? 🙂
I <may> not post for a few days. However, I do want to say that even if love is one way to fulfill the Law of God. That is o ...[text shortened]... h at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard him;
Hey All,
I got the following in e-mail. . .
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THIS STORY IS TOTALLY AWSOME
A snowstorm in the South is about as rare as a glass of unsweetened tea at a church supper. Folks around Birmingham, Ala. weren’t all that worried though. The storm was only supposed to dust the city – not even enough powder for a Southern snowman.
So when the first snowflakes began to fall, no one paid all that much attention. But then, the flakes kept falling. Before too long folks in places like Hoover and Inverness realized it was much more than a dusting. By that point, it was too late for anyone to do anything.
Icy interstates and highways soon became clogged with cars and trucks. Thousands of motorists soon found themselves stranded with nowhere to go – including many stuck on Highway 280.
But a good number of those stranded motorists were able to find shelter in the storm thanks to the kindness and generosity of Chick-fil-A restaurant employees and the restaurant's owner, Mark Meadows.
Once the snow started accumulating, Meadows closed the restaurant and sent his staff home. But a few hours later, many of them returned – unable to get to their homes.
“Our store is about a mile and a half from the interstate and it took me two hours to get there,” manager Audrey Pitt told me. “It was a parking lot as far as I could see.”
So Audrey left her car on the side of the interstate and joined a flock of bundled up drivers trudging through the snow.
“At one point there were more people walking than driving,” she said.
Some of the drivers had been stuck in their cars for nearly seven hours without any food or water. So the staff of the Chick-fil-A decided to lend a helping hand.
“We cooked several hundred sandwiches and stood out on both sides of 280 and handed out the sandwiches to anyone we could get to – as long as we had food to give out.”
The staffers braved the falling snow and ice, slipping and sliding, as they offered hot juicy chicken breasts tucked between two buttered buns. And Chick-fil-A refused to take a single penny for their sandwiches.
The meal was a gift – no strings attached.
For the frozen drivers, it was manna from heaven.
“They were very excited and extremely thankful,” she said. “People were thankful to get something to put in their stomachs.”
Audrey said they were especially surprised that the sandwiches were free. Why not make some extra money during the storm? It’s not like anyone could go to another restaurant. Chick-fil-A had a captive crowd of hungry customers. So why did they give away their food?
“This company is based on taking care of people and loving people before you’re worried about money or profit,” Audrey told me. “We were just trying to follow the model that we’ve all worked under for so long and the model that we’ve come to love. There was really nothing else we could have done but try to help people any way we could.”
Lauren Dango was one of those stranded motorists. She’s known Meadows for years and she was stunned when she saw him walking from car to car with Chick-fil-A sandwiches.
“I looked up and I’m like, what is he doing,” Dango told me. “He had a catering order and it got canceled, so he pulled over and started giving away food.”
And if that wasn’t enough, Meadows helped a driver maneuver along the icy road by pushing a car up an incline.
Dango was so touched by Meadows’ kindness, she sent a letter to Chick-fil-A’s corporate headquarters.
“Kudos to Mark Meadows for not only preaching the "second mile" concept, but actually living by it,” she wrote.
It’s no secret that Chick-fil-A was founded by a Christian family. And it’s no secret that they run their business on biblical values. What happened in Birmingham is an example of how those biblical values are played out.
“We just wanted to be able to help,” Audrey said. “Yesterday was such a hopeless situation. We wanted to do something to make people feel a little bit better. We were here. We had food and there were people outside who needed food. So it just made sense to do something for them.”
But Chick-fil-A’s generosity didn’t stop there.
“We opened up our dining room to anyone who wanted to sleep on a bench or a booth,” Audrey told me.
And this morning, the weary staff members fired up their ovens and began preparing chicken biscuits. The only thing that is closed – is Chick-fil-A’s cash register.
“We’re not open for business,” she said. ‘We’re just feeding people who are hungry.”
I’d say the Chick-fil-A team blessed a lot of people in Birmingham – but that’s not how Audrey sees it.
“It’s a blessing to us to be able to help people,” she said. “It really is.”
“For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat,” Jesus said in the Gospel of Matthew. “I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in.” It was a Sunday school lesson illustrated on a snowy winter day along Highway 280 in Alabama with a chicken sandwich and a side of waffle fries.