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Joined: Oct 2002
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Gecko
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Gecko
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OK!!!

By the term
"obstacles" I mean the times when people who are friends or aquantances (sp) or just around you and begin to do things or say things that are either offensive to you as a Christian, or, knowing that you are a Christian they do things like drink too much or talk about the justification fo strip clubs and adultery, trying to goad you into a discussion that is against your new nature as a Christian.

I, myself, don't get into it. I usually walk away or change the subject. For example, I have found that I don't like cussing. I don't like to be around it. I don't like to hear it. I feel that real adults don't have to talk like that. There are so many other words in the English language...

Also, I refuse to accomedate sin in and around my life. I think that if others want to have their personal beliefs respected then they MUST respect mine. Tolerance is not respect. I am not being respectful of you when I just "let sleeping dogs lie". It's not my calling. If my husbands best friend is cheating on his wife, I WILL confront him and TELL her. Sin is not acceptable. The Bible says "Bad compnay corrupts good character" and I believe it. Therefore, I don't tolerate bad company at all. I refuse to allow certain things into my home and my life. I prefer to focus my life around what is pure and what is holy. And I EXPECT those around me to, at least, respect my preferences enough to refrain when around me.

I don't go around prostelyzing, but I insist on making a testimony with my life. Therefore there is no room for tolerance. I won't bash anothers religion, but I don't live by religion, I am a true Jesus Freak. The believers in Antioch were first called "Christians" because they followed Christ,. That's me. I don't adhere to any set rules except those written by God.

Jesus loved the unloveable but he didn't compromise his principals and join in with their debauchery. In fact, when he was around, everybody else changed....think about it...thats what salt and light DOES...
salt changes the taste of food FOREVER
light, as long as it shines, chases away darkness...there is NO darkness in the light...
this is how we are to be...this is true heart-changing, life-changing, world-changing Christianity....

Jesus freak to the core!!!

Last edited by Jenna - Christianity Editor; 06/22/05 11:35 PM.

JESUS DOESN'T HOLD UP A STANDARD, HE HOLDS UP A MIRROR AND SAYS REFLECT ME!
Jenna Robinson
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Amoeba
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Quote:

Jesus freak to the core!!!


I might have guessed.

Last edited by distressedmum; 06/23/05 08:23 AM.
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Wolf
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Great answer Jenna. I don't know how anyone who really considers themselves to be a Christian can be anything other than as much like Christ as is possible for them - at all times.

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Parakeet
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Wendy, you asked why people do missionary work. Think about it this way. If you knew something that would really help someone you cared about, wouldn't you share it? When you care about someone, you want them to have the best, and if you have something you can share to help them have the best, you will. Whether it's an offer to babysit for free, a refrigerator to someone who needs one, or a gospel message, you're trying to help others find what you've found. You know how much good it's done for you. It would be selfish to keep it a secret.

I don't force my beliefs on others, because you can't drag someone to the truth. But I do believe in offering them an opportunity to learn what I believe if they're interested. Whether they're interested because they are searching, or interested intellectually, I'm happy to share.

There would be no books, no classes, no Bella if people didn't have a burning desire to share what matters to them. It's what makes our society function intellectually. Religious sharing shouldn't be seen as any different than any other kind of sharing, as long as the receiver of the gift is willing to receive it and it isn't forced or done in an unkind way. (To me, unkind means attacking the beliefs of others. I think it's appropriate to tell what you believe, not to attack what another believes.)


Terrie Lynn Bittner
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LDS Families
Author of Homeschooling:Take a Deep Breath--You Can Do This!


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Amoeba
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A great deal of cynicism has arisen in our countries about politicians, car dealers, advertising executives and the like. The common bond between them, at least according to common perception, is that their talk is cheap and their promises are not to be trusted or taken seriously. Indeed, they've all become a standard part of the national repertoire of humour.

Pointing an accusing finger at many of these characters can be an amusing recreation and is often justified by the facts, but it does tend to distract us from exploring the possible presence of the same self-deceptive virus in our own lives. We all talk too much, about our neighbours' faults, about our leaders' foolish mistakes, and about our own grand plans as if they were already achievements. We talk about our hopes and aspirations as if they were deeds, while denying others even a hint of the same luxury.

There's no time like the present to replace all that talk with a humble and thoughtful silence that REFRAINS FROM JUDGING OTHERS and expends its energies on laying the foundations for deeds that will count and whose effects will last. Nothing less will be an adequate return to the Lord for all the gifts with which he has filled us.

Last edited by distressedmum; 06/23/05 10:46 AM.
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Jellyfish
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Good topic.

In sunday school - on sunday our sunday school teacher told us to stand for what is right.

We had a good lesson, and she is a great teacher. If I was going to give an award out she would surely receive it.

John 3:16, Romans 10

The word is "Stand"

Have I ever made a mistake? sure. Did I repent? sure. Do I love Jesus? I surely do. Does Jesus love me? HE sure does.

I thank God for the cross, burial and the resurrection.

Hope you have a great week.

Angela


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Gecko
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...as always it comes down to "Judge not, lest ye be judged"...it's the call of all those who refuse to accept the truth, especially when finding the Truth, the True One, Jesus Christ, means looking deep with in ourselves and finding that we are NOT perfect, not even Ok the way we are...EVERYONE needs the Lord...There is NO ONE righteous, No, Not one...we all need a Savior, otherwise he's just a guy on a stick...

Now don't get me wrong, I'm not saying anything derogatory or putting anyone down in any way, just that I think "judging" is not the problem. I think it's like Angela said, it's about "Standing" for something and not backing down. As brothers and sisters in Christ we are supposed to support one another, not tear each other down for no reason. Strife doesn't start in the core of believers, it starts with a deception of the devil, wrong thinking, strongholds that we, as true Jesus Followers, struggle with everyday. Anything that Jesus smiles on, Satan throws a fit about.

So we have to be careful that Jesus' sacrifice on the cross Stands for our freedom. We must protect and defend our faith in Christ fiercly.

Last edited by Jenna - Christianity Editor; 06/23/05 11:27 PM.

JESUS DOESN'T HOLD UP A STANDARD, HE HOLDS UP A MIRROR AND SAYS REFLECT ME!
Jenna Robinson
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Amoeba
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Assessment and judgement are regarded I believe by many as being the same, although there is an important difference between the two terms. The term assessment is not necessarily negative since it means just taking a stance on what is good and bad, right and wrong. This means applying the principles of the Bible to practical situations. Discerning between good and bad is just as important in the spiritual life as it is concerning the earthly matters. Nevertheless, for many people words like condemnation and 'judgement' have negative connotations and imply a bad attitude. Assessment though, which derives from the desire to get to know the truth, is the first step to being able to help. If the motivation to help is lacking, even a completely righteous and correct judgement can turn into a loveless and merciless condemnation.

As Jenna wrote....."Judge not, lest ye be judged" An essential element of this warning is that the addressee is a haughty and hypocritical person who self-righteously lays much emphasis on the sins of others without noticing his/her own iniquities.

For instance, the one who bakes cakes shall not say that each of the cakes must be tested whether they are edible or not. Then, in the same way, how it would be possible to behave light-mindedly taking just the matters relating to God unimportant? Two people who make opposite and contradictory statements about the same issue cannot both be telling the truth, can they? Both people cannot be right when one says that God creates some people for condemnation and the other says he does not. One man says that the Holy Spirit is a person and one says he is not. One person claims that one can fall away from God and another that this is impossible. One says man is a sinner due to his nature and another says that he is not. One person holds that hell exists and another denies its existence. Several more examples could be listed from the doctrines of the different "Christian" groups. These are not merely abstract theological discussions but they essentially influence the practical life of their adherents. Do these contradictions not demand decisions from all who search earnestly for the truth and who ask themselves what God is like, how one can live a life pleasing to Him and what love and pure faith in Him are like. As an answer, we find many exhortations in the Bible to test and assess everything and everyone.

Assessment is an indispensable manifestation of love. In order to give a person the necessary help in God's eyes we have to form an idea about this person's relationship to God - including its deficiencies - by considering their life and deeds. However, most people are too proud and therefore they take criticism very personally. It is certainly easier for everyone if, in order to avoid a probable conflict, one avoids confronting another person with his errors and calling him to repentance. Taking this easier way however, led the Christian communities of the first century to several drastic and disastrous changes.

The personal lives of the Christians became closed toward their brothers and sisters. The frank way of relating to one another and the brotherly love became unnatural. From here on no one could be sure about the spiritual state of his or her brother in God's sight.

Parallel to the perceivable decrease in the practice of admonition and church discipline, the fight for sanctification became less and less intense. The "smaller" sins remained hidden and the congregations applied stricter measures only in the case of obvious transgressions that often reached a very worldly level. The lack of the necessary help, admonition and encouragement and that of the readiness to exclude hardened sinners provided rich soil for hidden sins. Thus living a pseudo-christian life was made possible within the church, that is: the congregations were mixed with false Christians and unbelievers. Persons who were swift to action and had good organizational abilities, who basically gave a good impression - gained authority and a "leading position" in the congregations without anyone supervising or having the possibility to supervise their decisions and actions at a deeper level.


Last edited by distressedmum; 06/24/05 06:50 AM.
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Gecko
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The common bond between them, at least according to common perception, is that their talk is cheap and their promises are not to be trusted or taken seriously -- distressedmom


Talk IS Cheap!!! And the promises of men aren't to be trusted

But the promises of God ARE.

God made a promise to Abraham and the Israelite people that He would show mercy for 1000 years to those decendants who kept his commands. God said He would deal with their sin but not as severly as He might have with someone else.

"Deu 7:7 GOD wasn't attracted to you and didn't choose you because you were big and important--the fact is, there was almost nothing to you.

"Deu 7:8 He did it out of sheer love, keeping the promise he made to your ancestors. GOD stepped in and mightily bought you back out of that world of slavery, freed you from the iron grip of Pharaoh king of Egypt.
Deu 7:9 Know this: GOD, your God, is God indeed, a God you can depend upon. He keeps his covenant of loyal love with those who love him and observe his commandments for a thousand generations."

and

"Heb 6:16 When people make promises, they guarantee them by appeal to some authority above them so that if there is any question that they'll make good on the promise, the authority will back them up.
Heb 6:17 When God wanted to guarantee his promises, he gave his word, a rock-solid guarantee--
Heb 6:18 God can't break his word. And because his word cannot change, the promise is likewise unchangeable. We who have run for our very lives to God have every reason to grab the promised hope with both hands and never let go.
Heb 6:19 It's an unbreakable spiritual lifeline, reaching past all appearances right to the very presence of God"


JESUS DOESN'T HOLD UP A STANDARD, HE HOLDS UP A MIRROR AND SAYS REFLECT ME!
Jenna Robinson
Bella Online Bible Basics
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Amoeba
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If we take a look at what the Bible, considered merely as a history, tells us, focusing particularly on the New Testament, and more specifically the Gospels. We examine the account contained therein of Jesus� life, death, and resurrection.

Using what is in the Gospels themselves and what we find in extra-biblical writings from the early centuries, together with what we know of human nature (and what we can otherwise, from natural reason alone, know of divine nature), we conclude that either Jesus was just what he claimed to be�God�or he was crazy. (The one thing we know he could not have been was merely a good man who was not God, since no merely good man would make the claims he made.)

We are able to eliminate the possibility of his being a madman not just from what he said but from what his followers did after his death. Many critics of the Gospel accounts of the resurrection claim that Christ did not truly rise, that his followers took his body from the tomb and then proclaimed him risen from the dead. According to these critics, the resurrection was nothing more than a hoax. Devising a hoax to glorify a friend and mentor is one thing, but you do not find people dying for a hoax, at least not one from which they derive no benefit. Certainly if Christ had not risen his disciples would not have died horrible deaths affirming the reality and truth of the resurrection. The result of this line of reasoning is that we must conclude that Jesus indeed rose from the dead. Consequently, his claims concerning himself�including his claim to be God�have credibility. He meant what he said and did what he said he would do.

Furthermore, Christ said he would found a Church. Both the Bible (still taken as merely a historical book, not yet as an inspired one) and other ancient works attest to the fact that Christ established a Church with the rudiments of what we see in the Catholic Church today�papacy, hierarchy, priesthood, sacraments, and teaching authority.

I have thus taken the material and purely historically concluded that Jesus founded the Catholic Church. Because of his Resurrection we have reason to take seriously his claims concerning the Church, including its authority to teach in his name.

This Catholic Church tells us the Bible is inspired, and we can take the Church�s word for it precisely because the Church is infallible. Only after having been told by a properly constituted authority�that is, one established by God to assure us of the truth concerning matters of faith�that the Bible is inspired can we reasonably begin to use it as an inspired book.

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