The General Conversation Section – If You Don’t Know Where to Say it, Say it Here!
This is the General Conversation Section.
If You Don’t Know Where to Say it, Say it Here!
Under this section you can discuss anything you want.
It can be a Q & A section or a ‘Have you heard’ section…
But please do try and stick to commenting under the relevant Article before commenting here.
Ahhh Hanelie
I thought I knew you from somewhere…your ‘mixed message’ spirit was easy discernible.
You have commented on this blog before and gave me a hard time.
7 Comments here: as-christians-we-must-judge-righteously, — here you tell me that I should not call out false teaching
4 comments here: unconditional-election-and-total-depravity-are-gnostic-teachings — here you tell us that you are a Calvinist
3 comments here: delightfully-deceptive-new-age-ministries-for-woman-on-the-increase — Here you can’t see anything wrong with new age teachings.
Please don’t comment again.
Paul
Ok I have gone to do my research since your comment and inbetween answering Hannelie (the Emergent). It’s quite simple really…
There are quite a few theories on the location of where hell could be. The TRADITIONAL theory is that hell is in the centre of the earth, however other theories are now saying that hell could be in a black hole in outer space.
In the OT the world hell is Sheol meaning ‘pit’ and ‘grave’ and in the NT is it Hades meaning ‘unseen’ and Gehenna meaning the ‘Valley of Hinnom.’ Both Hades and Sheol refers to a temporary abode of the ungodly before Judgement (Psalm 9:17; Revelation 1:18). Gehenna refers to the eternal state of punishment for the ungodly, Mark 9:43; “43 And if thy hand offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter into life maimed, than having two hands to go into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched”.
The notion that hell is below us or maybe in the center of the earth comes from verses such as Luke 10:15; “And thou, Capernaum, which art exalted to heaven, shalt be thrust down to hell”. However thrust ‘down’ more than like denotes condemnation rather than a physical direction. The witch of Endor say the spirit of Samuel “coming up out of the ground” 1 Samuel 28:13-15, but this is just a vision and nothing else.
Before Jesus ascended into heaven Ephesians 4:9; “He also descended . . . into the lower parts of the earth.” Some believe ‘the lower parts of the earth’ is a reference hell in the center of the earth. I check the 1611 KJV and it definitely says Jesus descended into “the lower parts of the earth” The NIV says, ““he also descended to the lower, earthly regions.” this translation does not give reference to His location after death.
The idea that hell is in a black hole is based on the fact that science has discovered that a black holes are places of great heat and high pressure, and nothing, not even light can escape. Walt Disney presented the concept of hell as a black hole back in 1979 where characters passed through a black hole and the villain finds himself in a fiery place of torment, while the other bodies appear to enjoy ‘heaven’. Of course we don’t go by what TV says let alone Walt ‘Illuminati’ Disney, so I myself think this concept is bogus, even if science does give stats that could present something fiery hot.
As for the ‘lake of fire’ spoke of in Revelation 20:10-15; when the earth is destroyed by fire (2 Peter 3:10; Revelation 21:1), another theory goes that God will use that burning earth as the everlasting place of torment for the ungodly. This to me sounds crazy, because where exactly will the new earth be during the Millennium.
Conclusion, hell is a literal, REAL, place of torment, and it will be everlasting. Where it is I am not sure, but it very well might be in the center of the earth.
I think the big thing we should worry about is not where hell is, but make sure we don’t land up there 🙂
`Deborah,
I still pray for you.
I have never called myself a Calvinist; you did. Go read that thread again.
[Edited by DTW: You said that you go to a Calvinist church, but don’t believe yourself to be a Calvinist, yet you go to the lions den each Sunday… because you feel God has called you there. Why God would call you to a false church, no one knows. You said, “I am in this church, because this is where God has called me to work. It is not where I had wanted to be. I do not go there to grow – that I trust Christ and the Holy Spirit for, and yet I have grown as a result of some of the preaching there . I have often questioned some of it too. I fellowship in many places, so that is not why I go there either – yet I have had great fellowship there too. I cannot work there if I am angry and hateful. Maybe that is why God is walking this road of love with me. I have been called to love the ones that have been misled, to lead them back though love (that is how He lead me back).” —- You have been called to love people who have been mislead? Hmm That’s not biblical. Love is preaching the gospel! So instead of making friends, you should be preaching the gospel to these people in the Calvinist church who are misled that they find Jesus Christ.]
I have never approved of new age teaching (and never will). See if you can find a quote of me approving it. You won’t.
[Edited by DTW: Hannelie said here, “In her book “A message of Hope”, Retah calls on Christians to forgive, set free and bless even those who have wronged them. She also tells readers to judge her teaching against the Word and the testimony of the Holy Spirit.” and “On Retah: I have read one of her books and listened to some of her cd’s. I thought they were scripturally correct and rather bold – calling Christians to do the hard things (look inside our own hearts).” Retah is part of the NAR and has a son who communicates with spirit called wisdom.
I never said we are not to call out and correct false teaching. I did not agree with the way it is done here.
[EDITED by DTW: And what way is what exactly?]
You seem to enjoy exposing Christians as false teachers. How could that be?
[EDITED by DTW – Exposing Christian as false teachers? That will be the day…Please name all these Christians I am exposing as false teachers… seriously, please name these Christian people I am exposing as false teachers. I am guessing it’s got to do with Calvinism.]
I wonder what you would have called Peter had he lived (and erred) today. Because, let’s be honest: his mistake was no small one; it went to the heart of the gospel. He was a Christian who had made a BIG mistake. The size of the mistake can not be the deciding (judging) factor.
[EDITED by DTW, if time was back then 2000 years ago I was lucky enough to have Peter as my friend (who I could point out issues to, and vice versa) because Peter and I both followed Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour]
You’ve misconstrued everything I have said (except for the time I gave you praise). I wonder why.
[EDITED by DTW – You have not praised me Hannelie, and no I’ve misconstrued nothing, I’m just clearly beginning to understanding your agenda.]
Thanks Debs for your response.
You are right about the issue of a brother/sister “making a slight mistake on something very very small”, versus “someone preaching blatant false teaching and following a completely different gospel other than the one preached by Jesus Christ”.
For example, when Bill Johnson (and Co) teach that “Jesus was born again”, you immediately need to run for your life and expose him as loud and clear as possible.
In replying to Hanelie, you said:
>>I have not ‘studied to show myself approved’ on this subject (I am busy researching it at the moment) so don’t know the answer as yet, it could very well be a major issue and lead off into a whole other doctrine I am unaware of.
That is exactly my fear about this whole speculation about the location of Hell, and it can lead to more questions without answers and more speculation that can lead people outside of Scripture.
I believe sometimes we should simply rely on Deut 29:29:
“The secret things belong unto the LORD our God: but those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children for ever, that we may do all the words of this law.”
Retry of my above post (I’m trying to use the HTML tags):
Kate Adele wrote:
Nice addition! What’s your opinion on ‘eyewitness’ accounts of those who ‘went’ to hell and back? it’s slightly on the rise here in Naija and the surprising thing is, these accounts match despite the time line and the different geographical locations. Just curious!
I would say: What the Bible says about Hell is sufficient to me. God did not say that from time to time some people will go to Hell and then come back to tell us what they saw. That is blind mysticism, and the believer is wise not to go there. You should be aware that we are in the end-times, and the Devil and seducing spirits (spirits of deception) are active as never before.
The same goes for Heaven. (Debs has some good articles here about trips to Heaven, visions of Jesus, angels visitations…)
2Tim 3:16 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:
2Tim 3:17 That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.
[deleted]
Deborah/Paul,
There is an article on http://www.thefreepressonline.co.uk where Alan Franklin it’s proprietor/editor has a piece which comments on Terry James (Rapture Ready) thrice coming back from the dead.
I would be interested to hear any comments on this.
I apologize in advance for not being able to post the link on to your site. My IT skills are very lacking!
I didn’t realize that by typing the www. address in your comment box would provide a link to Mr Franklin’s website.
By the way, the little mugshot icon on the left looks just like me!
The location of hell question is a bunny trail and a diversion. What is really important is to share the Gospel so people won’t go there whereever it is!
As I understand it, there is a temporary holding place called Hades and at White Throne Judgement the unsaved will be thrown into the lake of fire that was prepared for the devil and his angels. Hades is a place of torment, but nothing compared to the hell of the future.
Colin
I don’t follow after what man thinks only what the bible says, so if Terry James who ever he is deceived in other areas of his life, that is not my problem.
Do you follow Kim Clement who agrees exactly with what you say about pre-trib? http://www.discerningtheworld.com/2012/06/29/false-prophet-kim-clement-a-wolf-in-sheeps-clothing/ Go read it and see what he says and you will see that you two might be able to go bowling together on Saturday nights.
Let me tell you a story, when I was saved I knew nothing of Christianity, in other words, I was not brainwashed by WoF or Calvinism or any other doctrine. I had a clean brain for God to work with. I sat with my bible and my laptop and I prayed and studied for years learning the Gospel Truth as the Holy Spirit taught me. My eyes were opened and the flood of information came pouring in, and by the guidance of the Holy Spirit I knew what was false and what was truth. And one of the many things I found myself studying was the rapture directly from scripture and understanding eschatology and where Israel stands in the end times and that there will be a 7 year tribulation period in which the church does not go through. Those 7 years are for Israel, when God turns his attention back to His people as the gentile world attacks Jerusalem form all angles.
Now you can believe what ever you want, but please do not try and tell me that because some false teacher preached the rapture, now the rapture must be false. Of course it would be a wonderful ploy of Satan to discredit the rapture, just like the rest of the Gospel of Jesus by having false teachers preach certain areas correctly, while others incorrectly. Now regarding your views; if you want to dump me in the camp with false teachers, then I can label you in the camp with the Roman Catholic Church because they deny a pre-trib rapture as well – in fact you are following the exact eschatology of the RCC.
So after you go bowling with Kim Clement you can have tea with the Pope 😉
[I’m deleting this one too please do not comment again. The last time you were here you gave me a hard time and you are doing it again, you accuse me of calling Christians false teachers, well.. I do not. I asked to to tell me who they were and you did not. If you can’t answer me then please leave. I am not interested in listening to your ‘Emergent’ love story.]
Franklin Graham is bringing the carnal monstruosity called “Rock the River” to Ottawa on Sept 29-30.
A well meaning “christian” colleague of mine told about it and invited me. (I used to fellowship with this friend and with the ecumenical crowd at my workplace, but since last year I have SEPARATED from them)
“Rock the river” is a two-days mega rock concert fit for this evil age.
The news of the event can be found here:
Back in 2009, a pastor wrote the following article about it : “Franklin Graham: Minister of Christ or Priest of Baal?”
http://www.pccmonroe.org/neo-evangelicalism/2009.08.14.htm
I AM SICK AND HURTING INSIDE FOR MY FRIEND AND FRIENDS AND ALL THOSE IS THIS CITY WHO ARE GOING TO BE PUSHED DEEPER AND DEEPER INTO DECEPTION.
If the foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous do?
Oh God open the eyes of those who truly belong to you, that they may see. And for those that are lost, please save some. Lord help me and enable me to warn and help those that I can.
I would like to gather some true believers in the city, to go tot the sidelines and preach the gospel of Christ and bear biblical witness against this satanic event.
Deborah,
Many thanks for your advice. However I must reject it!
The Roman Church is a whore church which is unbiblical to it’s core. I could write pages and pages here on it’s many, many errors, but that would be pointless, because you, and most contributors here, would, I hope know this. And besides, this is why ecumenism is wicked, because in all its forms, it leads to Rome.
As for Mr Clement, I certainly shall not go bowling with him, unless of course he repents of his ways…
I only mentioned the article on the Free press homepage (pre-trib teacher) because it was pertinent to the thread.
Of course you cannot ‘chuck the baby out with the bath water’, and say that just because some are in agreement with certain doctrines, that they are necessarily in agreement with everything! You would be no doubt aware of your common agreement with the Roman Catholic Church i.e;Abortion,euthanasia,homosexuality,and much else etc.
My problem with the pre-tribulation, any moment, secret rapture teaching, however, is that I cannot find it in the bible. But of course if you carve up the Word, and say large parts of Matthew 24 and other Scriptures are ‘not for the Church’, then miss apply 1 Thessalonians 4.16 as well, then all sorts of errors will occur.
I still get e-mails etc from pre-tribulation rapture teachers because I used to believe in this teaching myself. Clearly and obviously everything they teach is not wrong! I believe Mr Franklin however is wrong to endorse Terry James book.
BTW,I do NOT believe that the Church has replaced Israel; we have a common salvation….
Colin
>> My problem with the pre-tribulation, any moment, secret rapture teaching, however, is that I cannot find it in the bible. But of course if you carve up the Word, and say large parts of Matthew 24 and other Scriptures are ‘not for the Church’, then miss apply 1 Thessalonians 4.16 as well, then all sorts of errors will occur.
“…and say large parts of Matthew 24 and other Scriptures are ‘not for the Church’”??? Err Hulo! Who says this? You do, not I or any other person I know. You’ve asked this before and I told you, no, and now you say it again…as if you never heard me the first time.
—> So…Speaketh to the Handeth.
You do not understand end time eschatology properly therefore you are twisting things, not me. I think you should first focus on the fact that you follow the false doctrine of Calvinism – get that sorted and maybe everything else will follow suit.
Now please, go comment on a blog that cares for your false teaching and that includes Calvinism. This blog is not here so that you can come and fill it with your false teaching Colin!
Deborah, I reacted too strongly. Please forgive me. None of us like being accused of things we don’t think we did. That is no excuse for my behavior though – I (as we so often do) did exactly what I held you guilty for, acting without love.
I give you “a hard time” as you call it, because I am trying to understand. Where I am wrong, please point it out. I might not accept it straight away, but I will take it with me to test against the Spirit and the Bible. I am still learning and will always be. As we all should be.
But, please remember that we come from different backgrounds. Most of us have been exposed to some (often huge amounts) of deception. It is not something you work through in a moment. I have uncovered layers of it in my life, only just to find yet deeper layers of it at a later stage. Deception doesn’t come to us a a single lie, but a constellation of lies with layers and layers of traditions and half truths (or even 99% truths) working together to undermine the true message of Christ. Depending on where we are in the process of uncovering the lies we had come to believe as truth, some things might be hard for us to swallow. It might take time and we might need to have patience with one another. So, as you question me and my perspectives, I might question yours.
I heard a teacher make an interesting statement yesterday: that we define Truth as a thing (idea, ideology, theory, etc.), while it is a person: Christ. He used John 8:32 and John 14:6 to make an argument about the importance of having a relationship with Christ. Maybe that caught me because of where I come from – the intellectual approach of Calvinist congregations which often favour understanding Christ over knowing Him. So, I am still finding strongholds from my reformed upbringing in my thoughts.
I am not trying to wear you down, I think a grammatical error on my side might have given you the wrong idea. I’m sorry.
I am NOT in reformed congregation. I was, and was lead out of it by the Holy Spirit. Although, I had been freed from its bondage (thankfully!), the Holy Spirit still shows me remnants of its strongholds in my life daily (such as the need to understand and explain, while faith is to believe what you cannot see or explain). I have felt the brunt of speaking the Truth in my previous congregation long before I left, but I didn’t want to leave just because it was easier for me. And, I believe there were certain things the Holy Spirit still had to teach me while I was there.
I know you do not want me to comment anymore, so at the risk of really trying your patience, I have a question for which I have used the search function on the site, but I was not allowed access to the linked article.
What is an “emergent”? I’ve Googled, but can’t seem to find a single, simple definition.
Oh, also, why should I study the Latter Rain (NAR) movement?
Thank you for tolerating me a little longer.
Dear Hanelie
I ask you nicely to please do the following: First read the following article: I am not saying you are not save, I am just saying, you need to touch up on how to have a genuine RELATIONSHIP with Jesus Christ, because without the relationship, you have nothing. Then…pray and ask Jesus to open your eyes to the truth of the complete doctrine of Calvinism, every inch of it. Then you are to go and study the doctrine of Latter Rain (New Apostolic Reformation), every inch of it, go and study this doctrine and learn what it’s about, let the Holy Spirit teach you what is ERROR and what is truth. Take your bible and study! Pray and ask Jesus to guide you in all earnest because time is running out Hanelie, He is coming back soon, and you I am afraid are sitting on the fence.
You also need to leave the church you are attended, UNLESS you start to preach the GOSPEL truth to the people you fellowship with, otherwise you are doing nothing but feathering your own desires of having friends. TRUE LOVE is preaching the Gospel truth AT ALL COSTS. And if they kick you out Hanelie, you did the job that God sent you to do. But you can only preach the truth, if you yourself know the truth.
My website is full of articles, read them or don’t. But please if you do anything, pray and ask that Jesus opens you eyes to the truth and QUICKLY. You say the Holy Spirit shows us things slowly… well you are wrong, He does not. He leads us into ALL TRUTH and very quickly. Jesus does not have time to mess around. It’s us who mess around with Him. If you want to know the truth Hanelie, He will show you, until then you will remain in darkness.
When I was saved I learned the Bible and theology (self taught with the guidance of the Holy Spirit in only 2 years. The flood of information came pouring in because I was willing and eager to listen to the Holy Spirit, submit to Jesus in every area of my life and NOT MAKE EXCUSES. Jesus Christ is my authority and He is the one I look to minute every day and He guides me to preach the truth and get past the myriad of nasty comments that get thrown at me daily, many I delete that you don’t see.
Satan tries to wear me down daily by telling me that I speak nastily to others when I DO NOT. The problem is that the TRUTH hurts and this is what get’s people and this is what upsets people. But if I don’t speak the truth no one will.
You say you question my perspectives, but have not once asked a single biblical question, pertaining to my articles. All you have done is judge me and say I do not love and accuse me of hate. Instead of going to study to show yourself approved as to why I write about the things I do, no you jump down my throat about because you perceive I write unlovingly to people. It’s your opinion Hanelie. It’s what you perceive Hanelie. I am not unloving, I do not write unloving to people.
You know what the bible says about genuine Christians who have the Holy Spirit abiding in them? It says they can ‘recognize’ each other by the words they speak. Why can you not regonise that this is a Christian website? As I said before, the Holy Spirit does not leave us in the dark, He is quick to teach us, He is quick to show us the truth. He is quick to show us that what we are hearing or reading is the Word of God.
Now I have spoken the truth to you for the last time. There is more than enough info on this website for you to learn WITH THE GUIDANCE OF THE HOLY SPIRIT.
You don’t need to comment again because the chances are I have answered the question already in the comments section.
Hanelie
>> What is an “emergent”
Emergent Church is a mixture of New Age paganism, eastern mysticism and evangelical dominionism (Latter Rain NAR movement)
>> Oh, also, why should I study the Latter Rain (NAR) movement?
You need to study what this is because this is what the so called Christian church IS today. Every church you go has been taken over by Latter Rain (NAR) or will still be a combination of Word of Faith and Latter Rain.
If you study this movement you will understand the way the world is moving and why it will join the Roman Catholic Church and welcome the anti-Christ.
Thank you, that helps. That is also why I have not joined any other “church” or denomination, but am waiting for the guidance of the Holy Spirit instead. I’ve seen and read quite a bit about the move back to the Roman Catholic “church”. Sad, dark and dreadful. It’s not “easy reading”.
You called me an “emergent”. Why? I am asking because it might be that you have picked up on something (some mental remnant of the deception I had been freed from) which I still need to submit to the Holy Spirit.
Hanelie
There is a lot more to being Emergent than just my basic explanation. Emergents want to LOVE and throw the gospel of Jesus Christ out the window at the same time. I called you an Emergent because you were portraying this exact type of vibe. Love, love, love was all you could speak about but yet you could not fault me on a single bit of anything I had said based on the Word of God.
You see there is an antiChrist ‘spirit of love’ that is going around the world right now that is imposing itself on unbelievers and Christians alike; on unbelievers it says they must unite, does not matter what they believe, and for the Christians it says they must love their so called ‘brother’ no matter what deceptive doctrines they preach. This is a lie from Satan.
I had someone called Miste call me a murderer yesterday because I don’t love my bretheren according to her (she was speaking about Paul Washer – A Calvinist), She quoted the following scripture to me out of context of course.
1 John 14-16 “14. We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brethren. He that loveth not abideth in death. 15. Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer: and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him. 16. Hereby know we love, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.”
My reply to her was that the brother that is spoken of here is a GENUINE CHRISTIAN, not false ones. That you can’t just pull out a verse and use it out of context with the rest of the Word of God. The rest of the Word of God states emphatically that you need to ABIDE in SOUND DOCTRINE and if you don’t then you are not a child of God.
If you PREACHING ANOTHER GOSPEL —> (“which is really no gospel at all”) carries an anathema: “let him be eternally condemned!” (see Galatians 1:6-9)
Now as a Christian, you do not kill, harm, hurt, cause grief, to anyone because of the Holy Spirit abiding in you and the commandments that are written into your heart! We love everyone, we forgive those who hurt us. The call for a Christian is to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and because of that Jesus said, Matthew 10:22.”And you shall be hated of all men for my name’s sake: but he that endures to the end shall be saved.” Matthew 10:22 and John 15:18 “If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first… and there are many more verse like this.
The Emergent prefers love over truth, they prefer you to keep quiet over preaching the gospel, they prefer hugs and coffee and having dialog over stuff that has no spiritual impact in someone’s life, but preach the gospel and you lack love, you are a hater. Emergents get very sad very quickly because they just can’t seem to see the LOVE on this website and at the same time can’t see the same Jesus in me that’s in them. Well I should flipping well hope not, because I am a born again Christian and they are well…. pagan.
Absolutely, we need both: love and truth. Sadly, “love’ (as it has been redefined by the enemy) has become a safe hiding space for those of us shirking our Christian responsibility (and a substitute for Christianity).
Now, luckily, I was blissfully unaware of the whole “Emergent” thing, so you calling me that was just a curiosity. Had I known more about the term, I might have experienced it as hurtful. I guess, ignorance was bliss this time. 🙂
I have absolutely no doubt that the one world church movement and all things related are yet more lies. The Bible is really clear that “all roads do not lead to Rome”. And I really can’t stand the “peace” sign that is suddenly on everything, especially on items targeted at children.
Oh, Deborah, how I wish I could sit down over a cup of coffee with you. 😉 Not to talk about silly things, but because each time you respond, I have more questions. Love, for example. I’d love to talk a lot more about love, but we can’t keep this going indefinitely.
I’ve spend some time reading various threads here this morning, and as always, I have come away with a heavy heart. What a sad world of deep deception we live in. I wish there was no need to hear it all. As I struggled through the info, seeking the Lord’s guidance in it, I was reminded of Hos 4:6. I had always taken this to mean knowledge of Scripture, so it did not make sense at first, but then the Lord reminded me of another scripture: Ps 146:3. As long as I do not put my trust in men, but in God, I cannot be deceived. What a relief. How wonderful to have a God that encourages.
And then, as I was writing this, another scripture came to mind: 1 Cor 1:12-13. Are we reminding fellow Christians of this often enough?
Hanelie
>> I was reminded of Hos 4:6. I had always taken this to mean knowledge of Scripture but then the Lord reminded me of another scripture: Ps 146:3. As long as I do not put my trust in men, but in God, I cannot be deceived.
Hosea 4:6 “6 My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children.”
No Hanelie, “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge”, that knowledge is the Word of God. Jesus is the Word. The Word is Jesus. You quote Pslam 146.3, which is all very well, but one can put their trust in God all they like, but if they do not open their bible and read the Word of God with the Holy Spirit in their life they lack knowledge in every sence of the word. The Bible is but just a book if one does not have the Holy Spirit abiding in you, guiding you, illuminating scriptures for you (illuminating the biblical way that is).
I am interested Hanelie for you to answer the question I asked you a while back where you stated I accuse Christians of false teaching. I want you to tell me who these Christians are. Name them please.
We’re saying the same thing. 🙂 Maybe I’m just not eloquent enough?
Deborah (Discerning the World) wrote:
That is exactly what I meant, what “putting my trust in God” means to me. I don’t mean hiding behind trusting in God. I really mean trusting in God. Having a real relationship with Christ, through the Holy Spirit abiding in me. That is hard at times; I have to believe things I cannot see, I have to be sure that I really TRUST God (after years of deception undermining that very principle). Why do so many people rather follow other people? Because it’s easier, it sort of absolves them from that responsibility of getting to know Christ themselves, I think. Any relationship takes commitment, time (and correction).
I chose to just refer to God in my quote above, because to me that implied that I was trusting Him to lead me though the Bible and the Holy Spirit. Sorry, I could have been clearer.
Wow, I just read the “the-antichrist-is-not-just-about-islam” thread, and the last to posts there (by Deborah and Marion) is exactly what I was trying to say here.
The thing is, I hate reading about all the false teaching. I also think there is a risk of becoming obsessed with it; I know people who are – Satan will do anything to prevent us from having a real relationship with Christ! But, I cannot just ignore it either. That’s why I struggled reading it. Hence, being reminded of Hos 4:6, didn’t at first make sense to me – I was gaining knowledge about other people, not Christ! That’s why the next to scriptures were so special. I am still in awe each time the Holy Spirit speaks to me. And how beautifully He does: using Ps 146 and 1 Cor 1 (which was what I needed to hear today) to remind me that our walk should be about a relationship with Christ. If it is about that, I will be protected from deception.
Maybe I should not have shared that here today. I just thought there might be others who feel like I do and how might be encouraged by it.
Deborah, accusing you of taking joy out of exposing Christians was a perception, and a thoughtless and unfair one, unbecoming of the Christian conduct I am called to exhibit. Please accept my apology. I still plan to answer your question in greater detail, but I don’t want it to be unfair or unguided again. In the meantime, let it suffice to say that this website has affected my spiritual growth positively. Amongst others, I had learned (what I had always known, but probably never really understood) that we cannot turn a blind eye to sin, far less to deception. Christ didn’t, and we should follow His example. He sternly corrected His disciples, sometimes repeatedly. He was very decisive and strict with the Pharisees, and showed them little patience. And, He wept for the heavy laded and mislead sinners.
I want ask about something else though: Christmas (and Easter). Have you ever though to of putting together something on either or both of these?
Hanelie
Nooooooooooooo problem 🙂
>> I want ask about something else though: Christmas (and Easter). Have you ever though to of putting together something on either or both of these?
Yip, but I run out of time get side tracked to other things.
^^All, well the right time will come if you need to do it. There is a lot about it on the web anyway. Recent readings of some of that have me thinking that the traditions called “Christmas” are an amalgamation of various (not just one) pagan belief system. (The Bible is quite clear about following the traditions of men.) I actually told my husband that I need to put it in a table or something for myself to get a better grasp and to be better at making the case against it when I need to. Amazing, how strongly Christians will oppose you on this one, while at the same time complaining about the commercial nature of it. Deception everywhere.
I still need to read more about Easter before I can speak about that with any authority.
Hi Deb, thanks for a great website and the hard work you put into this. I’m still fairly new at this and I don’t know my bible well. I work in the music industry and duo to the line of work I’m in, it is demanded from me that I drink and socialize a lot! I have however made the decision to quit this industry (end of July) and to start aligning my life with the will of God.
My wife is a buddhist, but she’s open to learning about God. I don’t know enough to start teaching her. She’s from an Asian background and to them, they simply can’t see why they need to “swop” buddha for a “western God”. Therefore I thought it’d be good to first show her about all the prophecies in the bible and how they came true. Teaching her about what is really going on in the world right now and the coming kingdom of God and how the bible predicted it all. Before I introduce her to Jesus and what he’s done for us. Jesus’ disciples asked Him ‘when these things will come to pass’ and He started telling them about the things that’s going to happen in the future. The sign they should be on the lookout for.
Could you please point me in the right direction as far as articles on this site goes? From when the jews lost their land, to returning, to the European countries that will become a union up to where we are as far as bible prophecy is concerned in our current day? I think we might have missed the deadline for the rapture because we both still have so far to go and so much to learn, but I can’t give up. I love her and I don’t want to see her lost for good while I was the priest of my home.
Thank you
Oh, Dan, you know that Jesus will give you the words and direction, and I am sure Deborah and others will be able to offer advice as well. And, I am sure, many of us will carry you in our prayers too. How amazing to find someone prepared to really, really make a stand to Jesus in the way you plan to do.
I don’t have any advice, sadly. But, I was wondering: have you ever read “I dared to call Him Father” by Bilquis Sheik. She was not buddhist, but Muslim, but came to know God without any Christian ministering to her (at first). She was simply lead, step by step, scripture by scripture, by God Himself. And, she made the really hard choice of becoming a Christian in Pakistan, at the cost of losing her family, standing, wealth, etc.
My husband, this morning, told me that we should probably get all our “papers” from the “church” we belonged to in order to fully leave it. It is a prayer answered. Freedom. It’s a big step too, especially for him. He had been involved in commissions and things there, and had been in it all his life. I hadn’t been – tried a fwe other places as student. It is also only step 1. I thought I had no idea what step 2 was, but realized it is to simply stay in Christ and trust the Holy Spirit for guidance. I cannot see myself joining any other big-name church hastily, or at all. At the same time, a friend who had left the “church” years back had invited us for dinner tomorrow and told me that she had decided to invite along another couple who had walked a similar road. Coincidence? I think not.