My goodness, surely it cannot be just me who sees this forum as such a depressing place. :sigh:
I ask in all honestly: why all the concern about corruption, bad things, taxes? We speak so readily of Universal Reconciliation yet our words would seem to indicate we are headed for a concentration camp. Maybe we are. Who CARES????? :HeartThrob:
Everyone will hate you because of me. Luk 21:17
Oh Ye of little faith. Mat 8:26
Do not wear yourself out to get rich; do not trust your own cleverness. Pro 23:4
The greedy stir up conflict, but those who trust in the LORD will prosper. Pro 28:25
Those who trust in themselves are fools, but those who walk in wisdom are kept safe. Pro 28:26
Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life? "And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin.
Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith?
So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?'
For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.
Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. Mat 6:26-34
Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to your life? Since you cannot do this very little thing, why do you worry about the rest? Luk 12:25,26
Everyone will hate you because of me, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved. Mar 13:13 :HeartThrob: :HeartThrob: Is this really the HOME of :dsunny: Joy, of Love :HeartThrob: of Assurance that NOTHING anyone can do to us as mere humans will EVER or COULD EVER change the plans of our LOVING Father :HeartThrob: :HeartThrob:
We have every protection given by the Spirit of Love and Truth; the valley of the shadow of death is a place of wonder when fear is replaced with love. That is why King David had no fear. Why should any of us.
Please never forget to thank Father for the Flowers to smell and the Ducks to feed. Marvel always at the sun and the clouds. Look at an old tree and wonder of all it has seen and heard and how it has stood the test of time and worried naught.
How does one prepare for the final hour? By being free of worry and living and loving and being grateful to Father for EVERYTHING.
Surely this forum is a place to share our joyous gratitude; of how Father has changed us and those whom we love, through us. :HeartThrob: :HeartThrob:
For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Rom 6:23
I write this with much Love and bare no malice towards anyone.
Love Julie :HeartThrob:
well I don't agree with you,we've been discussing some of the more serious aspects of the scriptures
as far as I am concerned,.
when times are good be happy,but when times are bad,consider; God has made the one as well as
the other. Therefore a man can not discover anything about his future....
Quote from: sheila on November 04, 2013, 05:32:16 AM
well I don't agree with you,we've been discussing some of the more serious aspects of the scriptures
For me ignoring part, either happy or sad, is like ignoring/rejecting Scripture.
Ignoring the bad parts leads to an everything goes doctrine.
Ignoring the good parts leads to demonic ET stuff.
Wars are sad stuff. Still God choose to write lots of verses on war topics. Because all Scripture is profitable for study we can't just push aside those verses.
Quote from: sheila on November 04, 2013, 05:32:16 AM
well I don't agree with you,we've been discussing some of the more serious aspects of the scriptures
as far as I am concerned,.
when times are good be happy,but when times are bad,consider; God has made the one as well as
the other. Therefore a man can not discover anything about his future....
If I understand you correctly Sheila you are basing your emotions (happy vs concerned) based on where the world is "at" during any given moment in time.
I will give you this Scripture that has been the bedrock of my faith for as long as I can remember.
Psa 23
[[A Psalm of David.]] The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.
Also
Mat 10:26
"So do not be afraid of them, for there is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, or hidden that will not be made known.
Mat 10:27
What I tell you in the dark, speak in the daylight; what is whispered in your ear, proclaim from the roofs.
Mat 10:28
Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell.
Mat 10:29
Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground outside your Father's care.fn
Mat 10:30
And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered.
Mat 10:31
So don't be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.
Mat 10:32
"Whoever acknowledges me before others, I will also acknowledge before my Father in heaven.
Satan wants/demands us to be VERY concerned with what is going on in the World because he is the prince of the world. We must be like Jesus and see the acts of Satan (read end days) for exactly what they are.
Jhn 14:30
I will not say much more to you, for the prince of this world is coming. He has no hold over me,
Jhn 14:31
but he comes so that the world may learn that I love the Father and do exactly what my Father has commanded me. "Come now; let us leave.
Jhn 15:18
"If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first.
Jhn 15:19
If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you.
Jhn 16:8
When he comes, he will prove the world to be in the wrong about sin and righteousness and judgment:
Jhn 16:11
and about judgment, because the prince of this world now stands condemned.
Jhn 16:20
Very truly I tell you, you will weep and mourn while the world rejoices. You will grieve, but your grief will turn to joy.
Yes JOY!!!! For these things must take place. :dsunny:
1 Pe 1:6
In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials.
1Pe 4:13
But rejoice inasmuch as you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed.
You are right of course, our future today, tomorrow or even next week is not for us to know. Which is why Jesus told us this:
Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life? Mat 6:27 :HeartThrob:
Yes, life IS our Valley of Shadow of Death. We see it always, death by wars, drugs, murder, rapes etc. When one focus's on the dark things of the world it is all to easy to be entrapped by them.
When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life." Jhn 8:12
May I ask what is deeper or more important than the two commandments Jesus gave?
Mat 22:36 - 40
"Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?" Jesus replied: " 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.'
This is the first and greatest commandment.
And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments."
LOVE is the only thing we must do right :HeartThrob:
Rom 13:10
Love does no harm to a neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.
Gal 5:14
For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: "Love your neighbor as yourself."fn
Jam 2:8
If you really keep the royal law found in Scripture, "Love your neighbor as yourself," you are doing right.
So I ask you in all sincerity dear Sheila, what could POSSIBLY be more Serious than this?
I say NOTHING!!!! The prince of this world would say EVERYTHING.
Love Julie :HeartThrob:
Quote from: WhiteWings on November 04, 2013, 08:24:17 AM
Quote from: sheila on November 04, 2013, 05:32:16 AM
well I don't agree with you,we've been discussing some of the more serious aspects of the scriptures
For me ignoring part, either happy or sad, is like ignoring/rejecting Scripture.
Ignoring the bad parts leads to an everything goes doctrine.
Ignoring the good parts leads to demonic ET stuff.
Wars are sad stuff. Still God choose to write lots of verses on war topics. Because all Scripture is profitable for study we can't just push aside those verses.
WW, there is a huge difference between ignoring and seeing things for what they are. We were told these things for a reason. Yes wars are sad, but not a reason to cringe in fear. Were we not given the suit of Armor for a reason?
Satan wants us to take our eyes and heart off of Father and focus all our attention on the calamities of the world. You might have been suggesting that I am a partaker of the "Anything Goes" doctrine, but how bright can your light shine whilst surrounded in darkness and despair?
Jhn 12:46
I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness.
WW Jesus told us of such things, not that we should look for them, but rather that we should known them for what they are and fear nothing. We are to Shine always :dsunny:
What is really being pushed aside? If one is Shining Bright in the Love of Father through Christ, surely it cannot be anything of importance.
Jhn 1:5
The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcomefn it.
Love Julie HeartThrob:
Re: ...surely it cannot be just me who sees this forum as such a depressing place.
You seem to be so "worried" about the "lack of love" that you, and you alone, perceive in this forum's discussions. Why not just simply and lovingly ask Father to change our hearts as He has changed yours?
Quote from: anna274 on November 04, 2013, 02:44:23 PM
Re: ...surely it cannot be just me who sees this forum as such a depressing place.
You seem to be so "worried" about the "lack of love" that you, and you alone, perceive in this forum's discussions. Why not just simply and lovingly ask Father to change our hearts as He has changed yours?
Dear Anna this is so much like being caught between a rock and a hard place. :sigh:
On one side I know that all is according to Father's will. Therefore, I am not worried as such. If you could see into my heart you would see nothing but Love and Joy.
On the other side, the world in which we all live. Our playground. Isn't it up to each of us, likely me most of all to fill our playground with the Love that has been given us?
Jesus taught us much and was very frank regarding what he did not know. He told us that he did not know the day or the hour in which the end would come. But He did tell us to Love on Another as we Love ourselves. Surely that is the easiest thing we could ever do as a precious child of Father, whom without cause gave each of us His Spirit.
Gal 5:22, 23
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.
Like I have spoke of before, I am no one special in hardly anyones eyes and I know exactly what Paul meant when he said that no sinner was greater than he. Which of course makes Fathers gift ever so much more precious. :dsunny:
So as you say, perhaps it is just me.
Just sharing is all......
Love Julie :HeartThrob:
I understand that in colonial America, most homes had two books, the Holy Bible and Fox's Book of Martyrs. Now, if you read the latter, at some point (if you can even continue) you begin to get past the horrors of what was done to innocent people, and you begin to see a light beginning to shine, like a breaking dawn. Opposed to the vileness of the crowds watching, and the evil of the interrogators and torturers, we see the spiritual radiance shining in those Christians about to die. If you have read some of the printed matter put out by a certain contemporary band (the name escapes me, and my books are packed for the upcoming move), you see that it still happens. This light, this radiance, this heavenly spirit, are almost beyond contentment and love. Love, as we know it in the here-and-now, is a pale intimation of what we will experience in the Kingdom. It all lies beyond the veil...
EDIT: A few seconds on Bing gives the answer - "Live Like a Jesus Freak" by DC Talk.
I'm not sure what is so depressing. I have been noticing some of the deepest conversations on this forum than I have ever seen and I have frequented here about 7 years on and off. I'm not sure who is worried...I think the OP is a big vague
Quote
Surely this forum is a place to share our joyous gratitude; of how Father has changed us and those whom we love, through us.
I agree with this. But also, I think this forum is a good place for ministry. I think the fact that they have three major sections dedicated to "Bible Verses Used to Assert Not All Will be Saved", "Judgement and Punishment", "Bible Threatenings Explained" and "Book of Revelation" shows that people are interested in understanding how those things can be understood through the doctrine of UR. In order to understand them, we need to be talking about them. Paul spoke ALOT about God's judgment. Heck, the book of 2 Peter is practically devoted to it. So, how can we talk about the Gospel without talking about what these Apostles meant?