All Discussion PAGE 187

Hi, I would like prayer for my household. My wife has OCD and other problems, and she gets upset in the middle of the night and stomps and kicks and yells. I am tired of this. Every time I come home from work she is upset at me or follows me around asking me to do things, and when I wake up in the morning she will not let me rest either. The first thing she does is ask me to do things for her. I am so exhausted. Please pray for me.

Thank you and may the Lord bless you

please pray for my daughter Jessica and her family please remember me

Matt.4:1-11 "If thou be the Son of God"

God makes angels spirits. Satan whose credo "I will" challenged the holiness of God, With this in mind the tempter asking Jesus "If thou be" challenged the eternal nature. His advent in human likeness was bound up in fulfilling the will of his Father so the challenges he asked was basically faith against doubt. Law of Spirit against the Law of sin. Satan sins from the beginning so the appetites of the flesh loomed large in his eyes. Besides before him stood the Son of man vulnerable after fasting 40 days and forty nights. Jesus who was the Word become flesh would not go against his holiness. In the Father-Son relationship the sovereign hold of the word was the arbiter.

This episode tells his adversary well knew his scripture but without faith it was zero . Knowledge of the holy is understanding. How the serpent mouthed Satan's position with regards to the knowledge of good and evil is a case in point. "And ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil" without truth was blind. We hear in our times," Justification makes the works unnecessary which is a travesty of Luther's position. It has been thus the eternal word of God has been debased into heresies without living it.

God provided all needful things for life and godliness. So man who dares to change the stone into bread was questioning His holiness. In the second challenge Satan would give man 'a bold initiative' by "If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down". Jesus rebutted him from his position of faith. Thirdly "if thou wilt fall down and worship me". Satan would never have understood the key to salvation so his last challenge addressing sentient nature of man shows the egregious folly in relying on the senses which only appealed him. "Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do.... and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie,he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it"( John 8:44)

Hi Jesse , also , I have been reading this site for many more years than I have been posting and I have sadly noted that many debates turn aggressive . This is not something that I will tolerate from anyone . If someone is aggressive to me I just withdraw and I don't come back . I realise that in a typed message , aggression can be mistaken but I've seen it very blatant and also in its passive form on here and I won't engage with aggressive people . I was brought up with physical and mental aggression and I couldn't escape from it , now I can escape and so I do :) . You may consider me oversensitive :) you wouldn't be the first :) .

Hi Jesse and thanks for your replies to me , I appreciate them . I don't really enjoy justifying my beliefs , especially when I know that the person I'm speaking to is as strong in their (different ) beliefs as I am in mine . Sadly I don't have a lot of time to spend on here and by the end of the day , which is when I usually look on here , I'm so tired I can barely keep my eyes open . That's why I don't read all posts , I'm a bit of a cherry picker :) . I am open to debate but don't much enjoy it , that's the best way I can put it . My Bible knowledge in 95 per cent self learned over 30 years and I'm definitely not the type who is easily influenced by others . I also have no desire to influence others in their beliefs , so you can see why I'm not overly keen on debate , it does not come naturally to me . I will and always do , read your posts to me and to others , so if you want to talk about this subject I will listen and if I have the time and energy I will respond . That's the most I can give you I'm afraid . Just because we don't believe exactly the same things doesn't mean that we can't enjoy and learn from each other , I know that from my own experience on here :) . Much love in Christ .

Good evening Shabbat Keeper. Yes a new believer is both justified and sanctified. Hebrews 10:14 . Sanctification will continually be available for our walk as Christians if we believe. As we are more and more sanctified the easier we turn from unwilling sin towards our justified state at the Cross. Life occurrences in the flesh are for all, but sanctification is reserved for the just. We must not resist sanctification, it is God's grace and mercy for His people. There are many scriptures for our sanctification on this very subject so as you said we can learn in many ways in our lives in Jesus. Regarding my earlier thought, we do not want to confuse persecution with sanctification. One is from God and one from man, only man belongs to God so we must consider our justification in all matters of life to be sure what is the perfect Will of God in our very own walk. Maybe another time I can post some of my favorite scriptures on the subject. One last thought: Sanctification means to be set apart for a sacred purpose and it also means to cleanse from all impurities. Time for the body's rest my way.

:)

Pt. 3

In vs. 29 Moses reveals to the Israelites God's heart, "O that there was such an heart in them, that they would fear me, and keep all of my commandments always, that it may go well with them, and with their children forever! God so desired that this nation would truly be people after His own heart, even though He knew that they would not be so.

God instructs Moses to tell the people to back into their tents, but Moses was to stay beside God and hear all that He wanted Moses to speak to the people before they enter the land of promise and possess it so that they will do all that God says to do in the land.

God speaks through Moses "Ye shall observe to do therefore as the LORD your God hath commanded you: ye shall not turn aside to the right or to the left. ye shall walk in all the ways which the LORD your God has commanded you, that you may live and that it may be well with you, and that ye may prolong your days in the land that ye shall possess."

Moses knew that he would not be entering this land. But he was faithful to tell to the people ALL that God instructed him to say and do. Moses was such a good example of selfless servanthood. He wasn't in it for himself, but for the benefit of this people God had chosen to fulfill His promises in and through. These people had already repeatedly turned away from God in the 40 years since they had traveled from Egypt and around the desert wilderness. Moses saw this happen again and again. It grieved his heart as it grieved the LORD's heart.

Now we have the Holy Spirit within us to make us know that God is with us and in us. He is the only true God and He is near, though transcendent in nature, He is near us in Presence.

pt. 2

I love how God had Moses speak of God's greatness, power, and mercy in these verses that re-state the commandments. He did not just give out a set of commandments, but He wanted them to remember how He worked among them to deliver them from Egypt, doing miracles and showing great power and to know that He is a merciful God, who cares about them. He is not aloof, nor is He just an inanimate force-He is a Person with attributes that tell us what He is like in His Person and in His relation to the Israelites. He is the same today. He is a Personal God-God With Us-involved in our day to day lives and working in and through us to accomplish His will and pleasure in which He brings glory to Himself in all of His ways.

Moses reminds the Israelites how God spoke at Sinai. He used His voice. He demonstrated His Presence using things He created-fire, thunder, lightning, smoke, darkness, pillar of fire and of cloud, His glory was seen in the tabernacle. But these are His" coverings", His manifestations to show His Presence to the people. It is that we cannot perceive Him unless He reveals Himself to us in some way that is compatible with our human make-up. We SEE the visual manifestations. We HEAR His Presence. We experience His power and miracles. He wrote the commandments on the tablets of stone for all to see and read.

Vs. 24 speaks of their physical experience with God's Presence and, it says, they saw that God does talk with men and that He LIVETH. He is not an inanimate force or idol that can not do these things. They were terrified that if they continued to hear God's voice they would die. They were truly afraid that this experience of God would kill them, so they beseeched Moses to draw near to God on the mountain and hear what God says. Then he would come to them and speak what God said to him. They promised to hear Moses and to do what God commanded. God knew all that they had said to Moses and each other. He knew all of their thoughts and emotions.

pt. 3

Hello Stephanie V.

Good to hear from you again. I will certainly pray for your job and company and car repairs. Thanks for coming back on board here.

Getting back to Deuteronomy.

This Chapter starts out with Moses reminding the nation of the covenant God made with them and reminds them that this covenant was not made with their forefathers, but particularly with them who were living at that time, who came out of Egypt. they made with God at Sinai.

Moses speaks of how He stood between the people and God to bring to them God's word for them.

He re-states the Decalogue in Verses 6-21. God thought it very important for His people to hear these commandments at this juncture before they enter the land of promise. God did not want to go into the land, get comfortable and prosper and then forget God, neglect Him, or turn to idols. He had Moses re-state the 10 commandments a this time when they were still dependent on God for provision of their daily needs and protection.

They had the ornate tabernacle to meet with God through Moses. But they are told to worship only Him without ever making any thing that would be a representation of Him from their imaginations of what He would look like, as the pagans do with their idol figures. They needed to be reminded not to worship the tabernacle and to remember that God is Spirit and therefore, does not possess a permanent form as we would view it. He cannot be accurately represented by anything we could create. He is the creator of all things in the universe, seen or unseen, physical or spiritual. And there is nothing in all of creation that is a physical representation of Him in His essential divine nature.

Of course, Jesus is the perfect and complete image of God. His divine nature was always in Jesus and since incarnating and taking on a human nature, he continues to exist as both God and man. In heaven, we will see God when we look upon Jesus. We will worship Him as the angels do. There is no need for any representation of God in eternity because we will see God in Christ Jesus.

Colossians chapter 1 is a very powerful example of the divine nature of Jesus...cont.

Hi Chris, I will definitely try to read all the scripture you noted and get back to you with my 2 cents. Thanks for the discussion.

May Jesus continue to bless you and protect you.

Sanctification is the lifelong process of learning to be like Jesus. Little by little, lesson by lesson, our character and personality transforms. We become a people fit for heaven. We are justified (forgiven) then we are sanctified.

I am asking for prayer that my job will go very well throughout the rest of the year and that the Lord would bless the company I work for with more customers. Please also pray that the Lord will provide the funds needed to repair my family's car. Thank you so much for your prayers! May God bless you!

Only one way to salvation- trust and belief in the Gospel of the LORD JESUS CHRIST. Romans 10:9-12; Ephesians 2:8,9.

Giving, witnessing, making disciples, praying, teaching Bible, preaching, etc are works "OF" righteousness; not works "FOR" righteousness.

May we be faithful in our walk with CHRIST. November 16, 2023

Amen, Rfamily73, Lord God hear our prayers and answer quickly.

Very beautifully written brother Chris, Thank you!

Perhaps after regeneration in Christ Jesus there will be sanctification if we are willing. Sanctification keeps our individual needs close to Jesus and as far from damnation like a gulf. Perhaps sanctification is sometimes confused with persecution? If we feel entitled to some thing and it is taken away, it might be sanctification. Maybe sanctification is Mercy multiplied?

Some evening (over here) thoughts.

I pray Culhain has been delivered from being a cheater and doesn't cheat on my daughter Ashley ever again, I pray him and Ashley treat each other better, with grace, love, gentleness and self control, I pray for their finances, joy, happiness, rest, and peace, I pray Culhain loves Ashley the way Jesus loves the church, I pray Ashley loves Culhain the way the church should love Jesus, Lord deliver them from evil, protect them, heal them, in Jesus Mighty Name, Amen and Hallelujah!!!

You're quite right, Shabbat Keeper, that would be the gist of my comments: "that the unsaved will be tormented eternally". I gave those Scriptures earlier on for you to look at & they all point to a time of final judgement, where those who die in their sins without Christ are consigned into an eternity of suffering. So when you get time, have a look at those verses/passages (found in my two page comment), & let us know how you read them - are they simply idle threatening words from Jesus, maybe words that we should overlook/avoid, or is there another meaning to them? I know the verses that you, Jema & others refer to, where death is seen as both a finality & a judgement. And if these verses only were there, I could agree with you. But they are not the only verses that speak of death & then eternity - there are other passages as well. So I would be interested in how you read those verses, so that I (and maybe others here) may know the way you understand & exegete the Scriptures. Thank you.

Just as an unrelated example: I've often given John 17:5, "And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was", asking for comment. I have always hoped that someone who rejects the Deity of Christ (i.e. Christ came from God's Person & wasn't just a supernaturally created Being) would exegete that verse for me. But so far none have come back on it. I wonder why? Simply because it (& others such as I gave you to consider about eternal suffering), are incompatible to the beliefs that are strongly held. So, I look forward to you thoughts whenever you are able. Thank you.

(Part 2):

Jema, you asked me if I've read Ezekiel Chapter 18, and also what does it mean to me? I would be happy to answer your questions, but first I need to know that you are open for discussion, even if it is "back and forth." I am completely open for discussion, and I would never consider our discussion a waste of my time.

I promise you that I will never be rude to you in any conversation. One thing I will say up front is that I may ask a lot of questions, but I'm confident that since you have studied the bible every day for 30 years, my questions shouldn't be very difficult at all for you to answer.

Also, I do commend you on 30 years of bible study without missing a single day. I wish I could say the same. I do have a hunger for God's word and find that I can't stay away from it for very long, but I have missed some days of study over the years. I am 63 years old and have also been studying for many years. I have never told anyone here how many years I have been studying, and that's something I probably won't share, and I have my own reason for not disclosing that information.

Hello Jema,

First, let me say thank you for your response. Honestly, I didn't think you were going to respond. I wasn't even sure that you would read what I posted after seeing my name, knowing that we differ in some of our beliefs. You mentioned that you don't read all the comments as you don't have the time to do so. That is understandable. I don't think any of us have the time to read every single comment here. I wish I had the time to do so because I like to read the things people have to say, whether I agree or disagree.

Jema, I can't say that I've read all of your posts, but I can say that I have read most of your posts and I will continue to do so because I enjoy reading them. You have always given me the impression of being a very kind and caring person. Also, your love for the Lord is quite obvious and I would never question that.

You also mentioned in one of your posts that you "always look out for people asking questions." Well, I asked you some questions (maybe too many?), but you chose not to answer any of them. Is it because I was questioning something you believed? On an open forum, we should expect to be questioned from time to time on what we say, and if someone disagrees on something and asks where in the bible can they find the things we are saying, we should at least point them to the scriptures and at least be open to discussion of those scriptures.

Jema, you said that you have explained your beliefs on here before. I asked, "Where in the bible does it say that the soul will cease to exist?" If you have already explained this in a previous post and I missed it, then I do apologize. I will go back and look for your explanation on that. Can you at least estimate how long ago it was that you explained how the soul ceases to exist so it might be easier for me to find?

I'm sorry, I didn't mean this to be this long. I need a little more space if you don't mind? I will send a part 2.

Thank you brother Carleton for those thoughts: that indeed that consciousness past the grave can well include a recalling of the life once lived which continually spurned the Love of God & His Spirit's urging for that upward look. As I read your comment here, my thoughts went to Galatians 6:17, "From henceforth let no man trouble me: for I bear in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus". Though this verse doesn't directly refer to what you wrote, I see in that chapter the apostle's heart's desire for the salvation of his people: not only for God's Peace & Mercy to be upon them to come to that Truth, but that his efforts, witness & prayer were tireless, knowing that persecution would be his lot for his remaining days.

There were those who insisted on circumcision coupled with salvation to avoid certain persecution - Paul stood for Truth which is what mattered to him & he continued to proclaim 'salvation without any works'. And he did so even under great persecution. I ask, 'wouldn't it have been easier & less painful to him to present a watered-down Gospel, one where everything will work out in the end, that those who resist it will just die & no longer be remembered?' Yet, the marks of persecution were on his body; why would any man take the buffeting of men even to the point of death unless the rescue of souls from an eternity of suffering & torment was his only motivation & reason for persevering? Such concern & love is not just to get everyone into God's Kingdom, but to prevent them from entering that awful place reserved for the Devil & his angels; and the Scriptures speak volumes on this. Blessings to you.

"Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils;" 1 Timothy 4:1 Somone said to me "The devil has power" to which I replied "The devil has no power". But allow me to rephrase that. The devil only has as much power as we allow him to have over us. Isn't that the truth, because ultimately we're fighting this fight individually. Yes as a body combined we all feel the pains of growth, and the burdens of others, and so we strive together. Yet, as individuals we are all faced with our own individual battle. In other words your test will probably be different from mine, but we're all facing the same enemy. The devil. "Now the Spirit speaketh expressly" or Clearly, that in the latter times, or a later period, some shall depart from the faith. I'm going to try to explain this the best I can without going off subject, and bringing this all together to hopefully allow for understanding of what God is wanting to say. We have an enemy, and that enemy is Satan. That's something we can all agree upon. The intent of this enemy is to wreck havoc on your life, and he wants to do that so badly, that he's just waiting for an opportunity. "Giving heed to seducing spirits" That word heed means to pay attention to, or give your attention to. Now this is where I brought up the fact that Satan only has as much power as we allow him. We shouldn't be looking for a horned, beastly looking creature when it comes to Satan, but on the contrary. We should be ever so careful, and watchful for the subtleties of this enemy of our minds. Our eyes are the window to our soul. The song "Be Careful Little Eyes" is a children's song, yet it applies to everyone. It only takes seconds for the devil to move in, and only seconds for someone to fall pray, but the fall is for an eternity. We must be ever so watchful. Not allowing the devil any space. Staying in the word, and praying always. Be faithful!

Many blessings to you on your journey!

Hi Chris, in answer to you're question why don't I address the scriptures you quoted. First of all, I don't entirely follow what you are saying. Would you summarize the gist of your thoughts in one sentence? it would be easier for me. Second, I don't have hours of time to look everything up and thoughtfully respond.

Is this the gist of what your saying: the unsaved will be tormented eternally?

I love this site, it has taught me so much about how to live my life and how to treat others. I love living the righteous way even though I still have not committed myself completely. But I'm still learning.

Asking for strong protection and breakthrough for us and all in need.

Lord Jesus I join in asking this for Marcia, us and all in need. Thank you and praise you. In your holy name I pray. Amen.

Lord Jesus please have mercy on Rob and heal and deliver from depression. May you alone receive all the glory and praise. Amen

Matt.4:1-2 "The Number Forty"

Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil./And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward an hungred.(vv.1-2)

'Then' refers to the descent of the Spirit in the form of a dove in the preceding passage.(3:16) Lucan gospel informs us that Jesus was tempted for forty days of the devil.. St Matthew lays emphasis on the manner the tempter would try to trip him up. Mark merely mentions it as matter-of-factly as a anecdote. "And immediately the spirit driveth him into the wilderness./And he was there in the wilderness forty days, tempted of Satan; and was with the wild beasts; and the angels ministered unto him".( Mark 1:12-13). John left it out altogether. Before we go on with his ministry we present the four gospels relate to one another inextricably as the Logos aspect of the Son of man is bound with God which was with the Word. The "Word was God" ( John 1:1)

The Spirit uses 40 days to indicate the sovereignty of the Word as the Son of man handled. Four refers to cardinal directions and whether east or west south or north the Word of God stood on a firm foundation."Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are his."(2 Ti.2:19) In the case of Jesus in his humanity needed preparation so he was led by the Spirit during 40 days (4x10). Before he began his ministry the same number of days as well as he was seen for 40 days by his disciples in his risen body. In short the number lays down it as a tag and applies to anyone who is taken into service. The life of Moses is tagged likewise."And he was there with the LORD forty days and forty nights; he did neither eat bread, nor drink water. And he wrote upon the tables the words of the covenant, the ten commandments." (Ex.34:28) Before Moses could serve the nation the number serves as a diploma of having been found adequate to serve. It is thus the Spirit led Jesus into wilderness.