Ieshea

Yes I have accepted Jesus Christ as my Savior and desiring daily to be more like Him. Baptism was symbolic for me, once I accepted Him as my Savior, I then wanted to use the symbolism of baptism as my public profession of my new self. I am saved regardless if I was ever baptised or not. I praise God that He died for me and that I am His child.

I feel the culture gets so upset because it's hard being told you're wrong or looked down on by someone who is just as guilty as you are. I would reconcile final judgement with God's love by saying" He loves us, but just as a judge sentences us for things we do wrong here on earth, so the same way our Father needs to judge us but He will judge us with love, grace, and mercy. Here on earth judge will sentence us without love and we will get exactly what we deserve. He loves us but as the word says He can't look upon the wrong we do and excuse it, and the Father loves those He disciplines (judges). When final judgement is left out or ignored in the gospsel, the gospel becomes watered down. In addition, at the end there will be a lot of upset and shocked people. No need to sugar coat the gospel because when Christ went through all He went through and forgave us. His sacrifice lessened the blow we would have at the end. Judgement is a necessary part of the gospel and does not need to be left out.

I would describe holiness and being set apart, blameless, righteous (being in right standing with God). I would say that I have been set apart (chosen by God) and I try to keep a short sin account with God. In order to become holy, a person must submit to the Holy Spirit. Need to not sin (which is an act of disobedience). Very good to read that we can't make ourselves holy by will power alone, it's God's forgiveness that gives us hope and the Holy Spirit that works holiness within us. Praise God, doesn't mean we don't work it, just mean we need the Spirit's help to succeed in it. My biggest struggle with holiness is not always knowing if I am being holy and because of the life we live everyday makes it hard to be holy. When the world is doing just the opposite.

That He comes like a thief in the night, He could come at anytime. In additon, His promise of coming back being fulfilled shoud get our attention. It should inspire hope that the end is not this world. We have a second home, where there will be no more tears, trials, drama, fear or worries. A place where we will be with the Savior forever. It should inspire self-control because what we receive (rewards) and judgement is based upon how we live our life now. When we don't really expect Christ to come soon we become lazy, sinful, no regard for righteousness. We live as if all we have is here

I believe faith and a right relationship with God is the basis of Christian joy. Joy creates an emotion and is a fruit of a Spirit-led life. I feel it works hand in hand because how we respond, emotion, shows our joy. No it is not essential emotional or based upon emotions. It is based upon the relationship you have with Christ. Can't have joy and not know Him. You can be happy, but true joy comes form God and out of a relationship with Him. True joy will be shown when a persons' circumstances become hard. How a person responds at adversity or trials will show you if they have joy. How a person acts if the bottom drops out of their life. I have so been there and been able to keep my head up and still bear fruit (according to what others saw), was nothing that I did or able to accomplish on my own. It was no one but God!!!! From a bible dictionary, joy in the Lord enables people to enjoy all that God has given: family, food, and fellowship. All are privileges from God that He blessesus with. I am going through a rough time right now. I lost my father a week ago and we are struggling financially, however I am still able to keep my head up because I know God will work everything out and that He has not brought me this far to leave me........ Thank You Lord!!!!

I remember when I lost 2 out of 3 children earlier this year when I was doing daycare. This was a huge dip in our finances and tremendously hurt us. In addition, at this time my husband decided he would start tithing, which meant even less money. The end result was God provided and proved himself faithful again and I ended up with 4 children. This circumsrance refined and purified my faith for sure. Still have more purifying to go through. God showed me that I could trust Him, no matter what, and that He is my provider. I now have more faith in Him then when I begin. I believe tested faith brings glory to God through our testimony, and how we choose to respond to the trials in our life. In addition, through us not giving up and continuing to rely and trust in Him.

God's part is to protect us till CHrist comes and He already secured our salvation when he allowed his son, Jesus Christ, to die on the cross for our sins. I feel my part is to have faith.

In order to be forgiven, we have to first confess, agree with God, that we are wrong. Then this leads to forgiveness. Having faith is a part of obedience. Without faith you will not obey. Faith is an action word. Abraham's faith was tested by an action that he had to do with Isaac. We can say that we are saved by grace and not works because salvation is a gift from God. There is nothing that we could have done to earn it. God gives us the faith that we have to believe and obey. So that is why we can say that we are saved by grace.

Living and doing things for the hear and now. More focused on the world and wordly things. possibly suicidal, getting so caught up in current circustances or trials that you are depressed, no longer effective for the kingdom. Yes I have found myself doing this because sometimes life gets the best of you sometimes. Must stay in the word, prayed up and have someone to be accountable to remain focused.

Hello, my name is Ieshea and I am new to this, however I am looking forward to learning more about God's word.