Lynnely

These verses might give someone leave to sin b/c Jesus is there to plea for us and He has already covered that sin...but those of us who know what this is really saying are so grateful to the Father and the Son for their love, mercy and grace. Jesus did die for the world's sins...but this sacrifice was a gift given to everyone who will accept the gift. Those who won't reach out, who are dull of hearing and refuse the truth of Jesus will die in their sins. This is a simple instruction to us all. We all sin daily by omission or commision and when confessed, these sins are forgiven, covered by His blood. But if we choose to live a "life of sin", we have become that "dull of hearing" person. Beware!

As I look at friends and acquaintances around me, I see exactly what John is talking about....People doing what THEY want instead of what God wants. A young couple living together....an older couple living together....coming to church without a Bible probably b/c they don't know where it is, haven't read it in ages...gossiping....etc. The little bracelets showing "WWJD" is not a bad idea. It brings forth the question "what WOULD Jesus do" in a situation. If the time hasn't come that a tug on the conscience would make a person stop and think, maybe a few "wrong" decisions wouldn't occur! The result of a "Christian" walking in darkness is an aximoron...not to happen! If you believe in God and His statutes and laws, His love and mercy, you would not "walk" in darkness. Would a Christian stumble? Daily! But it's not a "way of life" for us...and we will usually recognize the sin and ask forgiveness. In God's love and mercy He picks us up and sets us back on our path.

I think I might be misunderstanding your statement "Though to our knowledge, the name Immanuel was never given to Jesus, it certainly applied to him, since "God with us" is a perfect way to describe the birth of the God-Man, Jesus Christ, who is fully man and fully God" I found at least 3 vss in my Bible where Jesus was named Immanuel. Isa 7:14 ...a virgin will be with child and bear a son, and she will call His name Immanuel. Matt 1:23...which restates the above verse Isa 8:8 referring back to 7:14 Can you clear this up for me?

How can WE go to God and ask forgiveness day by day...and many times for the same sin? David could go, as we can go, because His Word tells us of His grace, His lovingkindness, His patience, His all-knowing. He knows our hearts, as He did David's. He knows when we are truely sorrowful and contrite. He knows our hearts!

We are to worship God because He IS God...and we are not! He is a GREAT GOD and a great King above all gods. He holds reign over even the depths of the earth as well as the tops of the mountains. He made the sea and formed the dry land...He is the Creator. And that is why we should worship Him! Also because He is our God and we are the people of His pasture and the sheep of His hand. We are the objects of His greatest creation. We were created to have fellowship with HIm...to worship, love and adore Him. I sometimes wonder if He isn't sorry He gave us that mission...instead of the beautiful horse, or fleet deer, or the Monarch butterfly, or the flighty little hummingbird...or the dog who always loves, regardless of how the master treats him/her, whose eyes are always full of forgiveness and readiness to get on with things! We must be such a disappointment to Him! God WAS disappointed with the Israelites in the wilderness. They complained about all the miraculous ways He had taken care of them from delivering them from captivity to feeding them and giving them fresh water to drink in the desert. They preferred their old captivity to the life He was taking them...a land of milk and honey...and His rest. Don't we try Him every day? Aren't we unhappy at times with our lives...don't we complain? Don't we forget to thank Him for our very breaths? He was warning us NOT to harden our hearts as to forget who is God.

This Psalm shows us the importance of "praise"...as it mentions it 13 times in 6 verses. I believe praising Him will be our finest and usual activity in heaven. Praise should occur anywhere, anytime and in any way, but in keeping with the words of the psalm, in His sanctuary, which sort of tells us that maybe we ought to be a little more "praiseful" to Him when we go into His sanctuary and not be so concerned with visiting with our fellow Christians; in His might expanse...perhaps we need to look around us as His great beauty and try to help keep it beautiful. He made the heavens and the earth for our enjoyment and we all but trash it at times, sending all kinds of vile things into the heavens and leaving even more vile things on his earth. This psalm says we are to praise Him with musical instruments and dancing. The trupet, harp,lyre, timbrel, stringed instruments, pipe, loud cymbals and resounding cymbals are mentioned. Dancing would be very "foreign" to me in my Church, I don't think I can quite do that yet...although I've been known to sway to and fro at times! ) Maybe I should work on my dance steps! Actually the question "who" should praise might better read "what" should praise...the answer "everything that has breath. At one time even the trees will praise Him...but it's comforting to think that maybe even the animals should be praising Him. Do they have souls or even a brain to think about God...who knows, but God!!! I choose to believe animals may be a bit closer to Him than we. God had to love all animals and creepy crawly things, otherwise why would he have created the spider, or the fishing worm, or the roach? He had a purpose for them all...maybe it's to praise Him when we're too busy! We should praise Him because He says we should...but this psalm says because of His mighty deeds and His excellent greatness. We need to praise Him because He is God...and we're not! Maybe this psalm has a 'wakening' effect that tells me I've been lazy and lax in my praise. I would imagine He gets pretty disappointed when I go to Him with petitions so many times and forget to praise Him for Who He is and What He is...the Creator of this universe, including ME. As we often forget to thank our parents for giving us life and taking care of us as we were children, we forget to thank and praise Him for the same thing! Yes, Psa 150 makes me think a bit more about praising Him!

Psa 8 teaches us that God is the Supreme Creator of all things...and as Creator, He is to be honored and praised by all His creation. The greatest of His creation is Jesus Christ Himself, His only begotten Son without whom we'd be doomed to hell.

The primary temptation of drugs and alcohol is to be like most of your friends...doing something that you know is forbidden by most people, more importantly, God. It's that first step of "disobedience" that catches people. How would you know that being drunk or high will transport you from a world of reality to a world of haze, immorality, timelessness, etc? It's that first step of disobedience...something we're all subject to. But one has to decide as a young (and it's getting younger all the time) person that they are NOT going to take that first step. There is nothing any more demoralizing than to come to the realization that you've disappointed God by disobeying Him. Next comes the parents...how as a child, you've let your parents down, unless they've led you into the situation themselves! And how as a parent, you've let your children down, teaching them it's OK to escape in a world of nothingness! In my estimation, the "highs" of external intakes can NOT substitute for the wonderful "high" of knowing God is well pleased with you! Nothing can top that! Nor should it! The person who has made up their minds early on...and said 'no' to alcohol and drugs... should be so proud of themselves. Show me pride in a slobbering, gibbering drunk or addict. It's not pride that you are better than the other, but pride in knowing you have made the right decision. And it's pride in knowing that one day you won't have to go through the hell of getting sober or clean! I know addictions to anything is hard to break...we all have addiction to something.

Sin is sin...all sin is against God. But sexual sin in not only against God, but against one's own body. Having sex before or outside of marriage is becoming a common problem now days. Many don't see it as a sin because so many are doing it...but eventually it will catch up with you. A time will come when you wish you had saved yourself, or been true to your spouse...and as most sins, fornication cannot be un-done! You can't make restitution and often times you can't even apologize to the other person. Sexual sin, as all sin, is a part of our spiritual life...as well as our own personal integrity. Besides cheapening our life, it leads us down the road to commit different sins.

Without patience tempers can fly off the handle and dis-unity will result. Without humility one will think they have the right to have everything their way, because it's the best! Case in point: I have a member of the famiy who chews ice constantly. As a child growing up I was never allowed to make noise when I chewed...celery, apples, gum, and never ICE ! As an adult I have a very high intolerance of people who make noise eating/chewing. This member knows how this affects me and why, but insists on doing it anyhow. My impatience and prideful attitude has caused her to do this, I believe, because she can and because I have no right telling her she can't. My solution now is to just remove myself from the situation as long as she has a glass of ice...in MY home! This has NOT caused a volitile situation...but an unpleasent one...almost every time we're together! Yes, patience and humility are very important in preserving the unity! We should never change what we believe to be right, but we should never be arrogant in our belief. And we should never be so arrogant to think we can't learn something from someone if we just listen...listening opens the door for sharing...and possibly enlightening someone in their errors. Christ didn't always speak with gentle words (money changers in the temple, "Oh you brood of vipers", etc) but He was quick to point out the proper way to behave and believe. We are Christ's ambassadors, we must act like Jesus did...we represent Him.

God Almighty, Creator of the universe, including me, has called me to walk in a way that is worthy of Him. Everything I do is a reflection upon HIm...how do I want to represent Him? How do I want others to see Him? I must walk in a way that is pleasing to Him first...then in a way that will reflect His goodness, His forgiveness, His love, His wisdom, His mercy and His kindness...just to name a few!

We should approach God with the assurance of our access to Him, He bids us come to Him with our petitions; with boldness and confidence, not with fear or trembling; with confidence, certain assurance that God will answer all prayers within His will. God loves us and wants us to be happy, but He won't give us things that will hurt us, or hinder our walk with Him.

Paul knew his message to the Gentiles might make them want to follow Paul...instead of Christ, which would be devastating to him. He wanted people to know who he was and from where he came...and his change came about exclusively through the power of Christ. As a Christian one might feel somewhat better than the unbeliever, more privileged and a little smug. Christ said we are all equal as believers and all are invited to come to Him.

Paul's mystery he was speaking of is the fact that Jews and Gentiles both will be accepted into God's kingdom. The Jews were the chosen people, but b/c they denied Christ, God chose to include the Gentiles. Since the Jews were the chosen people, the Christian Gentiles may have felt like the orphan child, second-class, but God has accepted both races equally in His sight!

Since the Church is God's possession, why shouldn't He be able to prescribe the way it should be formed and carried out? God alone is the Head of the Church. If we were to put into practice (which we humans often do because we think God can't handle things of today by Himself) what we "thought" would be a better idea or way...churches would fail....and do! Straying from God's revelation is not only sinful, but it's promoting failure. Satan would like nothing better than to see an active, Spirit-filled church go down the drain. When we start changing God's plan of the Church by watering it down to fit the standards of the world, we see failure. Today I see many churches changing their names from, for example, First Christian Church to Elmwood Family Plaza. This is so as not to scare the un-churched away??? Give me a break! It's because we're more interested in mega-attendences than mega-scriptural knowledge and wisdom! I believe for the most part God has revealed to us today...and tomorrow...all the things He wants us to know. Have we figured out all His revelations...not yet! But it's there for us to ponder and ingest. The most important revelation is Jesus Christ!

The Mosiac Law, the Ten Commandments God gave Moses twice, was given by God to let the people know what their relationship between them and God should be, and between the people with other people. Jesus kept each of those 10 commandments, without fail. Jesus, fully man, walked this earth to show us it could be done, but in our human frailty, we make excuses and skirt around reasons why we can't keep them. The Jewish people held the Commandments high...but eventually tacked all the 600+ on, which made it impossible to keep "the law". The Gentiles were smart enough to know it was an impossible task to keep them all and considered them rubbish. If one kept all 10 Commands...all else would fall into place! There would be peace in this world.

If a believer didn't know what it means to be "lost", I'm not sure he is a Christian. Therefore he wouldn't be driven to witness to a lost soul. Being "lost" is why we chose to believe in Christ and the many things He did for us, most of all, dying on the cross in our place because of our sins. This is the only way to receive Salvation...through Christ. One who doesn't know Christ is "lost" for sure...unable to participate in the joyous things a believer does, such as hope in the future, fellowship with Christ Himself, fellowship of brothers and sisters in a church atmosphere, reliance on the Holy Spirit within, peace-joy-comfort in knowing Christ....opposed to the feelings of frustrations, hopelessness in the future, blackness, misinformation and mis-direction...lost!

Faith is believing in something you can't see, feel, taste, smell or hear. To each of us God gives the measure of faith He wants us to have. When we exercise that faith, He gives us more and more. To the 10-year old: Honey, remember the time you climbed that big old tree in the back. You were way up high and the limb began to crack and you were afraid you were going to fall and get hurt? Daddy saw the situation and immediately ran out to you, told you to shut your eyes tight and let go of the branch, that he would catch you. Just have faith...let go! You did...and Daddy caught you safely! That's the same kind of faith God wants you to have...just let go and let God! He'll catch you when you fall!

"to be saved" means exactly what it says...and most people can readily understand that. But the question is...from what am I saved???? Our first response might be "from hell, fire and damnation"; and that is true. But on second thought we need to explain to the unbeliever what we believe. In believing that Jesus Christ came to this world from his heavenly throne to die on the cross for the sins I have committed and will EVER commit, by accepting Him as my personal Savior and Lord, and by living a life as nearly as possible to the life He lived while on earth, I will receive "salvation"...that being spending eternity with Him. Because He loved me so much that He willing died for my sins (the wages of sin is death) I find it a joy to do the things He commanded while walking this earth! So...to answer the question "from what am I saved". Simple answer: a life of pain and torment knowing that the unbeliever will never have the joy of worshiping God forever, but chained to an eternity of being without Him.

Eph 2:10 says we are created for "good works" Good works comes about when we devote our lives to Christ, because we love HIm and want to obey and serve Him...not b/c we're trying to achieve a goal, salvation or eternity with God. Mt 5:16 could be misinterpreted...that we should do things for the praise of others; but that isn't so. Our works , good and bad, are always seen by others. Bad works takes away from the love we receive from God. It makes the onlooker think "what kind of Christian are they?"...or "if they are a Christian and do THAT, I don't want any part of Christianity!" Good works shine like a beacon in the night, showing others what God can do to us, through us, and for us! When something good happens to us, like completing a task for God successfully, we need to give Him the glory, for without Him, we can no nothing. Others see this and want a part of the joy we have in pleasing God. Knowing God enabled us to perform might make them see that they, too, can have His love and grace in their lives. Good works don't need to be tooted on our horns...they will be seen by those who need to see it. Boasting about "our" accomplishments will only turn others away. The "good work" will be tarnished and God will not be honored.

How do people unwittingly follow Satan? By making no decision at all! A person may be a wonderful, law abiding, helpful, go-to-Church every week person...but if they have not made the decision to turn their life over to Jesus...to accept Him as their personal Savior...they are following Satan...unwittingly! We have far too many unwitting followers of Satan sitting in our church pews....you may live in your garage, but that doesn't make you a car! God can blame us, believers, for shirking our responsibility as Christians to share the Gospel with others...even if they have been sitting in the pews much longer that we!

Those who are non-believing are "dead" in the sense they will be separated from God forever. It doesn't mean a physical death...but a spiritual death. One of their biggest mistakes is believing when they die in this world, that is their end...but it's only the beginning of a long time, eternity in fact, of torture and pain. And I believe the worst thing for them will be that they will have finally recognized the importance of accepting Jesus Christ as their Savior...they will beg to be forgiven...and God will turn his eyes away. Since we all sin every day, even we believers...the difference is that God forgave us at the Cross when His Son died for all sin, past-present-future, of his children. Do I sin all the more because I know I'm already forgiven.......of course not...but I'm more aware of the times I do sin and quickly ask forgiveness. The unbeliever doesn't know this is the path we must travel...and his sins go unforgiven. Yes, we are all sinners but we believers are forgiven sinners! Our hearts should pour out God's love and His Word to those who have not taken that step to change their lives into eternal salvation. We should be ever ready with His Word on our tongues to guide that person to their own salvation. We can't "save" a person, but we can plant the seed for God to water as He sees fit.

I DON'T THINK WE ARE EVER POWERLESS...WE ARE JUST LAZY AND DON'T USE IT. GOD GAVE US ALL THE POWER WE NEED FOR WHATEVER WE NEED TO DO. IF WE HAD THE FAITH OF A MUSTARD SEED WE COULD MOVE MOUNTAINS...WHO OF US HAS THAT KIND OF FAITH? BUT GOD SAID WE HAVE IT! OF COURSE, IT'S A LACK OF FAITH WHEN WE DON'T USE IT! IS GOD INADEQUATE? OF COURSE NOT...BUT OUR RELATIONSHIP WITH HIM SOMETIMES WANES AND OUR FAITH SUFFERS...BUT GUESS WHO MOVED IN THE RELATIONSHIP! GOD IS ALWAYS THERE FOR US TO RELY ON FOR STRENGTH AND WISDOM. MANY CHURCHES TOLERATE "PEW WARMERS" AND SOME EVEN ENCOURAGE IT. A MOVING, GROWING CONGREGATION IS A BIBLE-READING, BIBLE-STUDYING, BIBLE-BELIEVING BODY. IT'S ONE THAT OBEYS GOD'S COMMANDS.......REACHING THE LOST AND BUILDING UP THE SAINTS. OUR BODY IS SLOWLY GETTING THERE, BUT WE HAVE A LONG WAY TO GO. I THINK WE'RE GROWING QUICKLY ENOUGH BUT NOW IS THE TIME TO PUT SOME MEAT INTO THE WORD...WE NEED MORE SMALL GROUPS, GETTING MORE INTIMATE WITH OTHERS AND TELLING THEM HOW GOD IS WORKING IN OUR LIVES. PERSONAL TESTIMONIES ARE IMPORTANT IN SHOWING THOSE OF LESS STRONGER FAITH THAT GOD REALLY DOES CARE, EVEN FOR THE SMALL THINGS IN LIFE! I DON'T THINK WE ARE EVER POWERLESS...WE ARE JUST LAZY AND DON'T USE IT. GOD GAVE US ALL THE POWER WE NEED FOR WHATEVER WE NEED TO DO. IF WE HAD THE FAITH OF A MUSTARD SEED WE COULD MOVE MOUNTAINS...WHO OF US HAS THAT KIND OF FAITH? BUT GOD SAID WE HAVE IT! OF COURSE, IT'S A LACK OF FAITH WHEN WE DON'T USE IT! IS GOD INADEQUATE? OF COURSE NOT...BUT OUR RELATIONSHIP WITH HIM SOMETIMES WANES AND OUR FAITH SUFFERS...BUT GUESS WHO MOVED IN THE RELATIONSHIP! GOD IS ALWAYS THERE FOR US TO RELY ON FOR STRENGTH AND WISDOM. MANY CHURCHES TOLERATE "PEW WARMERS" AND SOME EVEN ENCOURAGE IT. A MOVING, GROWING CONGREGATION IS A BIBLE-READING, BIBLE-STUDYING, BIBLE-BELIEVING BODY. IT'S ONE THAT OBEYS GOD'S COMMANDS.......REACHING THE LOST AND BUILDING UP THE SAINTS. OUR BODY IS SLOWLY GETTING THERE, BUT WE HAVE A LONG WAY TO GO. I THINK WE'RE GROWING QUICKLY ENOUGH BUT NOW IS THE TIME TO PUT SOME MEAT INTO THE WORD...WE NEED MORE SMALL GROUPS, GETTING MORE INTIMATE WITH OTHERS AND TELLING THEM HOW GOD IS WORKING IN OUR LIVES. PERSONAL TESTIMONIES ARE IMPORTANT IN SHOWING THOSE OF LESS STRONGER FAITH THAT GOD REALLY DOES CARE, EVEN FOR THE SMALL THINGS IN LIFE!

[size=7 OH yes....my life would be affected tremendously! The first million would go back to Him...then bills would be paid off for us and our sons and their families. Then a lot of people I know would have an anonymous gift to help them through life. We would probably buy a house with the bedrooms on the main floor since we're getting on in years and it's getting harder to climb those stairs each night. My inheritance in God's presence would be the same then as it is now. I'm trying to live and walk in a manner worthy to be called His child...and money wouldn't change that at all. I cannot fathom in any way the glory I'll have to be standing in His presence...nor the beauty of His heavenly home that He's prepared for me. That's not something money can buy...that hope, that expectation, that inheritance! Sharing our inheritance with the saints is only a plus for me...I love sharing what I have. But I need to do more to inform the nonbelievers, the earth dwellers, of what they're going to miss if they don't shape up and learn to love the Lord...and what inheritance they will be receiving if they don't accept Jesus as the Christ!

The Holy Spirit Himself is the seal...or the guaranteer of our inheritance. Having taken Jesus Christ as our personal Lord and Savior, He sent the Spirit to indwell us until the Day of the Lord...when we breathe our last breath here on earth and are taken directly to God in the next. The Spirit is the "promise" of something more to come...eternal life with God. The "end of term" or the "redemption of those who are God's possession", I believe, comes after the Great Tribulation, the last 3 1/2 years of Daniel's 70th week. God has poured out the 7 bowls of his wrath on the nonbelievers, those who have taken the mark of the beast. God sends his prophets to tell his chosen ones about Jesus right up until the end...when Jesus comes to begin his 1000 yr reign...and Satan is defeated! The Holy Spirit functions in our life by always being within us...encouraging us...praying with and for us when we are so despondant we can't pray ourselves...He is our conscience...our teacher...our reminder of what we already know. Without His presence, we couldn't make it!