Blssd1030

Third verse of Victory in Jesus: I heard about a mansion He has built for me in glory. And I heard about the streets of gold Beyond the crystal sea; About the angels singing, And the old redemption story, And some sweet day I'll sing up there The song of victory.

I think it's rather clear from these letters what is plaesing to Christ and what is not. This should be paramount to the foundation of any church otherwise that church is not of God or about God.

I think some churches may have a tendancy towards apathy because of (forgive me if this comes across at all offesive to anyone. It really is simple lack of vocabulary, or what have you, to explain it any more delicately) man made ritualistic ceremony. I'm personaly just not drawn to a church where man's presence is way more dominate than the Spirit's. I combat spiritual apathy primarily by diligently praying for Christ to fill me. A Spirit filled believer can never be a dull witness.

Compromising religious standards or beliefs on a regular basis as in the ancient trade guilds is spiritualy destructive for a believer because over time the act seems to meld into your everyday life and is no longer recognized as being compromising and also there may be this period of stagnant growth and separateness from God because of the routine of, well, basically sin, which in return opens the door for Satans condemnation to creep in because of the guilt that may be felt after realizing such willful disobedience and wanderings, particularly if repentance is not immediate upon recognition. Condemnation is not conviction. Our God is approachable. The curtain has been torn. Praise, praise, praise! Is it a spiritually destructive compromise to accept the fact that God's standards and teachings are no longer (less and less anyway) accepted or tolerated in public arenas because of the supposed offensiveness of it? Have you gotten to the point where you try very unsuccesfully to turn a blind eye to the filth that for some reason is not offensive to the world and it just blends in as normal environmental background? Isn't it difficult to explain to your children the un-truths that are taught in public schools? I think I find myself at times becoming almost numb to certain moralities I don't agree with in this world. If I cant feel the snake's bite though then I won't know his venom is slowly killing me. Makes me think of "Wake up O' sleeper". Do I make any sense? God bless.

1 Cor 6:18-20 Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a man commits are outside his body, but he who sins sexually sins against his own body. Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; You were bought at a price. Therfore honor God with your body. Loosening standards desensitizes us from sin and weakens our testimony. Right where the enemy wants us! He (Satan) has ample opportunity in our culture. Lord, I pray for the spiritual condition of all your children and this morning inparticular for those struggling with sexual immorality, myself included. In Jesus Name.

A congregation can lose it's first love for Christ by becoming too focused ( and split for that matter) on church politics, rules, regulations, ceremonies, sacraments, etc. The focus of the church becomes religious and denominational instead of relational and spiritual. I think geniune love for Christ in worship and ministry is displayed when seeking His attention, approval, guidance, and His presence and love is the true motivation. In order to regain this first love, recognition of the loss must first be made (conviction) then repentance comes and asking the Spirit to once again fill us and empower us through the Love of Christ. I believe this needs to begin on a personal level. In a congregation I think it needs to begin with somebody on the counsil, board or what have you bringing it to the attention of the rest and making a focused effort in prayer and teachings to rekindle the relationship with Christ. We all go through "dry spells" in our spiritual walk with Christ and individual churches are no different.

The significance of Christ walking among the lampstands is that He IS among His people. I don't know - I've had a hard time with this question (not uncommon ). Thanks for your previous entries.

The vision of Christ with the lampstands is one of a high priest (the highest), glorified and among His churches. The vision of Christ as carpenter-teacher is one of a humble servant wanting to teach anyone with an ear to hear. Without even considering the cross, this contrast alone represents the enormous love Christ holds for us. I think the vision evokes an emotion of reverence. I don't know,- mostly in me it evokes excitement, anticipation, and hope. Any vision of Christ seems to do that rather He be persecuted or exalted. I think it's important to know that Christ is willing to meet us on our level out of compassion and empathy but to also fully know that He is All. God Bless!!

Yeah, you know, when you do a google on current christian persecutions you may just feel a little conviction over the lack of prayer time set aside for intercessory prayer. Just saying, maybe. As for the second part of the question I hope to be able to answer better later in the study, but perhaps it reaffirms our faith in our inheritance purchased in Christs blood and it describes the mighty victory of our King.

Vs. 1:8 tells us what God wants us to understand about His character as far as Him being absolute, eternal, and encompassing all power. Jesus takeing upon Himself the same titles as the Father shows the glory, exaltation, and blessing of Christ by the Father. This is significant to our faith in salvation and to the belief in one equal Holy Trinity. I enjoy reading your resposes, so thank you.

1) The theme of testimony and witness is important to encourage a persecuted church in order to reaffirm to them the truth of their faith and the blessings recieved through perseverance. I imagine intense persecution would be imposible to endure with weak faith and the testimony of a faithful witness would be needed for encouragement. The author claims to be faithful in the testimony to the Word of God and of Christ "to all that he saw". The early church must have held the author to these standards or else the letter would not have been accepted as witness. 2) Christ as "the Faithful Witness" encourages us because of our belief in Him as Messiah, the truth in His teachings, and because of the persecution He endured on the cross and the victory that followed. 3) I believe it is only an intense fear of man that keeps us from being "clear witnesses". In the U.S. we are not physically persecuted though we are judged constantly in an extreemly worldly culture. Many times it is my own sin and actions which don't bear true witness and I think that is what our society sees and judges. "Hypocrites" they say and I'm afraid they are right alot of times. I need to remember that it is Christ's testimony I need be witness of and not Tony's. I don't agree with knocking on people's door to evangelize, but when it hapened to me just yesterday morning ( 1st time in 5 years) I was impressed with the ability of the two women at my door to supress this fear of man. Even though I politly made it clear that I don't agree or for that matter understand their doctrine or theology, they praised God for leading them to at least one person with interest in the bible. I belive the Lord showed me in them the ability to overcome this fear in order to strengthen my testimony.