3511	Forums / Theology Forum / Re: Cursing Legalism	on: April 30, 2010, 01:04:55 PM
Quote True freedom for the believer is like a cross to a vampire (almost literally) to even the most nominal nomian. A declaration of utter "no confidence" in their own faculties to save them is something that is so repulsive to them that they will embark on incorporating the most subtle threads of self-effort into the gospel of pure grace. That nomian does not know that he or she courts his/her own destruction - at least in the sense of all peace and joy if he/she is a believer. Absolutely correct TB.... Ive been thinking about the Apostle Paul and his whole theology of the self. Because it is as you say through and through. If you remember that Paul and Barnabas had a disagreement and they parted ways over John Mark. I think Paul had a terrible problem with himself in this area. I believe this had to do with his thorn in the flesh. God dealt with this problem of his impatience with people through a lot of physical suffering and then placed him in confinement in order to focus on writing. But it has been through much mediation of the trying to understand the psyche of a regenerate person who is struggling with himself and how it is different in each individual. I think Barnabas acted correctly by coming to John Marks defense and encouraging him back to confidence. This is what i think Paul was thinking about when he discussed the power of the flesh and that he did not do what he wanted to do. If you think about what it is that makes a man betray another man .... that is the most powerful tool of evil. It is rejecting something in Gods people that is entirely forbidden in scripture. This is why the Psalmist experienced so much pain.  This is how the  whole psyche of the grace paradigm degenerates into the experience of scorn in the experience of pain. A man can endure physical pain but rejection is that art of denial of grace in a betrayal of a person. This is what produces the pain of the mind. "Look at the rejection that i experienced in putting confidence in the flesh!" It was almost like a divided psyche. But a person who understands the importance of grace will understand the physiological effects in a deep sense of experiencing pain in the confusion of a love hate connection to grace and subsequent human connection. This is why the apostle applied his own struggle as not doing what he wanted to do because he was a law unto himself. The thorn was his propensity to be a law unto himself.  Because the law produces death as he said. It produced death so that sin was given its power to produce pain. The apostle was deeply aware of this powerful struggle. This is a realistic application. The apostle was the chief Pharisees. Not only did he have a vast knowledge of the law but he applied it evenly against Gods people. hehe. Now when he had the Damascus experience all of this intelligence and application came crashing down so that he probably had a deeper sense of denial of all the reality of Christ acceptance of His people...than Peter did. Seeing how he reacted to Peters hypocrisy. This was the defining struggle that made the apostle have such a realistic production of the doctrine of sin and the flesh in his the Romans epistle. A man who understands himself will understand how to be enlivened in seeing himself in the mirror. It is a master piece of super naturalistic humanity. The apostle knew Psalms 119 backwards and forwards. This is why we must understand how to apply these doctrines of grace through humanity. These doctrines are the very answers to the deepest areas of the soul. Its not just a method to produce a healthy outlook. Its understanding God and then understanding ourselves. Or its a realistic understanding of these meta physical powers.
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3512  Forums / Main Forum / Re: The New Agenda Driven Pastors of Today on: April 29, 2010, 03:16:27 PM Quote from: Kings_kid on April 29, 2010, 12:50:33 PM It sounds like there is some "history" of conflict here that doesn't need to be revived.  But, then, maybe a revival is exactly what we need.  And a refocus away from the divisions toward the Lord Logos, living and written.  Only He is our Source of unity, not denominations, church groups, doctrines, buildings or institutions. mbG:  "The house of worship is Gods house." K_k:  Here's a case in point, if i may, mbG.  No offense intended, just showing what i mean.  When we focus on a physical place or building or cathedral or whatever, as God's house we are correct in a limited sense but in a sense that divides us from other peoples' places of worship.  If we look closely as Scripture we get a different focus. "But Christ is faithful as a son over God's house. And we are his house, if we hold on to our courage and the hope of which we boast."  Hebrews 3:6 "...you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood..."  1 Peter 2:5 When we elevate our particular place of worship, and our particular "priests" (whether a protestant or catholic pastor), we move off the centrality of the Bible regarding our bodies being part of the house of God, that we are the temple of the Holy Spirit, that we are all priests of our Dad if we have Christ living in and through us. "Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own?"  1 Corinthians 6:19 We have a tendency as humans to look on the outward and see differences.  But He looks on the heart and sees unity in Christ, when we are His. Kk the context in the NT sense... of the Church is always local. There are some qualifications of exactly what makes up a church.There is also a universal church ... made up of all the christians world wide. There is a balance here because of the nature of the church as it expresses itself through a doctrinal approach in how relationships are to be encouraged in this grace of the gospel that the apostle is discussing. The church is a place where there are distinct doctrines that are agreed upon. Although the apostle presents this learning process in its application as predominately a work of God on the individual hearts. So there is a balance between growing in knowledge and the expression of it being worked out in these relationships. This is all guided by being loved because there are a lot of different people from different cultures. I think the problems come when we force something into the situation that is not spiritually good. It is impossible for a human being to accomplish all of the commands as an example for the whole church. This is why the church is not mainly and institution. I mean we are always moving along with the tendency to maintain unity by placing burdens on people where they are not prepared to be weighted down. We are always in danger of neglecting what seems to be the lesser things for the visible things to move things along. This is why the church is an organism and not a social club. We are exalting means that the world despises as the way to maturity. Instead of telling people what to do .. we become the means for them to grow. We become the vessels of grace in matters of encouragement.. carrying each others burdens... praying for one another ... speaking to one another in psalms ... hymns and spiritual songs. In other words even our language towards one another is odd in the worlds sense.  It reminds me of the first nt church . Christ was going to ascend into heaven and He told them to wait for the Spirit. But its interesting that He did not tell them to go out and win the world. But He told them to wait for the power! He told them to tarry in Jerusalem and pray. So the first church meeting was a prayer meeting. So they were praying for power from on high... they were not going to depend upon their own efforts to spread the gospel. This is why they did not just go to their houses and wait for the Spirit. They were taught that prayer moves things. And then you have this unity. It was the origins of this purity of the gospel. It was what they had learned about the word and the Spirit. They were meeting daily for prayer. And then the Holy Spirit fell on them and they were all filled with joy and began to speak in different languages. Later on in the book of acts they prayed and then they spoke the word of God boldly. They did not trust their own methods. They waited for power from on High. Reply Quote Notify

3513  Forums / Theology Forum / Re: Cursing Legalism on: April 29, 2010, 11:39:33 AM I am as passionate to the destruction of everything that does not glorify God as i am to every thing that is saving and graceful in this world. I am just as angry in my disposition of the things of dominance in this world as i am in love with the freedom of the gospel. This is way to big for me so i am a fake. Some times i feel tossed around and unable to come to a resolution. God seems to be asleep and unwavering in His comfort to me. He makes me feel like a complete fake. I find that i get warn out trying to find Him. Plus i am subject to being so depressed and burdened that i cant get a day of peace. Not only that but then i have my really tough sins to deal with. And it only becomes more of a struggle cause i cant control how other peoples choices have brought me personal grief and anguish. Oh how this life is full of sorrow and grief! You know i cant do this thing without some kind of act i put up. If i listen to a teacher then i think i am just a fake and then i am acting again. Then i find that thinking of myself is more of a fools game. How can anything happen in this world to bring comfort accept a temporary escape to pleasure that mask pain for a time? You know? God hears me! Like when i complain to others and they say I hear you! Thank God that He doesnt act like the world is a stage! Let me go fake it cause i am human. Theres only one hope not to have a fake that is outside of Jesus. Yes completely accepted. Nothing i devise can make it different. Remove Reply Quote Notify

3514  Forums / Theology Forum / Re: Romans and the Flesh Monster. on: April 29, 2010, 11:12:41 AM I was listening to someone speaking over either the computer or the radio who said when we are confessing sin we are not to ask for anything accept forgiveness. Wow.... that is not what our purpose for seeking our Father is all about. Who cares if we feel like righteous and clean people! We are not out of a state of corruption at any time. We are not able to understand our own corruption and the level of self deception. Thats why we believe in inability. We come to God because He gave us everything we need. He sought us out and we were subdued by His love. He gave us His will and told us to fight for our causes. Not one of us can deny God because God cannot deny Himself! Listen we never come to a position of deserving anything we ask for by our obedience! We live in a continual state of grace in order for us to receive more grace and power. We are hooked up to a power source and He determines when we are weak and at what we are going to be weak at. The enemies of our world are those voices of self confidence and self determined scoffing. We cannot scoff or threaten because of Him. Our complaints are already satisfied in Him in our weakness for Him to give us more than we could ask or think. The rest of the world who uses the same language we do are seen as opposing God and His people.  We are most confident when we have a renewed power from on high as a new infusion of grace and power. We live in confession of our own weaknesses so that His power might be displayed in us.  When we come before our Father we come before the tribunal of God. We come to the King of the universe who has designed every particle .. every negative symbol of degeneration to its reality. We are only acceptable because we have an eternal High Priest and Prophet King as our representative and substitution. We are accepted fully by this identification. This is why we can say something and it will happen. If we were in some way unworthy at any time then we could never say a thing that would matter. But because our Father promises to listen to our cries then the universe really is not enforced individualism by one standard of conduct. But it is our own expression of what we say in light of Gods willing it to be said that matters. We have no confidence as sinners before a Holy God. The only confidence we have is as righteous because of Christ. So that we find our struggle with sorrow in this world to be in this matter of faith and assurance. This is why the christian life is not a search for acceptance but an endurance of sorrow and a renewed desire to have joy overcome sorrow. We are all cheerleaders for one another. Our confessing sin is for the purpose of asking. We have all of these things at all times in our use of our words as the representing of the cries of our hearts as the most personal qualifications of our identity in this new world. The rest is just negative religious formalism.    Reply Quote Notify

3515  Forums / Theology Forum / Re: A Quote on Grace and Free Will... Discuss on: April 29, 2010, 10:31:55 AM The most damaging things we do to others is by our lack of our understanding of the will. Men design their society of a kind of fantasy image of real people by their lack of biblical influence because of their natural tendencies to self deception. This is why the universe is made up of scoffers and saints. Because the universe is fixed in two ways. There is a meta physical set of principles that govern all of these individual motives to connect people. This is not a simplified call out of desperation. This is really a universe where connection to others is marked by blindness ... motives of self serving... a denial of the reality of a universe of glory and praise... and misunderstanding about the nature of personal sin and pain. The world is among the flesh and the devil as the meta physical imagination. This is why our enemies are not physical. They are the realities of fallen men. Or they are the doctrines of demons. If God were to reveal all of the motives of men in our universe we would be driven to madness. But God sometimes lets us feel the evils of our own hearts as well as the corruption of this world in order to save us from trusting in these meta physical doctrines. We are driven into the arms of our loving heavenly Father. Because of the nature of declension there are always repercussion of a society that moves from a patriarchal to a public society of checks and balances. These evolving checks and balances are images of demon doctrines. They give man the illusion that the main things are not the established natural out workings of real causes. It is sort of changing ones name to identify with an authority figure. There is ultimately only one authority and if He is rejected then the foundations of patriarchal freedom is replaced by a mans system. The checks and balances form a distance from the way God designed nature. It is the self reflection of bondage and destruction. We are people who have deeper longings than trusting in these foundations that have been covered over. It is because we have not glorified God and enjoyed Him that we have no more foundations. No matter how destructive the spirit of the devil is we still have a Father in heaven who will keep us in His loving and kind mercies and graces.     Reply Quote Notify

3516  Forums / Main Forum / Re: The New Agenda Driven Pastors of Today on: April 29, 2010, 09:52:27 AM The main things are the plain things that must be understood and made to motivate these situations and then it goes down hill from there. All the leaders are subject to Christ. He is the Lord of the church. The house of worship is Gods house. We all meet at Gods house as equals. So that personalities... personal agendas... and preferences take a back seat to unity. I am not talking about agreement on the essentials here. Then there is also a sense of fitting in. Its like meeting a girl for the first time. You are testing the relationship and seeing if you have the same vision in life. This is why even if the church is orthodox you need to be discerning about its weaknesses as well as its strengths. Because everyone is required to be something instead of trying to design the process. If people do not understand who God is then they cannot understand who they are in how they fit in. All of the coming together of the motives of spiritual wholeness come to a person in the spirit of love and acceptance. It is the language of a the great Shepherd. We cannot possibly get along if there are unbelievers in positions of prominence. Most people do not have the understanding to look at the dynamic of the church and move in to bring the true spiritual healing. They are there to hurt people in moving them into a moralistic universe of checks and balances by trying to fix them. Religion has destroyed more people than the bars. People become experts in their ability and are not smart enough to understand what they are doing in their own power. That is why this whole community must be about having the controlling factor of their lives in the use of the means. Because men are naturally foolish and self serving. It comes down to the way a man speaks. Every word must be doctrinally sound and given to sooth, free, and fan the flame of the gifts of the other people. But if you are in a situation where that is not the focus then it will be a matter of conflict with the motives and direction of fleshly men. The reason that there is no unity is because men to not consider the evils of their own hearts. They live their lives trying to change others by a moral principle truth that they do not even practice. Every time you point a finger at someone else you have five fingers pointed at you. Every time you destroy someone to heal them then you are hiding something that you have no ability to deal with as well. Everyone has a breaking point. A place that you must not go. Thats why Calvinism is so important. Because a man who is a novice will look at these things in just a horizontal fashion and he will be taking out of the spiritual process for many years because He did not keep to the narrow road of refuge theology. Satan wants us to do things without prayer, without God , and without understanding so that he can tempt us to fall or cause others to fall. This is not for the faint of heart. It doesnt matter how much a teacher knows... how well he is liked. Be careful and do not buy the whole product they are selling.  Reply Quote Notify

3517  Forums / Current Events / Re: Not Wild Kingdom on: April 27, 2010, 04:50:22 PM http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/2949640/Noahs-Ark-found-in-Turkey.html  Couldnt resist on my sabbatical . Reply Quote Notify

3518  Forums / Theology Forum / Re: A Quote on Grace and Free Will... Discuss on: April 27, 2010, 08:03:58 AM This will be a good discussion.... taking some time off.. i ll be bock. Reply Quote Notify

3519  Forums / Prayer Requests / Please pray for my church... Avalon Presby PCA on: April 25, 2010, 08:24:29 PM This church is Spirit filled. There is such a sweet worship and its really good preaching as well. Pray that we can grow and we can get a Pastor. This is a very loving church.    Reply Quote Notify

3520  Forums / Main Forum / Re: Love People/Use Things on: April 25, 2010, 03:11:23 PM Quote from: another beloved child of HIS on April 25, 2010, 02:49:46 PM I don't believe I have ever felt vengeful hate in my life as I have in the last couple months. To my horror, I find my mind dreaming of the evil things I could do to strike back at the people who hurt my child and my grandchild.  Mean, evil, life changing attacks... Usually when I snap out of my haze, the Lord runs some bible verse or application of one across the eyes of my mind..."Vengeance is my says the Lord."  "Pray for those who are evil and who you don't like."  "Pray for those who attack you."  "Trust in the Lord." But the blaze rekindles its self.  And God's love intervenes and puts my heart back where it belongs.  Loving someone, just as hating someone takes time and energy.  True loving takes time, energy and God. Love is underrated. It is not easy. These are very difficult days. A lot of people together feeling the pressure of unemployment... and financial melt down. I dont think we have experienced this in a few generations. It was so devastating on the silent generation that they were bound and determined to save every penny cause of the scars. When things are going good theres more fight in everyone. But when things get difficult to desperate then there is disillusionment. But this is how humanity is all the time. We just use things for comfort. How do you deal with all of this societal anxiety? Well one thing is to see that its not just your situation but its a whole big problem. Its like 50 percent divorce rate. The married 50 percent did not need to endure the fall out  of the other 50. But there comes a time where all these things begin to affect all the people. They have kids who are in need of a lot of support and then these kids have kids who need even more emotional support. So it gets draining. A lot of the hate is because we are used to having things go smoothly. So we get frustrated and then we react to every one else. I guess we got to lower our standards of success at this point. Just enjoy the time off... and try to be thankful for the smallest things. It may get a lot worse. We got to learn to be content. This is suffering. And then try to develop a prayer life so that you can have assurance that God is doing exactly what needs to be done at this time. There are reasons that we do not know about. God is always faithful and loving. It will draw people closer. Reply Quote Notify

3521  Forums / Key Life Forum / Re: The Wrath of God - Q&A 10/24/08 on: April 25, 2010, 01:58:13 PM Quote from: Kings_kid on April 25, 2010, 12:59:49 PM In the parable of Lazarus and the rich man (Luke 16:19-31), it is easy to forget Jesus is speaking a parable, not teaching doctrine.  If we look at the verses preceding we see He has been giving a series of parables. Next, we notice the primary message He is teaching, which is His summary.  'If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.'  He is pointing out that people who claim to be followers of Moses, and the Prophets, believe neither if they reject the One Who raises the dead (including Himself). Then we might want to see what condition He is referring to in the parable.  It would have to be before the Resurrection and Judgment, since the rich man asks that his brothers be warned so that they won't have to come to the place he is in. So this is not a teaching about eternal torture, as some would make it, but a parable about a waiting state before the Resurrection. mbg: "Thats awfully mean of Abraham... but it shows how impossible salvation is without being regenerated." K_k:  It does indicate the impossibility of salvation without believing fully in Christ but i don't think it is "mean of Abraham".  He is just describing what is true.  No? The parable is talking about a moral equation eternal suffering in hell = the hoarded good things (as a rebellion to Christ eternal goodness)a pagan receives in this life. That is a reality. If you take the value out of either side of the equation you strip the parable of its truthfulness. mbg: "Thats awfully mean of Abraham... but it shows how impossible salvation is without being regenerated." This was my sarcasm  Reply Quote Notify

3522  Forums / Theology Forum / Re: Reformed Doctrine on: April 25, 2010, 01:42:55 PM Quote from: Kings_kid on April 25, 2010, 01:33:48 PM K_k:  Atonement <==> Reconciliation. mbg:  "Where does it say that reconciliation is made complete by our acceptance? " K_k:  God has already done His part of reconciliation, in Christ's death on the Cross.  Now we are to accept that Gift or it is not ours. "God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation. Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ’s behalf, be reconciled to God."  2 Corinthians 5:19-20 No acceptance <==> Incomplete reconciliation <==> No at-one-ment with God through Christ "Be reconciled" is what we are to implore.  That involves choice. These verbs are past tense...Christ reconciled -point in time ...not impute...has committed to us  There is only three ways we can go in these verb connections. We can say that world means the entire world ..thus He did not impute every persons sins against them... or we can say that impute sins needs to have the idea that a mans choice determines it... but that is not in the context ... nor would it support the pass tense verb as an actual substitution.. or we can say that world means all those who have not had their sins imputed to them .. .thus it would be a real reconciliation in the past and we could trust that Christ was a full substitute and not a shared substitute with our ability. This is talking about a real substitution. The difference in the subsequent message is not "if you believe" but through the reconciliation we have received...it has already been accomplished for those who receive it.     Remove Reply Quote Notify

3523  Forums / Theology Forum / Re: Counseling and how to deal with it. on: April 25, 2010, 10:23:33 AM There are things that should never be spoken about in the presence of other people. The apostle tells us that these kinds of sins that are done in the past in which they would defile others in the describing them are to be dealt with in the gospel. This is why a persons dealings with men close to them or in an authority position in a family or a public place think things that should never be entertained. That is how they spread this defilement in communication. I cannot understand how someone could subject themselves to this kind of spilling these defilement's receiving this at their own spiritual harm. I mean those things that we allow to enter our minds will disrupt our personal experience with these doctrines of grace. Its like a person who engrosses themselves in novels. The corruption of constant communication of someone else s lust and greed at the expense of their own souls. In fact their minds get so full of other peoples reprobate thoughts that they no longer are able to teach the doctrines of grace. They have so much clutter in these things that they appear to have a very social life but its inoculated from real religious connections. A person who participates in this behavior learns to expect the church experience to not be as deep and good as his emotional baggage from sharing all of these destructive ideas that he has learned. In fact this is what makes a person divided as a worshiper of God. You observe the end of this and you will find this confusion is in that worship ability. This is why we should be in the business of protecting our minds first. Because we live in a community that has a collective mind. We experience these things of grace when we cast down imaginations that exalt themselves against the knowledge of God ... but at the same time we do not attempt to destroy the weak in an effort to uproot the false. This is why everyone is at a different level in trying to stay on this path. The hardest ... i think in our own strength it is impossible is to hold our position in Calvinism. Every sin is a departure in some ways or it is an erosion of our conviction of Gods sovereignty. Strength is not in a false unity. Strength starts from the leadership and it infects the whole congregation. The spirit of legalism is in that lack of strength to place that in Gods hands to be accomplished in His time. Most men step down from these doctrines at the first trial. It is weak minded people who should never attempt to be leaders. We must be about healing in a worship way. We must not attempt to place the focus of counsel away from the gathering of saints and the private worship of these same people. Do not allow yourselves to be deceived.   Remove Reply Quote Notify

3524  Forums / Main Forum / Re: Divorce on: April 25, 2010, 09:12:04 AM Quote from: The G Man on April 25, 2010, 08:42:57 AM Quote from: mybigGod on April 25, 2010, 08:15:24 AM But then you have two believers. This is what makes a marriage a complete connection. Because marriage is a covenant between to people.. just as God makes a covenant in salvation. It is possible for two people to know how God loves them in covenant. That is what frees people to get along. I personally think that is a religious fantasy. Some Christians are pretty secular and serve Jesus. Others are down right obsessive about it and refuse to accept anything less than the strictest beliefs and serve Jesus. Both are "believers" and serve Jesus according to their strengths, weaknesses and their personality type. If those two people got married, I am sure that there would be plenty of problems and the marriage might even end in divorce. Some "covenants" should never be made and some promises can't be kept, even between "believers". G... I know you have no understanding.. i mean in a personal sense... but we believe that the Lord delivers us from every trial. We believe that He is our only defense. Thats why all of what we say is in His language. People are on one side or the other. Some people are saying You trust in the Lord? Let the Lord deliver you... sarcasm... so it leaves us to have a strong faith. We look at things as He will act in the future on our behalf. So our natural response is ... G.. you got to be kidding... get with the real world.  Reply Quote Notify

3525	Forums / Main Forum / Re: Divorce	on: April 25, 2010, 08:15:24 AM
I find you have your controlling types who are concerned about the mechanics of the marriage and the discipline. Then you have the compliant types who are concerned about feelings.. equality... and keeping the peace. Now if both are unsaved then they will make trade offs in their own minds in a way to compromise. Cause everyone tends to exaggerate ...in the most close connection. Its a matter of getting a person to blow off some steam than go to sensitive areas and increase the pressure in the marriage. People are human beings. Stay away from the scrupulous behavior experts...my point. But then you have two believers. This is what makes a marriage a complete connection. Because marriage is a covenant between to people.. just as God makes a covenant in salvation. It is possible for two people to know how God loves them in covenant. That is what frees people to get along. If you have a non believer and a believer then its going to be a lot of compromise and boundaries. Because how can two people walk together unless they agree? Speaking of these fundamental issues of the faith. One partner has God as Father... the other partner has Satan as father. So the loves are going to create all kinds of convergences. Unless of course you put your head in the sand. Which some people can do. Let me say this... i am not trying to put people in a box i am not talking about everyone is this category. But i think first born husbands are the most obnoxious partners because they have qualities that are not initially produced in a christian sense. These qualities of Gods people are passive in nature. As i have said ...marriage is about decreasing the pressure not increasing it. Its averse to a relationship to be overly social... overly political... overly demanding...overly focused on people and not on the mortification responsibilities-over looking sins in others... try to get a first born to sit and meditate for awhile. gezzzz.... these are all qualities of anger if taken to an extreme. But if a person is thoughtful ... not aggressive... does not talk bad about the other partner in a public sense (i mean you got to blow of some steam with someone) ... is easily compliant... gives respect for feelings when it is not deserved ...and leaves other responsibilities to focus on heart work then they are chided... told to get with it. etc.Look i would not talk yourself out of the importance of these qualities.. this is what conviction is all about.  The whole point is that the kingdom of God is upside down. Thats why you cant fake horizontal relationships if the vertical is not there. 3527  Forums / Current Events / Re: Not Wild Kingdom on: April 24, 2010, 10:41:35 PM Quote from: Kings_kid on April 24, 2010, 10:18:48 PM Wow, great battle in the wildlife video.  And i happened to notice that it had over 52 million viewers.  I can see why. And the space shots are fantastic!  It's also amazing looking the other way, instead of outer, to inner space.  Ever see the movie "Unlocking the Mystery of Life"?  It has some really excellent 3D-like computer simulations of the workings of the cell mechanisms.  If anything should help an atheist see the impossibility of life evolving by sheer chance, it would be that production. Thanks Kk hope all is well... i will look into that film. Reply Quote Notify 3528  Forums / Theology Forum / Re: Counseling and how to deal with it. on: April 24, 2010, 10:37:57 PM http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=42010183282  Wow... i am going to listen to this one again.... Remove Reply Quote Notify 3529  Forums / Politics Forum / Re: Repentance as a Nation on: April 24, 2010, 10:13:41 PM http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/04/24/AR2010042401125.html This is an awful story.... there is a dark cloud over our country i think. In my time on this earth i have not seen it this desperate in our country... we need to be patient ... maybe better days are ahead.  This caught my eye. pg 3 "Her message to those who seek help: "It's OK to be upset over things that have happened in the war. It's OK to have anger stemming from that, but you need to learn how to modulate that when you get home." Reply Quote Notify 3530  Forums / Key Life Forum / Re: The Wrath of God - Q&A 10/24/08 on: April 24, 2010, 09:44:51 PM Kk what about this passage? The Rich Man and Lazarus Luke 16 19"There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and lived in luxury every day. 20At his gate was laid a beggar named Lazarus, covered with sores 21and longing to eat what fell from the rich man's table. Even the dogs came and licked his sores.  22"The time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham's side. The rich man also died and was buried. 23In hell,[c] where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side. 24So he called to him, 'Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire.'  25"But Abraham replied, 'Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in agony. 26And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, so that those who want to go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to us.'  27"He answered, 'Then I beg you, father, send Lazarus to my father's house, 28for I have five brothers. Let him warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment.'  29"Abraham replied, 'They have Moses and the Prophets; let them listen to them.'  30" 'No, father Abraham,' he said, 'but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.'  31"He said to him, 'If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.' " Thats awfully mean of Abraham... but it shows how impossible salvation is without being regenerated. Reply Quote Notify 3531  Forums / Theology Forum / Re: What is legalism? on: April 24, 2010, 06:36:57 PM You can build a healthy environment with well balanced people that is totally reprobate. You can teach people that sin is just a word for communication in relationships. And good behavior that is required is taking out the garbage... getting the roses.. going to work.. etc. And you can tell people that all is required is to live a peaceable life in all godliness. That the church will take care of the mental part. You can say that if a person gets two jobs that it will be good to give to the church. Believers give the answers of what they have been taught. This is secondary to all of the important things. Because real health is acquiring knowledge out of a pleasure in the pursuit. A man will not be totally satisfied if he is not a peace with his knowledge of God. Every person on this earth has been given a gift to glorify God and enjoy Him forever. And when it becomes personal then they in turn effect that by telling it to others. Then God promises to take care of all of the relational problems... the church problems and the financial issues. But when you get one person who lives a religious life and who demands that God give them food... a good husband or wife... a nice bed to sleep in and some good children who do not talk back then you have relationship problems. Because the kingdom of God is backwards in the sense i was just saying.  Remove Reply Quote Notify 3532  Forums / Theology Forum / Re: Cursing Legalism on: April 24, 2010, 05:18:59 PM cont from above. This is why spiritual leadership is so difficult. Cause there are some people that you want to encourage enough to give them rope to sin in learning the freedom that is necessary to find a sense of Gods acceptance. But there is no group y friendship requirements. We are all things to all men. Dont let leadership be one of getting these ideas from a mans principles. But learn the language of your own heart and then wait to find like minded people. Dont  let people rush you and bully you. Go at a pace that you are always comfortable with in looking into these truths. God will do the work in you. Remove Reply Quote Notify 3533  Forums / Theology Forum / Re: Cursing Legalism on: April 24, 2010, 03:36:24 PM I think i have expressed in the past about my propensities to feel things in situations and to kind of wear my feelings on my shoulders. I consider this a real struggle. Because i can pick up on things with people and then i have a very hard time holding these things as well as keeping to a general lack of attention to detail for the sake of over looking things. So this internet writing is more toward my personal disposition. But if you are this kind of disposition then you are going to try to avoid people who say and do hurtful things. Which is totally christian. Ive learned to get freaked out at the odd communities. Because the world and some people are naturally tough in their general dispositions. This is why not everyone should want to be leaders. Because it is a soul kind of leadership. Spiritual leadership. So you naturally are a person who develops this rock solid interior about conviction of faith and a soft exterior in how you deal with people. But it is not about trying to be something that you have not experienced in your own life. This is inward reality. This is why things are a lot worse than people come off in public. And because some people are hands on people then that adds to their troubles as a highly emotional person. Because most people like the numbers and the paper work as the guide to do things with excellence. And people react to someone who does not attempt to live life like they do. So i will deal with the weak and emotional all my life i guess. I think there are a lot of broken reeds out there who are victims of the religious system. This is why i am telling you this so that you will not attempt to learn things like the majority of christian interaction. Because you will attempt something that will do you great harm. For your kind of approach you must begin with something that is attractive in the emotional exchange. Because you are motivated by the experience.That is a hands on person. In my particular situations it really does drive me crazy when people think i am not intellegent because i dont look at a paper or necessarily at the numbers. But trust me i am probably faster thinking than the paper pusher. Now i want to talk about this propensity to deal in a very negative environment. Because this is the most damaging society to our types. We feel everything twice as much as the other guy. This is why the law people are so destructive to our general approach to things. Because they have a propensity to judge us before we are able to get our hands on the society. We sort of move in and take over in small groups because we have all the answers for the personal stuff. This is why you should think deeply about king David. Because he was always going from being totally overcome with the emotion to praising God. He was a hands on leader. I love that guy. David can get into your heart and cause you to have a sense of these things that draws the spiritual motive to praise and focus in worship. This is why we need to be careful in dealing with people who are very harsh. (avoid them, we live in a spiritually sound community...) Let me let you in on a secret... ok... its not doctrinally correct to say that but when you are naturally timid then your self defacing teaches you to hold your anger in for the sake of feeling love all the time and trying to keep a lid on your emotional outburst. There are some people ... highly political types who will try to mold you into their world. But your confrontation out of a sense of your self conviction will protect you. This is how you become tough... You have the ability to go to God and take that anger to its end. You have the ability to release it better than the solid types. As i have said its getting your hands on it ....all the way through.  And you will find after you have pushed your self to express your anger before God that you experience an emotional release.  The psalms are the best method... God can do some very harsh things to people who are bullies.. to protect you. This will expand your thinking world in a desire to get more information. It really is meditation that is our best practice tho. Every christain has a natural way of motive. Its an art form. I will get in someones face and tell them i will not be motivated by anger and trying to push my buttons.  Ok... your issues are not deep psychological problems. See the modern day understanding of the nature of sin and the level of the communication it takes to influence the motives in the soul is really lacking. Men do not study these things any more. So most of the situations that we come into are motivated by control mechanisms. The bible wants us to dig deep into the art of communication in the meta physical sense. Its not observing our belly buttons but its understanding the level of evil in the communications that have an inflection of good. Because men are like two kids fighting. They will use methods that look acceptable to scratch out the eyes. The reason that people are held in bondage is because the leadership has not gone to the end of all of these communications in their own hearts. Do not believe all this political meanderings we have today. It is because men do not apply themselves to heart issues. This is why we become trapped in someones political scheme. Because we do not see the danger that results from sin. We just assume that when we come into a situation that everything is being run by principle. But we are dealing with our own survival in opening up our hearts to fully worship God by understanding the propensities to view these things in our imaginative principles about the good of mans intentions. This is why it is so important for us to take these doctrines and drive them in the Psalmist way down into our hearts so that our experience will be real.     Remove Reply Quote Notify 3534  Forums / Current Events / Re: Not Wild Kingdom on: April 24, 2010, 12:50:40 PM http://www.hubblesite.org/newscenter/archive/releases/2010/13/full/   A look through the telescope outside our universe. How anyone can conclude there is no God is beyond me. One day we will have access to the heavens... wow.. couldnt really imagine that physical image in these pictures. Click on the image. And then click on the zoom profile. Reply Quote Notify 3535  Forums / Theology Forum / Re: Undermining Grace-The Bully Syndrome on: April 24, 2010, 11:29:27 AM I am getting all kinds of illumination. There are two ways that God speaks to me. I really believe that when the Shepherd says My sheep here my voice and they follow me ... that it is in two ways. It is in direct communication with people and it is a communication of a proposition to the mind as an inward action ... so that there is kind of an indirect spiritual mystery in the moment of the word said. And in the reflection through more illumination it is revealed to a person as to why he would apply that proposition at that time. Ive had deeper conversations sometimes with unorthodox people because they have been saved to understand this single purpose. Although they have not been given enough knowledge to be free in all that they say. Then there is the hand of God .. a kind of pressure that He apply s in these situations. Because a man who understands sovereign grace also understands the spiritual dimension of free acts in the working out of this grace. It definitely is not two line theo. A mind that thinks thoughts after God as a matter of practice is one who is described in scripture as the sheep that hear His voice. This is a world where we find men by name only with authority that God has not given them. The world is practicing authority in the system of thought that is anti God. This is why there are so many deceptions in the system of man. The Lord tells us that there is only one way. And we cannot produce a system that makes it equal to that way. Because we live in a world where there is on the one hand an image of the imagination of men and on the other hand a deception in authority. This is why the world is not only under sin but it is cursed. A man is cursed with the vile spirit of the god of this world. God is the one who holds people in common grace from producing a dominance that would destroy this generation. But one man who is in power can bring down a nation. Because all expression of authority is spiritual ... the apostle warns people about adding to the gospel. He not only warns them but He says that curses are for those who uphold power structures that dominate the poor and the oppressed.  This is why i am not just leery of prosperity gospel. But there is also a danger of two line. Because God controls a mans destiny. He puts one man down and He raises one man up. He controls not only the structure of religion but He controls the amount of oppression as a result of men suppression of the gospel.  God brings men down on His time table and who can thwart His will? So that men can for a time practice religious professionalism and become schooled in more choices but when the disaster comes they are left holding onto all of the things that they have ordered in their own self religious systems.  The gospel is a distinct voice. It starts with the man who thinks thoughts after God. It is the only mark of a true sheep. A man may know orthodoxy and quote verbatim but He has no illumination from God. Because this man has lived in the books and not in the illumination of his mind in the real book. This is what makes a man faultless. It is not a mans sins, not his position, and not his possessions. Its simply being connected to the communication of God and having a growing desire to love God. That is what makes a man legally righteous. Its receiving these things that are too big to learn in wasting away the hours. These are gifted in the focus. God is the only one who cause men to find themselves in the direct circumstances that they are in at all times. Each moment God is saying to men... "who are you to talk back to God?" I bring one down and set one up!   Remove Reply Quote Notify 3536  Forums / Theology Forum / Re: Undermining Grace-The Bully Syndrome on: April 23, 2010, 06:19:13 PM When we are thinking about self denial we must fully apply the doctrines of grace in this way of living with our own weakness as human beings. This is why coming to the end of ones self is seeing the true nature of how powerful the law is to produce death. It is not a wrestling match to produce more obedience. It is not directly wrestling with a sin. It is no calling on people to hold someone accountable so that they will be watched about their sin. These thoughts are all secondary to personal experience. This is why it is darn near impossible to create a system of checks and balances because we are not dealing with personal appearance but we are what we experience through and through.  Let me apply these grace principles a bit. There are spiritual forces in this world. And these forces are familiar with a mans personal weaknesses. This is why Christ sweat drops of blood in the garden because He was wrestling with the devil as the perfect God-man. He offered up strong cries and petitions and was heard because of His humble submission. He was confronted by the accusations and destructive communication of the Devil. He always overcame it by quoting the word or bringing the doctrine to bear on the Devils proposition. But we who have a history of weakness that we are visited by in the sins of the fathers have a sort of familiar spirit. May i say that this is buttressed by trichotomy doctrines. The christian struggle is in the mind mainly. Most of the attacks that we endure are through evil and distressing thoughts. There are familiar spirits in this world. We are born into this world and live for about 70 yrs but the spirit realm has endured as long as the earth ... (i mean for the sake of my point here.. not talking about getting technical with the causes at this point)... they been there with our ancestors. Its just a logical deduction.  When we learn that there is nothing familiar in this world as an attachment then we are in the process of renewal. We become a new citizen of a new world. We are sojourners in this world. We are not of the earth or under the principles and power of man because we are body and spirit. Our natural process of loosing a sense of these experiences that the world offers are forever changed. But these evil spirits are very familiar with this world because there master is the prince and power of the air. They understand the nature of all of the powers of the flesh and the kinds of thinking patterns that have been developed in a particular family and cultural. When we are born again that process of familiarity of all of these sins ... family sins are broken. Now we have an ability to be raised from this world in newness of life or we can worship in a renewed fashion. We become unfamiliar with this world when we worship God correctly because we are spirit and body.There is no in between reality. This is why the principles of man that buttress this familiarity with the world in a religious fashion is so destructive to us. We have a whole life to experience a new way. We worship all the time. We focus on Christ and we begin to rejoice and open up to another world. This is why our battle with familiar spirits are broken with this kind of God sovereign power over us as we worship and we apply the means to our personal worship and prayer life. We lose our familiarity with our old earthly authority. This involves a core issue of faith. It involves our rejection of our former way of life. We are now building eternal convictions to replace old destructive patterns of thought. The more we stir up the gifts that are in us the more we are going to see these old powers dissipate. This is why we are dealing with an evil power that we cannot use human and fleshly methods to defeat. Every damning spirit is trying to force us to look away from Christ and look to men. But we must not only worship God but we must experience a high Calvinistic form of worship and we must learn that this other way is cursed. We must know how to come to God to extinguish the old ways of anger and learn how to be righteously indignant as it really is in this world. This whole process is learning how to identify subversive principles.      Remove Reply Quote Notify 3537  Forums / Theology Forum / Re: Praying in the Spirit on: April 22, 2010, 09:08:45 PM When we are praying in the Spirit we are letting our guard down so that we are being drawn into a communion of our souls with our Father. We find that this moving is more of a drawing by a love that is ready to receive all of our corruption. When we practice sin we bring our own fallen view into a relation with being received as a sinner. So on the one hand we grow desperate in feeling the sense of our weakness but on the other hand we fellowship with a Father who accepts us by being gracious enough to immunate His love and kindness into our souls and drawing us into a more passionate petition, This is finding that the Spirit is present in a personal communication of being along side of us. Our Father infuses us with His grace that has a baptized effect to petition with more focus. It is like the oil being poured over our heads and then it flows over our face and down onto our garments. We are moving into a closer reception of all of these communications of His person. This is why we have a sense of being a child who has this new innocence and those weights of the corruption of our mature corrupted thinking lose that participation that we have in our fellowship with how we view things as an adult. We become as free in our Fathers fellowship as a child asking for a gift. A child has no understanding about how difficult it is to obtain something. It is a pure faith whose end is to obtain these gifts. This is God stripping away all of our adult pretenses of how to obtain something through some fleshly wisdom. This is praying in the Spirit.     Remove Reply Quote Notify 3538  Forums / Theology Forum / Re: Romans Chapt. 5 commentary John Calvin on: April 22, 2010, 08:48:08 PM 10. This is an explanation of the former verse, amplified by introducing a comparison between life and death. We were enemies, he says, when Christ interposed for the purpose of propitiating the Father: through this reconciliation we are now friends; since this was effected by his death; much more influential and efficacious will be his life. 162162     “By his life,” the abstract for the concrete; it means, “through him being alive,” being at God’s right hand, having every power committed to him, and making intercession for us Romans 8:34. “Because I live, ye shall live also.” John 14:19. — Ed.   We hence have ample proofs to strengthen our hearts with confidence respecting our salvation. By saying that we were reconciled to God by the death of Christ, he means, that it was the sacrifice of expiation, by which God was pacified towards the world, as I have showed in the fourth chapter. But the Apostle seems here to be inconsistent with himself; for if the death of Christ was a pledge of the divine love towards us, it follows that we were already acceptable to him; but he says now, that we were enemies. To this answer, that as God hates sin, we are also hated by him his far as we are sinners; but as in his secret counsel he chooses us into the body of Christ, he ceases to hate us: but restoration to favor is unknown to us, until we attain it by faith. Hence with regard to us, we are always enemies, until the death of Christ interposes in order to propitiate God. And this twofold aspect of things ought to be noticed; for we do not know the gratuitous mercy of God otherwise than as it appears from this — that he spared not his only-begotten Son; for he loved us at a time when there was discord between him and us: nor can we sufficiently understand the benefit brought to us by the death of Christ, except this be the beginning of our reconciliation with God, that we are persuaded that it is by the expiation that has been made, that he, who was before justly angry with us, is now propitious to us. Since then our reception into favor is ascribed to the death of Christ, the meaning is, that guilt is thereby taken away, to which we should be otherwise exposed. Remove Reply Quote Notify 3539  Forums / Key Life Forum / Re: The Wrath of God - Q&A 10/24/08 on: April 22, 2010, 03:30:47 PM Quote Kk "God is love" will be seen both in the elimination of all sin and evil, and of all those who would rather die than live with Him forever, even as He has shown He would rather take on human form and die than live without us forever. Are you talking about alienation here or a literal hell? Reply Quote Notify 3540  Forums / Theology Forum / Re: Why do our opinions differ? on: April 22, 2010, 01:08:38 PM The reasoning is that a universe is causeless unless you have God. And if you have God then He must be God. If He is God then His word is absolutely sure and steadfast ... God never changes and no man can thwart His word. Because God is three in one then He is an image of Himself. And an expression of that image. Because all reality is the expression of His communication in a Trinitarian sense. Every spoken word of God is fully God in its image. Therefore God is His own end in all of the communication of reality. But we are sinful creatures who have no understanding of God apart from God revealing it to us. So we say that His word is self attesting. It stands by itself and the truth is in His truth. Because our reality is very narrow and we judge things based upon our own perception of self rule. We are little god makers.  But God has reveal some things that are plain to understand. Even a child could comprehend. That is salvation is through grace alone by faith alone in Christ alone. We have a layout of all of the plain things that are necessary to understand salvation as it is ongoing. Like justification by faith... sanctification...glorification...adoption... the five points of calvinism etc. We must distinguish between the things that are essential and the things that are mysterious. That is what defines our healthy view of this world.