| Author | Message | ||
| Janice (Janice) |
Eph 4:1 I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called, (This verse is admonishing us to answer the call to shine light into the darkness it is our vocation/job, so, I would like to open this thread up for discussion and ask for your input concerning what it means to be "ONE" in the Lord.) Eph 4:2 With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love; (If we truly love one another, this should lead us to be the watchman on the tower of Ezekiel 33 that is willing to sound the trumpet when we see the enemy approaching.) Eph 4:3 Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. (We should make every effort to keep peace among ourselves as the body of Christ but should never compromise with what we know is the truth.) This forum is more than just a place to tell our own individual stories, it is a place where we can all hopefully grow and help edify while sharing the gospel and giving our testimony, we are all unique and all have an opinion and to those who lurk in our midst in order to gender strife, I will state this--just because we voice that opinion doesn't mean that we are trying to "force" our opinions on anyone. I think that we should all bear in mind too that no one twisted our arms to make us join this forum nor is anyone here encouraging someone's visits to the forum that are only looking for something to find fault in and DEMANDING that they be heard even though they may have been banned, thus they feel a need to resort to "tattling" with emails. That is why I ask each of you that read my post to let me know if I should do some toning down, I welcome the opportunity to talk openly here, but if I am censored and banned at this forum, no one need to worry that I will start to harrass them with floods of email, I will do the ADULT thing and continue to grow in the Lord and pray for my enemies who seek to destroy me while allowing themselves to be used of Satan. If that is asking to be kicked off of this forum, then no need to beat around the bush, I will leave everyone alone and not make that statement only to come back in a day or two to say that NO I WON'T LEAVE YOU ALONE, praise God, I can live and let live to show that I still have my intregity intact. I am 51 years old, a growing Christian for 40 years and am a big girl that has learned to roll with the punches, no need to be a baby, amen? Ephesians 4:4 lists the seven unities, here they are to expound on: [There is] (1)one body, and (2)one Spirit, even as ye are called in (3)one hope of your calling; 4:5-(4)One Lord, (5)one faith, (6) one baptism, 4:6-(7)One God and Father of all, who [is] above all, and through all, and in you all. Verse 7 states that every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ. (We all have different talents, so, let's group together in the unity of the faith and share what the Lord has given us, amen? Janice | ||
| Janice (Janice) |
Unity #1: The unity of the BODY of Christ is expounded on in the book of Romans in chapter 12 and gives these thoughts beginning in verse 4: Rom 12:1-I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, [which is] your reasonable service. 2. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what [is] that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God. 3. For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think [of himself] more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith. 4. For as we have many members in one body, and all members have not the same office: 5. So we, [being] many, are ONE BODY in Christ, and EVERY ONE MEMBERS ONE OF ANOTHER. 6. Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, whether prophecy, [let us prophesy] according to the proportion of faith; 7. Or ministry, [let us wait] on [our] ministering: or he that teacheth, on teaching; 8. Or he that exhorteth, on exhortation: he that giveth, [let him do it] with simplicity; he that ruleth, with diligence; he that sheweth mercy, with cheerfulness. 9. [Let] love be without dissimulation. Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good. 10. [Be] kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honour preferring one another; 11. Not slothful in business; fervent in spirit; serving the Lord; 12. Rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation; continuing instant in prayer; 13. Distributing to the necessity of saints; given to hospitality. 14. Bless them which persecute you: bless, and curse not. 15. Rejoice with them that do rejoice, and weep with them that weep. 16. [Be] of the SAME MIND one toward another. Mind not high things, but condescend to men of low estate. Be not wise in your OWN conceits. 17. Recompense to no man evil for evil. Provide things honest in the sight of all men. 18. If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, LIVE PEACEFULLY WITH ALL MEN. 19. Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but [rather] give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance [is] mine; I will repay, saith the Lord. 20.Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head. 21. Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good. It is my belief that any group of religious gatherers that come together to worship God should consider these verses. We should also consider one another's weaknesses as well as our strengths and use the early church, found in the book of Acts, as a role model to follow in building up a fellowship of believers. I have asked for your opinions concerning the development of my web site but have received no responses, but I have been praying over the matter and feel that God is leading me to speak on grace and on the seven unities, so, maybe instead of trying to work on this thread in the forum, I will leave this open for others to comment on and go to my web site and work on it instead. I haven't decided yet, could be because I am not that proficient at the computer yet, if I should try to have an open forum or just simply have a testimonial page and let all those interested send me their personal testimonies to be posted at the site in the form of an e-mail so that I can edit it onto the page. God bless you all, Janice | ||
| Janice (Janice) |
Hi everyone, Thought I would give you another devotional to study. It isn't about the unities of the church, but rather than post in someone else's thread, here is the devotional. I enjoyed the symbolism of the message and hope you will too. Janice The Canaanites had held the fortified city of Jebus even after Joshua had conquered Canaan more than 400 years earlier. The Jebusites were so certain they were unconquerable that they ridiculed the [new] king and his men [who] went to Jerusalem (5:6). Nevertheless David took the strong hold of Zion: the same is the city of David (5:7). The conquest of Jerusalem was essential, since it was the chosen site for administration of the Kingdom and the Temple that would be the dwelling place of God. It is the only city in history about which God has declared: Jerusalem, the city [where] I have chosen . . . to put My Name (I Kings 11:36; see also 9:3, 14:21; II Kings 23:27; II Chronicles 6:6; 12:13; Nehemiah 1:9). This strong hold of the Jebusites is symbolic of strongholds which may lie deep within our hearts and minds and which may not be known to anyone, either by our conduct or in our conversation. They depict secret thoughts of lust, pride, envy, jealousy, and other things that keep Christ from becoming Lord of our lives. The secret strongholds may not conflict with giving the Lord our time, talents, or tithes and may seem insignificant to us, as harmless to serving Christ as the Jebusites were to Israel. How sobering to realize that there could never have been a Temple for the dwelling place of God in the place that He had chosen until the Jebusites, who held the central position in the Promised Land, were cast out. The CARNAL mind, with its physical IMPULSES (Romans 8:7-9; Colossians 2:18), secretly and subtly DEMANDS to remain within our hearts. However, we can, and must, CHOOSE to cast down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself AGAINST the knowledge of God . . . bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ (II Corinthians 10:5). | ||
| Janice (Janice) |
Hello everyone, I have started to edit the errors in doctrine and didn't realize how long the post would be, so, I have decided to break it down into separate posts with each cult's teachings, beginning with the teachings concerning God. This study was taken entirely from THE SPIRIT OF TRUTH AND THE SPIRIT OF ERROR, a pamphlet compiled by Keith L. Brooks and revised by Irvine Robertson: I will begin by saying what the Bible actually teaches about God and then post the errors in separate posts. TRUTH TAUGHT ABOUT GOD: PERSONALITY OF THE GODHEAD In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth (Genesis 1:1) He is God; there is none else beside him (Deuteronomy 4:35) God is a Spirit; and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth (John 4:24) For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man, Christ Jesus (I Timothy 2:5) GoÖand teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit (Matthew 28:19) Jesus was baptized: the Spirit descended; the Father spoke (Matthew 3:16-17) Come, let us go down, and there confound their language, that they may not understand one anotherís speech (Genesis 11:7) From the time that it was, there am I; and now the Lord God, and his Spirit, hath sent me (Isaiah. 48:16) cont'd | ||
| Janice (Janice) |
ERRORS TAUGHT BY CHRISTIAN SCIENCE ABOUT GOD: God is All-in-all (Science and Health, 113:16) God, Spirit, being all, nothing is matter (SH, 113:18) God is incorporeal, divine, supreme, infinite Mind Spirit, Soul, Principle, Life, Truth, Love (SH, 465:9) God is infinite, the only Life, substance, Spirit, or Soul. The only intelligence of the universe, including man (SH, 330:11) Life, Truth, and Love constitute the triune Person called GodóGod the Father-Mother; Christ the spiritual IDEA of worship; Divine Science or the Holy Comforter (SH, 331:26-31) God is ìthe ever-present, I am, filling all space, including in itself all Mind, the one Father-Mother Godî (M.B. Eddy. Rudimentary Divine Science, pp. 3.26; 4:1) The theory of three persons in one God (that is, a personal Trinity or Tri-unity) suggests polytheism, rather than the one everpresent I am (SH, 256:9-11) cont'd | ||
| Janice (Janice) |
Statement by Spiritualists: Spiritualism is the science, philosophy, and religion of continuous life, based upon the demonstrated fact of communication, by means of mediumship, with those who live by the spirit world. ERRORS TAUGHT BY SPIRITUALISM ABOUT GOD: Infinite intelligence pervades and controls the universe, is without shape or form, and is impersonal, omnipresent, and omnipotent. It teaches that the spark of divinity dwells in all (ìWhat Spiritualism Is and Doesî, Spiritualist Manual, 1940) The doctrine of the trinity seems to have no adherents in advanced circles of the spirit world. The divinity of Christ as a co-equal with the Father is universally DENIED. A spiritualistic hymnal (a spin-off of the Christian song ìJust As I Amî) Just as I am, nor poor, nor blind, Not bound by chains in soul or mind For all of Thee within I find O God of Love, I come, I come cont'd | ||
| Janice (Janice) |
ERRORS TAUGHT BY JEHOVAHíS WITNESSES ABOUT GOD Godís personal name is Jehovah (The Truth Shall Make Your Free, p. 17) Only Jehovah is from everlasting to everlasting (Make Sure Of All Things, {1965}, p. 486) Jesus Christ is not One God with the Father (MS, p. 485) Holy Spirit is Godís Active Force, not a person (MS, p. 487) There was a time when Jehovah was alone in universal space. All life and energy and thought were contained in him alone (Let God Be True {1953} p. 25) The obvious conclusion is that Satan is the originator of the trinity doctrine (O.G. p. 101) Elohim is the plural of majesty. It does not mean that he is mysteriously a trinity (New Heavens and New Earth. P. 36) cont'd | ||
| Janice (Janice) |
ERRORS TAUGHT BY ARMSTRONGISM ABOUT GOD God is a Family, a Kingdom, not a limited trinity (The Plain Truth, Aug. 1958, p. 17) The doctrine of the Trinity is false, pagan (The Missing Dimension in Sex, 37) *What in the world is that all about, hmmmm????? God is a family, God is reproducing Himself and man was created to literally become God (What It Means To Be Equal With God, p. 43) At the present time there are only two beings in the God Family, 1. God the Father, Father of Jesus Christ and 2. God of Abraham, Issac, and Jacob, the One who became Jesus Christ, God the Son. (The God Family in Tomorrowís World, May 1971) YOU CAN BECOME GOD (Godís Power in TW, Nov, 1971, p. 12) But quantitatively, man will never equal God the Father, just as surely as God the Creator (Jesus Christ) will Himself never quantitatively equal God the Father (WMEG, p. 44) YAHWEH was the God of Israel. They (Israel) did not know God the Father (ìIs Jesus God?î in PT, Sept. 1958) cont'd | ||
| Janice (Janice) |
ERRORS TAUGHT BY THE MORMONS/LATTER DAY SAINTS ABOUT GOD We believe in God the Eternal Father, and in His son Jesus Christ, and in the Holy Ghost (Articles of Faith, 1) This cannot rationally be construed to mean that the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost are one in substance and in person (Talmage, Articles of Faith, p. 40) There are three GodsÖseparate in personality, united in purpose, in plan, and in all attributes of perfection (McConkie, Mormon Doctrine, p. 270) God is an organized being just as we are who are now in the flesh. He is a progressive being, and possesses the capacity of eternal increase; Perhaps once a child and mortal like ourselves (Gospel Doctrine, p. 64; AF, p. 529; Journal of Discourses, 1:123) The Father has a body of flesh and bones as tangible as manís (Doctrine and Covenants, 130:ZZ) God is not omnipresentÖcannot be ìphysically present in more than one place at a time: (Talmage, DC, p. 48) Every man who reigns in celestial glory is a god to his dominions (McConkie, MD, p. 322) There never was a time when there were not Gods and worlds (Young Discourses, pp. 22-23) Each god, through his wife or wives, raises up a numerous family of sons and daughters (Pratt, The Seer, 1, no. 3, p. 37) The doctrine of a plurality of Gods is prominent in the Bible. The heads of the Gods appointed our God for us (Teaching of the Prophet Joseph Smith, pp. 370-72) The eternal Father is a progressive BeingÖthe capacity of eternal increase (Talmage, DC, p. 529) cont'd | ||
| Janice (Janice) |
ERRORS TAUGHT BY EASTERN MYSTICISM ABOUT GOD Brahma, the Absolute, other than which there is nothing elseówithout qualities, unknowable, impersonal, beyond all appearances, changes, differences. God is all there is ìAll visible objects are but modifications of self-existence, of an unconscious and impersonal essence which is called Godî (Walter R. Martin, Kingdom of the Cults, p. 239) God is omnipresent and almighty, and is in the heart of everyone (Transcendential Meditation, p. 61) In his real nature man is divine. The inner man is fully Divine, Vedanta teaches no other dogma but the divinity inherent in man, and his capacity for infinite evolution (TW, p 58) cont'd | ||
| Janice (Janice) |
ERRORS TAUGHT BY THE WAY INTERNATIONAL ABOUT GOD Elohim, God alone, is Creator of heaven and earth. The Bible teaches that there is only one true God, that God was in Christ, that God is Spirit, and that God is eternal whereas Jesus was born (Wierwille, The Wordís Way, p. 26) God is most holy; God has no equal. God alone holds the power of salvation (Wierwille, Jesus Christ Is Not God, p. 124) The Trinitarian dogma degrades God from His elevated, unparalleled position. Besides, it leaves man unredeemed (JC, book jacket). Biblically there are three: 1. God who is Holy Spirit, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, 2. Jesus Christ, the Son of God and the son of man, and 3. the holy spirit, Godís gift which God made available on the day of Pentecost (JC, p. 123) cont'd | ||
| Janice (Janice) |
Statement: Unity is the truth that is taught in all religions, simplified and systematized so that anyone can understand and apply it (Freeman, The Story of Unity, p. 60) ERRORS TAUGHT BY UNITY ABOUT GOD God is not a person having life, intelligence, love, or power. God is that invisible, intangible, but very real, something we call life. God is the total of all good, whether manifested or unexpressed (Cady, Lessons in Truth, p. 6) I believe the Hottentrot, or the truest heathen that ever lived, he who worships the golden calf as his highest conception of God, worships God (L.T. p. 126, cited in Martin, p. 279) God is always present, indwelling Mind. The Father within you...is in the spiritual realms which underlie all creative forces. (Filmore, The Science of Being and Christian Healin, p. 9) God is. Man is. We are now in the presence of that eternal Is-nessóOsiris and Isis are now our Father-Mother as fully as they were of old Egypt (SB p.229) God is principle, Law, Being, Mind, Spirit, All Good, Omnipresent, Omniscient, Omnipotent, Unchangeable, Creator, Father, Cause and Source of all that is (SB, p. 15) God is the substance, or real thing standing under every visible form of life, love, intelligence, or power. Bach rock, tree, animal, everything visible is a manifestation of the numberless manifestations, or individualities. EachÖcontains the whole (LT. pp. 8-9, cited in Martin, p. 281) cont'd | ||
| Janice (Janice) |
Statement of the Unification Church: We now have the means to heal all modern-day human problems, exalt every human soul, and bring the Kingdom of God within the reach of every man (Moon, Christianity in Crisis, p. ix) ERRORS TAUGHT BY THE UNIFICATION CHURCH ABOUT GOD God Himself told me that the most basic and central truth of this universe is that God is the Father and we are His children (CIC, p. 9) There is one living, eternal, and true God, a Person, beyond space and timeÖ.source of all truth, beauty, and goodnessÖ.creator and substainer of man and the universe (Declaration of Unification Theological Affirmations at Barrytown, New York, October 14, 1976) God, being the First Cause of all creation, also exists because of a reciprocal relationship between the dual characteristics of positivity and negativityÖWe call the positivity and negativity of God ìmasculinityî and ìfemininityî respectively (Moon, Divine Principle, p. 24) God existed as the internal masculine subject, and he created the universe as His external feminine object (DP, p. 25) Man is the visible, and God is the invisible form, God and man are one. Man is incarnate GodÖ.as important in value as God Himself (CIC, p. 5) God is just like you and me. All human traits originate in God (CIC, p. 4) This concludes the section on what the various groups teach concerning God, and the next section deals with what these groups teach about Christ. I have found that this is going to take a lot longer than I originally anticipated, so, bear with me on this project. God bless and have a good night. Janice | ||
| Susan_2 (Susan_2) |
Even being raised more-or-less SDA, I, too, was taught as a child and my family still believes this way that the trinity is a God family. My mother explains it as this: There are three people in my birth family; my dad, my mom and me. That is a trinity. We are each unique, distinct seperate people yet we make up one complete,unique family unit. Just like there is God our Creater, Jesus his Son and the Holy Spirit, which by the way Adventists do not captilalize. It is an entirelly different understanding of the Trinity than mainstream Christianity holds to. This way the SDA's can tell people that they do believe in the Trinity, as the word really means "three" and only the SDA will know how deceptive they really are because the Christian the SDA is talking to will automatically understand the word Trinity in the mainstream Christian way. | ||
| Steve (Steve) |
Joseph Tkach, and his son, Joseph Tkach, Jr., studied with Christian leaders in the 1980's and 90's. Their study resulted in the Worldwide Church of God abandoning it's unbiblical positions on their doctrines. One of those doctrines, the church becoming the family of God, literally becoming one with God and becoming known collectively as God, is now taught by the United Church of God. This teaching is a form of an ancient heresy known as "modalism." Modalism teaches that at one point in time, God existed as the Father. He then came to earth and existed as the Son. After Jesus' ascension into heaven, he began His existence as the Holy Spirit. The modern version of this heresy teaches that He is now in the process of transforming the church (the Body of Christ) literally into the fourth manifestation of the Godhead. Herbert W. Armstrong used a modified form of modalism in teaching his heresy. It can still be found in groups such as The Local Church of Witness Lee (a friend of Watchman Nee), the Church of the Walk, founded by (if my memory serves me right) John Robert Stevens, and a few other groups. Armstrong was influenced significantly by the Seventh-day Adventist church. It's theology, eschatology, and lifestyle teachings parallel the SDA church in significant ways. The SDA church did not even change the wording of the great hymn, Holy, Holy, Holy until the re-publication of its hymnal in 1985. Up until 1985 SDAs did not sing "God in three persons, blessed Trinity." They sang, "God over all, who rules eternally." There are many in the church, even today, who teach against the doctrine of the Trinity and against the Deity of Jesus. (I know this is accepted because, while I was being chastised for abandoning the sabbath, another member of the sabbath school class I attended, argued against the Deity of Jesus. However, that was apparently not as significant as my abandonment of the sabbath. It was left to me to argue with her for over two hours, while others have spent many more hours trying to "correct" my erring ways.) SDA teaching about the Godhead, is not even secondary to the teaching about sabbath. It easily comes in after a dozen other, "more urgent" concerns. As Susan_2 so clearly points out, the words one uses are understood completely differently by those in the cults. However, in Adventism, especially in the more "progressive" circles, many would deny that they understand differently than evangelical Christians. In that case, one must look at the psychological aspects of cultism. There have been very few over the last 50 years that have written clearly about that. There is a lot of conditioning that goes on for years in a persons life and thinking that makes it very difficult for them to even realize that they mean anything different. That has been the diabolical success of SDAism. Even the adherents are unaware of the false teachings that the church has taught for years, but has quietly modified. No apologies, no "we're sorry's", no retraction of false teaching. Just quiet changes of wording so as not to upset those who want to keep believing Satan's lies. Thank God that He has finally become mysterious to me again. I am even revulsed at the thought that I used to think that I could explain God to someone. I can witness about Him. But to think that I could "explain" God would be equivalant to slithering up a tree and offering fruit to an unsuspecting innocent person who wants only life from God so that she can please God. Beware of talking snakes! Steve | ||
| Janice (Janice) |
Amen Steve, We had better beware. My preacher made this comment just yesterday, he asked the congregation how many sins it took for Adam & Eve to be cast out of the garden. One subtle deception from that old snake was all it took, amen? Anyway, if we take into consideration the fact that Satan applied the word of God in his conversation to Eve and managed to get her to begin questioning the word of God, well, just look at the end result, isn't that what HE is still doing. The devil has always used God's own words and managed to twist them all up and confuse our carnal minds with a distorted view of God and his word. I will try to get to the next section of my discussions in a little while. Wow Susan, I didn't know that this was being taught by the SDAs. You know, when we go out in the world and chance to hear different people talking about God, it is so strange how so many different views have managed to crop up down through the ages. I guess that is why I question God as to just how much longer he is going to allow such nonsense to continue. We read that God is LONG-SUFFERING and not willing that ANY should perish, but the fact is that we do have a Bible and we are told to study that precious book, and we are told to use that book as our instruction book to reprove, rebuke, correct, etc. but unfortunately, many of us, myself included, do tend to get carried away with our rebuke and corrections sometimes to the point that we are unneccessarity hateful with our brethren. Our fellow brothers/sisters in Christ are equally sensitive and then last back at us "in kind" and this makes for a hostile environment which shouldn't be so especially when we are supposedly all here to help one another grow in the Lord as we continue to study and bear one another's burdens. If we truly have liberty in the Lord as we step out in our faith to reach a lost and dying world, and we have the assurance that IF God is truly for us then we have no need to fear those who will come against us, well, all I know is that I love everyone regardless of how another may choose to let the devil put words of hatred in their mouths to spit my way. I am also sorry if I occasionally allow myself to spit venom in the eyes of those I claim to love as well, I am sorry for any confusion and/or anger that I have generated this week/month/year/lifetime and hope that I can continue to openly express myself while continuing to try to teach and expound on the word while, at the same time, exposing the devil and his army for who he/they are. Any "organization/religion" that teaches contrary to God's clear word or uses the Bible but let's the devil help them twist it into garbage like I am exposing in this thread should truly pray to God for forgiveness and seek him while he may yet be found, amen? In closing, go back to look at the various titles of books and articles where the errors have been introduced into these various cults and just look at their titles. Examples: The Plain Truth, God's Power, Articles of FAITH, The GOSPEL Doctrine, The Word's Way, Lessons In TRUTH, and how about this one "The TRUTH Will Set You Free". Notice how each of these titles mention truth, gospel, faith, etc. We should all realize that God's word is of NO PRIVATE interpretation. We should also realize that no human can teach us anything unless we have the indwelling of the Holy Spirit living within us to help us SEE with spiritual eyes. I will end this post and come back to edit the next section of this thread which is "What God says in the word about Jesus" verses "errors of various cults" and will be looking for more of your responses and enlightenment like these two from Susan and Steve, thanks for the added information from the SDA viewpoint. Janice | ||
| Janice (Janice) |
Before I loose my cut on my clipboard let me paste it here for you to read today: My Choice Is His Choice He shall choose our inheritance for us. (Psalm 47:4) Our enemies would allot us a very dreary portion, but we are not left in their hands. The Lord will cause us to stand in our lot, and our place is appointed by His infinite wisdom. A wiser mind than our own arranges our destiny, The ordaining of all things is with God, and we are glad to have it so; we choose that God should choose for us. If we might have our own way we would wish to let all things go in God's way. Being conscious of our own folly, we would not desire to rule our own destinies. WE FEEL SAFER AND MORE AT EASE WHEN THE LORD STEERS OUR VESSEL THAN WE COULD POSSIBLY BE IF WE COULD DIRECT IT ACCORDING TO OUR OWN JUDGMENT. Joyfully we leave the painful present and the unknown future with our Father, our Savior, our Comforter. O my soul, this day lay down thy wishes at Jesus' feet! If thou hast of late been somewhat wayward and willful, eager to be and to do after thine own mind, now dismiss thy foolish self, and place the reins in the Lord's hands. Say, "HE shall choose." If others dispute the sovereignty of the Lord and glory in the free will of man, do thou answer them, "HE shall choose for me." It is my freest choice to let Him choose. As a free agent, I elect that He should have absolute sway. I want to try to remember this devotional today and everyday. When our enemy encamps round about then we should join in and say "HE SHALL CHOOSE FOR ME". Janice | ||
| Janice (Janice) |
Colleen, Thank you for your uplifting response to my personal questions regarding my posts. I thought that this devotional seemed to come just in time as an answer to some of the things that I have been burdened down with as of late with personal e-mail assaults and such. This devotional was such a blessing to me this morning as I began to read it, so, maybe someone else will get encouraged by it as well, amen? Here is that devotional: "All they that see me laugh me to scorn: they shoot out the lip, they shake the head."-Psalm 22:7 Mockery was a great ingredient in our Lord's woe. Judas mocked Him in the garden; the chief priests and scribes laughed Him to scorn; Herod set Him at nought; the servants and the soldiers jeered at Him, and brutally insulted Him; Pilate and his guards ridiculed His royalty; and on the tree all sorts of horrid jests and hideous taunts were hurled at Him. Ridicule is always HARD TO BEAR, but when we are in intense pain it is so heartless, so cruel, that it cuts us to the quick. Imagine the Saviour crucified, racked with anguish far beyond all mortal guess, and then picture that motley multitude, all wagging their heads or thrusting out the lip in bitterest contempt of one poor suffering victim! Surely there must have been something more in the crucified One than they could see, or else such a great and mingled crowd would not unanimously have honoured Him with such contempt. Was it not EVIL confessing, in the very moment of its greatest apparent triumph, that after all it could do no more than mock at that victorious goodness which was then reigning on the cross? O Jesus, "despised and rejected of men," how couldst Thou die for men who treated Thee so ill? Herein is love amazing, love divine, yea, love beyond degree. We, too, have despised Thee in the days of our unregeneracy, and even since our new birth we have set the world on high in our hearts, and yet Thou bleedest to heal our wounds, and diest to give us life. O that we could set Thee on a glorious high throne in all men's hearts! We would ring out Thy praises over land and sea till men should as universally adore as once they did unanimously reject. Thy creatures wrong Thee, O Thou sovereign Good! Thou art not loved, because not understood: This grieves me most, that vain pursuits beguile Ungrateful men, regardless of Thy smile. I want to take this time too to apologize to you Denise, I knew that you were hurting but you hurt me deeply too, and rather than to give it to the Lord, I REACTED in my flesh, please forgive me, I do love you my sister. Janice | ||
| Janice (Janice) |
I will be taking up the thread again here with the truth from the word of God concerning the subject of Jesus Christ and will follow-up with the errors taught concerning our savior. WORD OF GOD CONCERNING CHRIST In the beginning was the Word....and the Word was God (John 1:1) When, as His mother, Mary, was expoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Spirit (Matthew 1:18) Behold, the virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel (Isaiah 7:14) God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the nations, believed on in the world, received up into glory (I Timothy 3:16) And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father), full of grace and truth (John 1:14) No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him (John 1:18) And declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead (Romans 1:4) And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain (I Corinthians 15:17) Wherefore, he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them (Hebrews 7:25) This same Jesus....shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into Heaven (Acts 1:11; cf. John 14:3; I Thessolians 4:13-15) cont'd | ||
| Janice (Janice) |
I just had a flash since writing the post to Carol about the soul-sleep doctrine, and it came to me as I was reading the truth about Christ in my brochure that I am copying here in this thread. Have any of you thought of it this way? If a person dies and simply goes into a state of unconsciousness until Christ returns for them then how in the world can Christ return for them seeing as how he became flesh, dwelt among us, and died on the cross as a man? Why isn't Christ still unconscious in the grave if this is truly an accurate doctrine that needs to be taught? If he was the first-fruits of the resurrection, isn't that proof that there was a dramatic shift in the act of dying that was previously perceived in all the Old Testament teachings. Since I am not aware of EGW's many teachings, can anyone tell me if she taught that Jesus was the ONLY one that was resurrected at that point? I suppose that would be the only way to explain her belief in soul sleep, wouldn't it? If we are taught that the Old Testament laws were merely a "shadow" of things to come, then I suggest that when the body of Christ was "quickened" by the Holy Spirit that it was at that point in time that Jesus TRULY became the LIGHT of the world. It wasn't until Christ appeared to the disciples after his death that they actually became "believers" and had their eyes opened to the truth. How sad that some of us choose to remain in darkness, amen? Janice |
