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Denisegilmore
Posted on Monday, December 25, 2000 - 2:14 am:   Edit PostDelete PostPrint Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

I'm here to say, PRAISE THE LORD FOR HIS GOODNESS, MERCY, EVERLASTING LOVE AND HIS OWN SAVING ARM THAT SAVED WRETCHED SINNERS LIKE US.

This Christmas has to be the very best Christmas I've ever experienced. I believe, with all my heart, that our Lord Jesus was showing me love through even strangers, to me. Everytime I open my door, there is a card, package, note, sack of food, clothing, a gift for my cat Daniel and on and on. Some of these gifts have no name of the one that gave it, nor any hint in my mind, who would have thought of me that wouldn't want the credit. Amazing, this Christmas stuff. Not only that, Christmas this year has taken an entirely new attitude within myself. In years or Christmas's past, I was a scrooge, so to speak. This year, the blessings from our Father in Heaven have overcome me to the point that I sit in awe thinking about what someone said to me that meant the world, or some little trinket from someone that I'll never think of as small as it means so much in my heart. Our Lord God is full of surprises and is showing me His Love so much so that I can't possibly think of it all at once.
So, here I sit, at my computer, this Christmas Eve, trying to give Glory to our Lord and am completely inept to do so with words. If only I could pass on what my heart and spirit are rapturing in to all that reads this.

God came in the form of a baby. A little boy in a manger and from that day, the hope became real. Infact, because of that little baby boy, we have such a hope and such a life that we are dwelling in heavenly places so close to God that it is something I pray the entire world to understand the depths of love this God has for us.

GOD BLESS US ALL, EVERYONE
tim
Max
Posted on Monday, December 25, 2000 - 10:13 am:   Edit PostDelete PostPrint Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

THIS CHRISTMAS MEET EARLITEEN MARY

Mary, did you know that your baby boy will one
day walk on water?

Mary, did you know that ... when you kiss your
little baby you've kissed the face of God?

Did you know ... this sleeping child you're
holding is the great I Am?


--excerpted from the song "Mary, Did You
Know?", lyrics by Mark Lowry, music by Buddy
Greene, Ligonier Ministries,
ligonier@gospelcom.net
Valm
Posted on Monday, December 25, 2000 - 1:26 pm:   Edit PostDelete PostPrint Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

A very Merry Christmas to all of you. I took a moment out of our household excitiment to go online.

I hope everyone's day is filled with special moments with loved ones and a deeper impression of how much God loves all of us.

Valerie
Denisegilmore
Posted on Monday, December 25, 2000 - 1:34 pm:   Edit PostDelete PostPrint Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Hello Max and Happy Christmas to you too! Arleta and I play that song every Saturday evening as the sun begins to set. It is a beautiful song and always brings me to tears.

Today, I am about to get ready as I have been invited to some woman's apartment for a get-together. I do not know her either, but the invite was stuck in my door.

I woke up this morning after a night of a wonderous dream. What thoughts go around in my head, what revelations have been bestowed upon me! This day is a Gift from God. Bless Him.

I am off for now. But I'LL BE BACK later this evening.

God Bless you on this day Max*
your sister in Christ Jesus, denise
Denisegilmore
Posted on Monday, December 25, 2000 - 1:39 pm:   Edit PostDelete PostPrint Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Happy Christ-mas Valerie!
You must have been typing at the same time I was typing.
God bless you and your entire household this day with His Peace and His Joy, knowing He was born, knowing He died for us, and knowing HE IS RISEN!

your sister in the Christ, Jesus,
denise

P.S. Give to your little ones a big hug from me, then give one to your hubby too. Tell him it's from some nut that's online from time to time..:))
Patti
Posted on Tuesday, January 02, 2001 - 8:24 am:   Edit PostDelete PostPrint Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Happy New Year to all.
May this year be better for all of us than last.
And happy birthday to me!
(Actually I cannot take much credit for this--it was mostly my mother's doing....)
Max
Posted on Tuesday, January 02, 2001 - 10:06 am:   Edit PostDelete PostPrint Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

But happy birthday to you anyway, Patti!
Patti
Posted on Tuesday, January 02, 2001 - 1:28 pm:   Edit PostDelete PostPrint Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Thank you, Max.
Cindy
Posted on Tuesday, January 02, 2001 - 6:18 pm:   Edit PostDelete PostPrint Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Happy Birthday to you!
Happy Birthday to you!
Happy Birthday, dear Patti!
Happy Birthday to you.

I am glad I "met" you; (even in this limited way...) :-))

Grace always,
Cindy
Colleentinker
Posted on Tuesday, January 02, 2001 - 7:25 pm:   Edit PostDelete PostPrint Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Happy Birthday, Patti!
Colleen
Patti
Posted on Wednesday, January 03, 2001 - 7:33 am:   Edit PostDelete PostPrint Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Thank you, Cindy and Colleen!
Hopefully we will meet each other in person on this earth. But, if not, we will have an eternity to get to know each other on the other side.
Matthew
Posted on Thursday, August 16, 2001 - 1:55 pm:   Edit PostDelete PostPrint Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

What some of us only see at Christmas,should be going on every day.Gift giving and thanking Yeshua should be ingraved in your everyday agenda through Christ.Christ is indeed the head of all things as we see by the abolishing of the birthday of the pagan sungod.Although this was originaly instituted into the apostate church by the will of satan.Later to be adopted by the masses.Christmas is a measuring of the gullible,unlearned,and stubborness of the Church who would rather hold tradition in there blindness than search for truth which is the light of YESHUA,YHVH SAVIOR.If then you claim to have that light and love of Christ why are you so blindly following traditions of man as apposed to the light of the Son of the Most High?
Colleentinker
Posted on Thursday, August 16, 2001 - 9:51 pm:   Edit PostDelete PostPrint Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Matthew, this is the wrong forum to get an argument going about holy days. Those who post here areófor the most part, at leastódealing with the effects of their former or current Adventism, and they're looking for intimacy with Jesus. I see that you know Jesus is your Savior, too--praise God that he has set us free from the legal restrictions of sacred and secular things.

Jesus redeemed the ultimate pagan symbol when he died on the cross--everything committed to him belongs to Him! Days are not holy in themselves; Jesus is holy. Jesus is our Sabbath rest. Jesus is the one we celebrate every day! Praise Him!

Colleen
Maryann
Posted on Friday, August 17, 2001 - 8:05 am:   Edit PostDelete PostPrint Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Hi Matthew,

Welcome, it is good to see you here!

Some 2000 years ago the most vile, violent and humiliating death was a death on a cross.

Imagine a man that had been beaten beyond recognition; virtually a gross piece of meat suspended in the air for all to see that was caked with dry, cracked blood from head to toe, oozing with the blood from underneath those cracks. Running down from His face was human saliva finding its way to His feet as it mixed with blood and dripped from His body to the ground. His eyes swollen shut, His lips swollen and cracked, His tongue dry, cracked and protruding from His mouth. On top of His matted, blood filled hair was a crown of thorns jammed down drawing more blood to trickle down His face and flies continually buzzing every available place. His head slowly rolling back and forth in pain and the unbearable weight of the sin of the world on Him.

Now, if you or I were there to see this, we would vomit. We would vomit till our guts would seem to come out our mouths!

If God could redeem such a vile and violent scene and act with His Son, our Savior as the victim for YOUR salvation and the salvation of the world, don't you think He can redeem a pagan day to His glory?

If one only looked at the beginning of the "cross scene" and never saw the end, SALVATION, one would never realize their own salvation.

If one only looks at the beginning of the "Easter and Christmas" celebration, one would be depriving some lost person the knowledge of their salvation those events now represent.

Colleen said:

"Jesus redeemed the ultimate pagan symbol when he died on the cross--everything committed to him belongs to Him!"

If you will truly commit your life to Christ, you will fully understand that He did redeem everything, any circumstance, any pagan celebration and His death on that pagan cross.

Stop focusing on the beginning of things, start focusing on the finished end.

Praise God that He has redeemed those pagan celebrations, Easter and Christmas to His glory and the spreading of the good news, the gospel.

You BE a means of spreading the gospel, and not a means of hindering a God ordained means.

Hope you stay around a while;-))

Maryann...IBC=Insured By Christ
Matthew
Posted on Saturday, August 25, 2001 - 3:47 pm:   Edit PostDelete PostPrint Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Keeping of a pagan holy day is not a very good way to grow in Christ.It is more a distraction than any thing else.We all have free will and are under grace,do you want to use your free will and grace to follow traditions of man as apposed to comandments of The Most High.It seems that when people refuse law and in some cases legalism they become the legalism.Preaching the faith doctrine which has no flaw,yet be not confused that we are saved by grace and are righteousness is through faith,but faith without works is dead.By trying so hard to get away from the bondage of the Law,you need not try Christ has taken that bondage to the cross and we need not preach against the Law,which to this day has prophecy yet to be fulfilled.So in your anti-legalism,your are disputing and in some cases convicting people who chose to follow the comandments of YHVH.By doing this you are legalist yourselves,preaching that we need not to follow comandments do to grace,[are you are judge]that same grace which you use as your reason to keep Pagan Holy days[weither you are intrested in the pagan celebrations or mind them not]does that same grace not cover one who follows law and comandments?Besides who is to say if he believes it is mandatory or if he is doing it to please and glorify God?The stone that the builders refuse has become the head of the corner.By discrediting festivals and law which was implemented by God along with the peoples faith who believe it is pleasing to God,you yourselves have become the legalist.As you vailiantly defend your right to keep Pagan Holy days yet you despise a man who follows Gods Sabbath[etc].It isnt a matter of who is right and who is wrong,are we children?God is right the faith in his Son is our righteousness.Are mans holydays more Holy than those of God?"Thus says the Lord:"Keep justice,and do righteousness,for my salvation is about to come,and my righteousness to be revealed.Blessed is the man who does this,and the son of man who lays hold on it;who keeps from defiling the Sabbath,and keeps his hand from doing evil."Do not let the son of the foreigner who has joined himself to the Lord speak,saying,"The Lord has utterly separated me from his people";nor let the eunuch say "Here I am,a dry tree."For thus says the Lord:"To eunuchs who keep My Sabbaths,and choose what pleases Me,and hold fast My covenant,Even to them I will give in My house and within My walls a place and a name better than that of sons and daughters;I will give them an everlasting name that shall not be cut off.'Also the sons of the foreigner who join themselves to the Lord,to serve Him,and to love the name of the Lord,to be His servants-everyone who keeps from defiling the Sabbath,and holds fast My covenant-Even them I will bring to My holy mountain,and make them joyful in My house of prayer.Their burnt offerings and their sacrifices will be accepted on my altar;for My house shall be called a house of prayer for all nations."Isaiah 56:1-7.[this is a perfect example of the Sabbath being for all mankind and not only Jews]So we see that the Lord has blessed the man[gentile in this case]"who keep from defiling the Sabbath,"and given them an everlasting name that shall not be cut off."He would also accept their burnt offerings and their sacrafices on His altar.We need not do this because Christ is are sacrafice,but the Sabbath was and is the first thing YHVH sanctified.Gen 2:3.So it is not a matter of just simple choice,because on the one hand you have the Sabbath which God blessed and sanctified,and on the other you have Sunday which man has implimented in honour of the Sungod[the same sungod that the Bible speaks so horribly of]later to be blended with compromise in mind,with the early Christian churches in the Roman Empire.This is fact.I am not an sda a episcopalian,presbyterian,catholic,baptist,protestant,lutheran or any other denomination,all these do is divide and argue doctrine when in fact they all fall short,dont be fooled,Christ is the head of the Church,we are the body not a denomination.The body of Christ does the work of Christ and will of Almighty God.The church is in us,not some building made of wood,or brick.We are to do the will of God as it is placed on our hearts,not what some evangilist or preacher tells us is right to do.Follow the light of Christ and do as your heart tells you in love,through the spirit.You will not fail,because love never fails.What makes you think that the body of Christ is to practice the system of Babylon? Is the body of Yeshua foolish?God forbid!For I am a member of the body of Christ and am not fooled,because the light made manifest,and darkness is no longer hidden in mystery.The keeping of the commandments of God to the best of your ability prohibits the symbolizm and practice of Mystery Babylon to enter your everyday activites,but only with love and only thru Christ Jesus will you seperate yourselves from the world.Thus making you an outcast to some of your peers and other members of your congregation,persecution will soon follow if not immediatly.The reason they despise your light is because the darkness in their soul cannot comprehend the light.This is vainity. This is how you know you are of Christ and his body,the persecution.Do not let the pride and vainity of men who dont understand the things of heaven,prohibit you from living them,and loving them,for all praise and glory be unto The Most High.
Windmotion
Posted on Sunday, August 26, 2001 - 3:11 pm:   Edit PostDelete PostPrint Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Matthew, I nor anyone here is judging you for worshipping on Saturday, as is commanded in Romans 14:5-6 "One man considers one day more sacred than another; another man considers every day alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind.He who regards one day as special, does so to the Lord." Therefore, you also should refrain from judging us on what day we worship, whether it be our weekly worship or the days we observe as special.
Matthew
Posted on Thursday, August 30, 2001 - 2:04 pm:   Edit PostDelete PostPrint Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

I believe that we are still missing the point.DO NOT HIT AMISS.One is asked of you by your Father,the other asked of you by the very depths of Hell.Do not be fooled.Listen to your Father.believe in HIS Son.Rebuke apostacy in even the most quit form.This is the generation of the FIG TREE.How are you still blind?What more sign do we need?
Lori
Posted on Thursday, August 30, 2001 - 3:45 pm:   Edit PostDelete PostPrint Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Matthew, what is your interpretation of the conversation between the Rich Young Ruler and Jesus?
Dennisrainwater
Posted on Thursday, August 30, 2001 - 5:50 pm:   Edit PostDelete PostPrint Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Matthew,

I'm afraid I don't understand where you are trying to go with this argument... You are obviously passionate about what you are saying -- but I'm not getting it!

You are clearly attacking the habit of Christians worshipping their Lord on Sunday (along with a few other holidays...) as somehow acknowledging some kind of honoring of, or allegiance to, satanic forces, etc.

There are many symbols that mean one thing to one group of people, while carrying utterly different meanings for others. And have altogether distinct and separate roots and beginnings. For example, when I see a rainbow, I think of God's promise to never again bring an earth-wide flood to destroy mankind. When someone else sees a rainbow, it may represent "gay-pride" to them. Someone else may see it is a symbol of New Age religion. Do the two counterfeits erase, or reduce, the significance or validity of what that symbol means to me?? I think not. I could offer more comparisons, but I think you get the point...

I will freely acknowledge that "Sunday" is a day that was named for the sun god by certain pagan people of long ago. Similarly, Saturday was named for a lesser, but still important god: Saturn. By your reasoning (as I see it), I would be really worshipping demons if I thought to worship Jesus on Saturday, too. Just because "Sunday" meant one thing to one group of people does not insist that it must mean the same thing to other, unrelated people.

You may try to establish a common beginning between the pagan honor of naming the day after the sun, and the Christians' habit of gathering upon Sunday to worship their Lord Jesus Christ, by bringing up the fact that Constantine named Sunday a weekly holiday.

I'll not try to defend any part of that matter before you here... I do not know enough of that history to do so. But to me, that is a completely irrelevant point, because there is an abundance of historical evidence that Christians had already begun the habit of gathering on "the first day of the week" long before Constantine was born! See, like the above example of the rainbow, I think we are on two separate but parallel tracks here. Constantine might have been influenced by pagan practices of some kind (and then again, perhaps he was not...that is not a point I am here to debate), but there was a long pre-existing precedent for the idea of "having church" on Sunday. Both from certain hints provided in the New Testament, and from a mountain of extremely clear and direct historical writings from the early church speaking specifically on that point.

Futhermore, I think it is worth pointing out that while the pagans named Sunday after one of their gods (along with every other day of the week -- names we still use for each every one...) there is not one shred of evidence which I have seen that suggests Sunday was a day of "worship" for them, or that the pagans gathered to honor the sun on that day. OR EVEN THAT THEY TOOK THE DAY "OFF", FOR THAT MATTER!! So, making a comparison between Christians gathering to worship their Saviour, and pagans gathering to worship the sun, is utterly moot!! The latter never happened!

One last question: Matthew, can you please provide just ONE text from the New Testament re-commanding Sabbath observance, or even warning us against this great heresy, "Sunday-keeping"?? If you can, I'll jump on your band-wagon with you. The glaring problem is: While the New Testament re-commanded each and every one of the other nine commandments (repeatedly!), it is startingly silent on the matter of the Sabbath.

I'll not jump into the issues of Christmas or Easter right now -- but there are similar arguments to made for the Chirstian enjoyment of those days. We are not falling prey to Satan in these matters. Galatians and Romans make it abundantly clear that these petty individual matters of taste are of no consequence to our salvation; nor do they matter to God.

If you choose to respond to this message (I'll not be offended if you don't), please, let's stick to the primary issues first. Answer my challenge for the Sabbath before trying to bring up any other, divergent points, okay?? I will respectfully hold you to that point before I am willing to discuss any other matters you might want to plunge into.

2 Cor 11:3 tells us, "But I fear, lest somehow, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, so your minds may be corrupted from the SIMPLICITY that is in Christ."

Respectfully,
Dennis Rainwater<><
Trippllb
Posted on Thursday, August 30, 2001 - 6:48 pm:   Edit PostDelete PostPrint Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Dennis, to steal a phrase from a horrible commercial, "I LOVE YOU MAN!"

That rainbow example is crystal clear. Well said.
Colleentinker
Posted on Thursday, August 30, 2001 - 7:12 pm:   Edit PostDelete PostPrint Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

That was a good discussion with good examples, Dennis! I'm sure many people who lurk here without posting got your point clearly.

The problem with pet theories, as most of us know from experience, is that when we believe them, we shut our minds to examining them. People have to want to know, internally, what truth really is. If they don't, they don't really have many options for feeling comfortable with their theories unless they argue and refuse to consider evidence that contradicts them.

Matthew, I'm praying that the Holy Spirit will persist in confronting you with truth, that you will be able to give to Jesus whatever has happened in your life to make you feel threatened or insecure, and that you will experience Jesus' love deeply in your life.

Colleen
Lori
Posted on Friday, August 31, 2001 - 6:13 am:   Edit PostDelete PostPrint Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Dennis, excellent rebuttal!
Lydell
Posted on Friday, August 31, 2001 - 8:32 am:   Edit PostDelete PostPrint Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

It is always interesting to note that the Lord has, all through the history of the church, been richly and abundantly blessing those groups of Christians who worship on Sunday. We have the historical record of the great revivals that show that the Lord has chosen, time and again, to work through these folks to bring hundreds of thousands to Christ. Those who were raised up to be mighty evangelists, reformers, preachers, missionaries, healers, teachers, etc. have been those who were worshipping on Sunday. Indeed, if it hadn't been for the Lord using those who were worshipping on Sunday, we wouldn't have the scriptures now in our own language. Most curious indeed!

Somehow, most mysteriously, the Lord was obviously able to teach them His truths about the reliability of the scriptures, salvation, baptism and so very much more. Yet somehow, just as mysteriously, we are to believe that He was unable to "teach" them this "vitally important" truth. I'm just astounded at what this declares through the lips of those who teach that sabbathkeeping is a necessity for believers: "God is small and weak."

Come on you lunrkers out there, THINK! How big is God? How able is God? Does He communicate with His children or doesn't He? Is the Holy Spirit the teacher to lead us into all truth or not? Does the Lord only care about His children in fairly recent times? Or is He a loving Father who has ALWAYS been teaching His children through the history of the Christian church. Again I challenge you to THINK!

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