Search Members

[so-journ]

I haven't been reading this thread but thought this might fit in here….I was watching an interesting Programme the other day and the Speaker, I think he was a Jewish man, was saying how important it is to the salvation of Jews and Muslims to believe that there is only ONE God. Not saying I'm convinced by it or wanting to enter a debate with anyone over it, just sharing.

The programme is here;

http://www.williambranham.com/

Is there a Trinity?

http://www.williambranham.com/feature_pages/is-there-a-trinity/

Quoteing Him:

“Christians must understand there is only One Creator God whose thoughts are Eternal and real as they are the Attributes of what He is. God is His thoughts. In Him were Attributes to be a Father, but how would this ever be known until His first son, Adam was formed? In God were Attributes to be a Savior, but He could not display these Attributes until there was a “fall” and a people requiring salvation. His Attribute of justice would not allow Him to cause His children to fall, or force them as puppets to obey His Will. So He placed them in the Garden on free moral agency to choose whether to reflect His Attributes of love and trust by obedient faith, or mix His Word with Lucifer's reasoning. In God were Attributes to be Healer, but He could not express them until there was sickness and hurt. O how God loves to display His Attributes to us and through us to gather glory to Himself as the One true “object of worship”.

Like Adam and Eve, we are to reflect the nature and character of God by identifying with His attributes. True worship is a life lived under preeminence to His Word. He gathers glory to Himself when His glorious Attributes are reproduced in the lives of His Children, making us chips off the old Block, like Father, like son.

No one is born with character. Character is a victory gained by overcoming in the trials of this ungodly world by faith in the Word of God and prayer. Our goal in this life is to gain a Christ-like character through trials. No matter how successful we are on earth, the only thing we can take with us is our character. Death in the flesh only changes your geography. The type of person you are here is the type of person you will be over “There,” or will it be . . . over “there”? Have you ever considered that one of the most remarkable differences between humans and animals is our ability as amateur creators to reason and to communicate complex thoughts through language? Any word is a thought expressed; before I can pronounce the word “cat,” I must first think of the animal, cat. We have fellowship and know one another chiefly through expressing our thoughts in word form. Without communication we can experience no meaningful relationship.

Because His thoughts are Eternal and cannot change or fail, God is known as “the Word,” or “Logos,” which is Greek meaning, “thought in speech,” or concept. God expresses His Will and the attributes of His character through visions, dreams or inspired understanding of the Word we read and hear preached from the Bible. We only experience a relationship with God as we understand His Word, and no true believer is any stronger and spiritually healthy and alive than their knowledge of and adherence to the pure Word of God.

A word is a thought expressed and Jesus of Nazareth is the fullness of the Word or Logos of God manifest in flesh—not a second or third person—but “God with us” as prophesied (Isaiah 7:14; I Timothy 3:16). Good people frequently misinterpret John 1:1 and 14, presuming it reads, “In the beginning was Jesus of Nazareth, and Jesus was with God, and Jesus was God. . . and Jesus was made flesh.” In fact it says, “In the beginning was the Word,” because God had finished all of His thinking in eternity before “time” began. A Word is first a completed thought: as His thoughts are Eternal and unchanging, He was “the Word” or “Logos” when He was ready to commence expressing His Attributes in Creation. And the beginning of His manifestation was the Logos Itself, which through the virgin birth manifest as Jesus Christ.

“And the Word was with God and the Word was God.” That is, the Word, Logos or concept was always with God in the form of His eternal thoughts: being eternal His thoughts are what He is. Word is Spirit in a form we can receive by faith, which is understanding. John 6:63, “My Word is Spirit, It is Life.” Word and Spirit are the same thing in a different form. “And the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us.”

I Timothy 3:16, “without controversy, great is the mystery of godliness for the Word or Logos was manifest in the form of the flesh of Jesus, our kinsman Redeemer, who is the beginning of God creating Himself into material form . . . less than 2,000 years ago when He physically dwelt among His early disciples”.

In Jesus the fullness of God's nature and character, the perfect balance of His attributes of patience, justice, judgment, love, righteousness and anger, were expressed bodily in one Man who is “the beginning of the creation of God” (Colossians 2:9; Revelation 3:14). Jesus is not the beginning of God's creation—which would make Him less than God. God's creation is His handiwork—the sun, moon, stars, rivers and trees. Jesus is the beginning, less than 2,000 years ago, of God changing Himself from the Eternal Spirit alone with His thoughts, through the Word or expression of those thoughts, to the material flesh of His Family. We are God's hands. So the New Testament saints are the continuation of the same Creation. Jesus is the Word made flesh and the true or Elect Church is the flesh becoming Word. In the new heavens and new earth, the “saved” will worship God throughout Eternity in the form of His Family—Jesus of Nazareth and His Brothers and Sisters, the New Testament saints. When we are glorified, all of us together are the Word, God manifest in flesh. Like our natural parents, His purpose was to reproduce Himself in the glorified flesh of His Family.”

http://www.biblebelievers.org.au/bb920108.htm
http://www.biblebelievers.org.au/teachx.htm

Take care.

[so-journ]

Quote (Tim Kraft @ Mar. 21 2011,12:52)

Quote (so-journ @ Mar. 21 2011,10:01) Hello Tim. You said: Quote This Kingdom of God that Jesus taught us then is actually a picture of a King (us) ruling(dilivering) his Kingdom (God/Jesus/The Spirit Words that live within) of love, mercy, healing, and perfection to the world at hand. Tim, I would change that to ….This Kingdom of God that Jesus taught us then is actually a picture of a King Jesus ruling(delivering) his Kingdom (God/Jesus/The Spirit Words that live within) of love, mercy, healing, and perfection to the world at hand. Jesus is the king but Jesus is also seen in any one, and what we do to them we also do to him…. maybe. The rest of your Text, I agree….and thank you Tim. My thinking is that Jesus is King of us kings and Lord of us lords. Rev.1:6..he has made us kings and priests unto God….! Jesus is the King of the united Kingdom of God which is composed of all of us as individual kings of our kingdoms of God and priests of our temples of God and members in the Church which is his body. Isn't that a wonderful word picture! God bless you for your response. TK

Hello Tim.

I'm not quite thinking like that right now…but thanks anyway, and bless you for your positivity!

[so-journ]

Good point Wispring.

[so-journ]

Hi Mike.

The stage to come to is spiritualness.

Anyone can corrupt their own thinking by reading anything other than scripture, including discussions and debates here.  And the feeling of confusion can be intense, especially if you continue on in that. The only way to recover from that state is to take back control yourself, and if you are knowingly or unknowingly following someone else….then Return to God and He will return to you.

“Perfection” would be – to be drawn by the spirit, taught alone through the scriptures (alone) and to be led to wherever God wants you to be (total submission to Gods will for us)…..The truth has probably been corrupted everywhere today. Too much reading, too much listening, too much Internet forums debating and discussing!…..Truth should be simplistic and it should lead us toward true spirituality (What is spirituality to you Mike?)

Look at scripture, the New Testament Writers were led by the Holy Spirit. Did they spend their time debating? What did they talk about most and what did they do?

If you asked me to write down what I believe, how can I honestly do that? I believe truth is found in what we say and what we do and what is in our heart, more than what it all means.

To find someone else who believes something similar is a good thing, especially if you are on your own and not part of a Church. Wonderful. But then what? If what you have is only being used to debate with other believers…..what of the lost? the sinners? Aren't we supposed to be 'fishers of men?' and “he who turns back a sinner from the straying of his way shall save a soul from death, and shall cover a multitude of sins.

[so-journ]

Hello Mike,

“and in vain do they worship Me, teaching teachings, commands of men”

You go through learning hopefully by the Holy Spirit and not Man, and then you go through the spiritual side which is much different…. and understanding what everything means is no longer the main focus.

Does that answer your question Mike?

[so-journ]

Amen Wispring! (and Tim too) way to go!

[so-journ]

Hello Marty.

It sounds scary doesn't it….”Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, THE SON OF PERDITION”

Its hard to know what it means, but praying is a good idea that you/we are not deceived. One thing that I see another poster here revealed is the beheading in Revelations could be making ourselves the Head and not God….God should always be our Head and we should have no other gods – including ourselves – before him.

Peace and love.

[so-journ]

Quote (942767 @ Mar. 20 2011,15:24)

Quote (so-journ @ Mar. 16 2011,08:59) Greetings to all. I was wondering with the recent events in Japan….I have had friends approach me who are non Christians who are asking questions on what the bible says about these things….also I have heard through other friends who do believe…. that the holy spirit will be removed….though not from TRUE believers….any opinions here? Thanks. Hi so-journ: This is what the scriptures state relative to earthquakes: Matthew 24:7For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places. And this is the scripture which some say means that the Holy Spirit will be taken out to the way prior to the Anti-Christ being revealed: 2 Thes 2:7For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way. Love in Christ, Marty

Marty, Hello.

I believe the “mystery of iniquity doth already work” is SIN and that the restraint on sin MAYBE is what will no longer be restrained. Is that what it means?

[so-journ]

Hello Tim. You said:

Quote

This Kingdom of God that Jesus taught us then is actually a picture of a King (us) ruling(dilivering) his Kingdom (God/Jesus/The Spirit Words that live within) of love, mercy, healing, and perfection to the world at hand.

Tim, I would change that to ….This Kingdom of God that Jesus taught us then is actually a picture of a King Jesus ruling(delivering) his Kingdom (God/Jesus/The Spirit Words that live within) of love, mercy, healing, and perfection to the world at hand.

Jesus is the king but Jesus is also seen in any one, and what we do to them we also do to him…. maybe.

The rest of your Text, I agree….and thank you Tim.

[so-journ]

Hello Wispring,

I read your shorter post and it got me thinking.
You said Quote “that it bring betterment to one's self and or someone(s) other than oneself.”

Some verses which came to my mind:

'That they all may be one, as Thou Father art in me, and I in Thee; that they also in us may be one' John 17:21

' I did hunger, and ye gave me to eat; I did thirst, and ye gave me to drink; I was a stranger, and ye received me;  naked, and ye put around me; I was infirm, and ye looked after me; in prison I was, and ye came unto me.  'Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when did we see thee hungering, and we nourished? or thirsting, and we gave to drink?  and when did we see thee a stranger, and we received? or naked, and we put around?  and when did we see thee infirm, or in prison, and we came unto thee?  And the king answering, shall say to them, Verily I say to you, Inasmuch as ye did it to one of these my brethren — the least — to me ye did it.' Matthew 25

Just thinking…. Peace and love.

[so-journ]

Good posts Tim Kraft…. thank you…. that is really positive.

Mark, I believe that maybe the restrainer is what what restrains sin, and that when the restrainer is removed then evil will have full force…and only our faith in God will prevent us from being like that ourselves or from it effecting us.

Theodore….I do remember reading similar to what you say in some magazines….The Living Church Of God….and The United Church of God….Herbert Armstrong's book too….I used to love reading those, they were well written. I have since changed my views though….I believe Gods kingdom will be Spiritual….however I remember reading in those Armstrong branches of Christianity that in the Millennial Kingdom there will be Money; Education; Cars? All too worldly to me…? What's your opinion on that….I mean, what is the point in it when we have that now? Is not Gods Kingdom Eternal? It's not an important thing but just wondering.

[so-journ]

Amen. And that many will hear of… and turn to the Lord.

[so-journ]

'For man also doesn't know his time. As the fish that are taken in an evil net, and as the birds that are caught in the snare, even so are the sons of men snared in an evil time, when it falls suddenly on them. (Ecclesiastes 9:12)….'Watch therefore, for you don't know in what hour your Lord comes (Matt 24:42)…..'be careful, or your hearts will be loaded down with carousing, drunkenness, and cares of this life, and that day will come on you suddenly (Luke 21:34) 'For it will come like a snare on all those who dwell on the surface of all the earth.' (Luke 21:35)

[so-journ]

In 2009 I think it was…Samoa suffered from a devastating Earthquake and Tsunami. More than 99% of Samoans are Christian and they are good people. I know a lot about them and have Samoan friends and know their culture and they are one of the most humble and forgiving people I have ever known and it is evident not just in who I know, but in strangers too.

We need to wake up and 'smell the coffee' we need to clean up our lives and do Gods will and not our own, and we need to pray.

[so-journ]

Hello Theodore.

I had one of those days today where things were finally making alot of sense. Firstly, we will not be left alone as Jesus said he would not forsake us or leave us and would be with us untill the end.

With Japan its like their own Armageddon with one thing after another….in Revelations there is an earthquake and other things and then people break out in sores….one of the effects of Nuclear Disaster that could be.

There's also what sounds like a Meteorite hitting the Earth.

I was also looking into Earthquakes and at the recent activity around that area. Earthquakes can precede a Volcanic Eruption and there are Mega Volcanoes in NZ; Japan and Indonesia….Maybe Iv been watching too many Doomsday Documentaries in the past…I don't know.

[so-journ]

Interesting thoughts thanks….I see there's other threads here about this…. so I'll go and read those when I can….we will soon find out Mark.

[so-journ]

Hello Mike-Angel….I myself do not believe there will be a Rapture as it seems Believers will have to go through 'The Great Tribulation'….But I agree with you that the World will end as we know it and I also believe in Heaven and meeting Jesus in the Air.

………………………………..

Ed….so…. what do you make of everything happening in the World today? What about the Nuclear threat to our Planet?

[so-journ]

Hello Ed and Mike-angel.

I'm a “student” (learner) of prophecy…. it's something that has always interested me….been down the road of 'Who is Jesus; Who is the Father; What this means; What that means….but in the end, we all live in this World together, and “The witness of Jesus is the Spirit of Prophecy” I think it says in Revelation.

So I'm really keen on looking more into this….I pray a lot too….it will take me a while though to read through posts here….and reply as I prefer to think things through properly.

So give me time!….God bless you both.

[so-journ]

Hello Ed.

We are in the Last Days….This is what we should be talking about…. it effects the Whole World….and it will only get worse….We need to pray for the World!

I don't quite follow what you are saying here Ed, I apologise.

All through the New Testament is what will happen in the Last Days….the early Apostles believed they were in the Last Days themselves….but as Christ said….no one knows the Day or the Hour….Only our Father in Heaven.

And here we are today.

Peace and Love.

[so-journ]

Hello Ed.

They could be talking about the rapture…. but Matthew 24 is definitely taking place…. the Holy Spirit can be grieved and quenched…. and it will be as it was before the flood came and took them all away.

Any thoughts on this?

[Author]

Posts