Terlahir Baru dalam Yesus Kristus

James 1:13-15.. Temptation comes from our own desires, which entice us and drag us away. These desires give birth to sinful actions. And when sin is allowed to grow, It gives birth to death

 Hi Dini, Here are some thoughts on the blogs you sent me. You have written some profound truths about God and our relationship with him.

Hi Dini, You say such strong statements of faith in both God and Jesus. And yet you have times of doubt and anger. We all have times of doubt and uncertainty. In our country we have an expression “all in.” That means we are totally committed to something, no turning back. I think that you need to decide if you can say I am all in to God. That does not mean you can never be disappointed or even angry, but it will not change your commitment. A man in Mark 9 said, “Lord, I believe; help my unbelief."

 Hi Dini, You state that you are a good person and have done many good things. I am sure you have. Here is what God says about our righteousness in Isaiah 64:6 All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags…you may have more goodness than any other human, but God’s goodness is on a whole different level. Remember Jesus corrected a Pharisee for saying he was good by saying that only God is good, acting in sinless perfection. God accepts us as we are and sets about making us more like Jesus.

 Hi Dini, You make many important and true statements about the greatness of God and our need to repent and come to him. I have some comments on other questions you seem to have. 

 Hi Dini, Your comments are very interesting and insightful. How can we know what we are being taught is true? There are some ideas to help us.

 Hi Dini, You have been living under what the world calls pleasure and success, but now you see what real pleasure and joy is: the peace of a right relationship with God, the joy of a Savior to guide you through tough situations, his unfailing love no matter what. You see that success is more than just having a lot of stuff or impressing others with how smart you are. God wants to fill your life with meaning and purpose in his kingdom. Follow this new path and although there will be problems and trials, you will find that some of this old “baggage” will drop away.

Hi Dini, You are correct. God’s sovereignty and man’s accountability are two topics that the human mind cannot put together. This is an area where faith comes in. I saw a talk on tv by Franklin Graham, founder of Samaritan’s Purse. He said, “Do I understand everything in the Bible? No. But I believe it.

 Hi Dini, We don’t lose our sin nature that we inherited from Adam and Eve once we receive Christ. The Bible says that sin remains in us and that a struggle with that old nature will continue as long as we live. I think you read of Paul’s struggle in your study of Romans 7:15-25. But we have divine help. The Holy Spirit lives in each Christian and supplies the power we need to overcome the temptation that sin has for us. “No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God’s seed abides in him, and he cannot keep on sinning because he has been born of God. (1John 3:9) The key word here is practice, or you might say lifestyle. That is different from stumbling or falling on occasion.

 Hi Dini, You are making really good comments. I think that God is teaching you important truths. I agree that it is at times hard to believe that God loves me. I see my selfishness or greed or bad temper and forget that God has known about these qualities in me from the beginning and loves me in spite of them. There is no need for someone to try to clean himself up to come to God, because, first of all it can’t be done and second he already knows.

 Hi Dini, To begin to sort out your questions and confusing teaching, let’s begin with the foundational truth: God’s Word. It is the way God has chosen to reveal himself to us. The Bible is true, all of it.

 Hi Dini, Reading the Bible is a good thing to do, an important thing to do; but reading it does not save anyone. Believing what it teaches saves us. Paul wrote to Timothy “All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. God uses it to prepare and equip his people to do every good work.”(2 Timothy 3:16-17) So read the Bible to learn about God. That is a good first step.

Called “the” Son of God mark 1:1 John 1:1 called “the” word of God Called the a person son thy sins be forgiven thee Mark 2:5 As a Father called his people son and forgive sins

  Job 33:29  God does all this again and again; he saves a person's life, and gives him the joy of living. Job 34:8 "He likes the company of evil men and goes about with sinners.

  The Real power is God never forced u to be Christian And yet people be Christian Burned raped starved n tired 

  I have no idea whether people who contact me are gay or not. I don’t ask. The most important question in life is “Do you know Jesus?” That is the Deciding point with God. All people are born sinners. Some live “good” lives, some live evil lives, but all miss the mark if they do not accept Jesus as Lord and Savior.

  1. Why Is The Resurrection Important? 1Corinthians 15:1-11 The best evidence of the resurrection is the eye witnesses: Peter, the apostles, 500 witnesses, James, Paul What if there was no resurrection? All preaching would be in vain and pointless Faith would really be just an emotion Help in trouble would be your imagination All Christians through history would be be liars People still in their sins, dead eternally damned Believers should be pitied

  Salvation is God’s gift. It is not a reward; you could never earn it. He decided to offer it because of. His love, mercy and grace ( his being wonderful when he didn’t have to). It is a fact, not a feeling. Since I know what goes on in my heart, the days I feel I deserve it are few and far between. We need to come to the place where we can honestly say, “Yes, I believe.” That’s what God wants to hear, not our performance, which will never be perfect.

  I think we learn to love by God’s first loving us. 1John   4:19   We love because he first loved us. When we realize we are loved and accepted by God, we have the courage to reach out and love someone else. God is impressed by faith and obedience rather than success. In fact he often uses the least likely, least obvious person to achieve his miracles to be sure that he gets the glory. So focus on faith and obedience so that God can work through you.

  Constable’s view,(he is a Bible professor), on verse 9 is “The Sabbath rest in view is the rest that every generation of believers and every individual believer enters into when he or she, like God, faithfully finishes his or her work. That work involves continuing to trust and obey God (walking by faith daily). Christians will enter into our rest, if we have persevered in our faith, when we receive our inheritance from Jesus Christ at his judgment seat.

First, we have to define good the way Jesus does: only God is good. Mark 10:18 “Why do you call me good?” Jesus answered.”No one is good—except God alone.” Romans 3:10+11. “None is righteous, no not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God.”

  Joel 2:31 predicts, “The sun shall be turned to darkness, and the moon to blood before the great and awesome day of the lord comes.

  A few thoughts on giving. 2Corinthians 9:7. Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.

  Usually our anger results from someone not treating us the way we deserve or respecting our rights. In other words, it’s about us. I think that is the problem here. It seems that Mado and Wing have some sort of relationship that they are not extending to you. Is it an appropriate relationship? Remember you are God’s child seeking to live a life pleasing him. They are not. When my daughter was a teenager and got into an argument or felt her girlfriends weren’t treating her properly, she just said, “Well, they are just being jerks.” And would leave them alone for a while. Give the whole situation space for a while.

  I like your comments. We live in a sinful world and life is hard, sometimes extremely hard. Sometimes when everything is going well, we think that this is the way life should be. It is, but really God is only giving you a break before the problems start up again. We have to set boundaries, limits, and priorities and try to stick with them. We think our sinful habits will make us feel better. They don’t solve anything, they only complicate life. We all fail at times, but God is forgiving to a repentant heart and will help us get back on the right path.

  Let’s talk about love.  1John 4:9,10 This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him.

  Your main source of love should be from God. He loves consistently,   24/7. Other people waver because of their own needs or indifference. Some give “performance love,” that is if you do well, do what they want, then you are best friends. If you don’t, then they don’t care or criticize. This is not God’s love.

  Yes, the golden rule is a bit tricky, because others may not treat us well in return. Then what do we do? We look to Jesus and how he treated others.

  There is no example in the Bible where God set someone free so he could do his own thing. God frees us from the power of sin so that we can do what HE wants. Jesus said,”I have come to set the captives free. Free from what? A life controlled by sin. Free to do what? To be free to follow God’s ways and be freed from the domination from the devil.

  Zechariah wrote, “Do not despise these small beginnings, for the Lord rejoices to see the work begin…. Do not think you have no success until you can have a normal friendship with a girl and no further feelings. To have a friendship and hold back those feelings is a victory. It may be that your friend turns to someone else when you place limits on your friendship, but that is a cost of pleasing God. Jesus never said he would wipe away all our problems. He said he would help us through them.

  I would like to speak to your comment that God is cruel. In the opening chapters we read how God created everything. After each day the Bible says that he “saw that it was good.” He created man and woman to live in the garden and care for it. There was only one negative command: don’t eat the fruit of one particular tree.

  Hi Dini, A Christian should be miserable? Hmmm, I missed that Bible verse. Nehemiah said in 8:10, The joy of the Lord is my strength. Jesus said in John 17:13 But now I am coming to you, and these things I speak in the world, that they may have my joy fulfilled in themselves. What does joy mean? It is not happiness for there is plenty in the world to prevent constant happiness. It is deeper than that. It is the knowledge that the one and only true God loves you, has forgiven you, and will bring you to his eternal home. Nothing can change that.

  Hi Dini, We can never impress God with heroic deeds or brave speeches because he knows us better than we know ourselves. He has a simple plan for us to demonstrate our love for him: obedience. He also knows that we cannot be obedient all the time and he has a provision for that: forgiveness.

There is a Christian song where the chorus says,”I am who God says I am!” That is an important statement. If we have prayed wholeheartedly asking for forgiveness and accepting Jesus as our Savior, then we are who God says we are: loved, forgiven, accepted in the beloved (Ephesians 1:6, that is Christ).

  The Trinity, a word not found in the Bible, is our attempt to understand one God with three personalities. Each personality is fully God, yet the Holy Spirit is subordinate to the Father and Son, and the Son is subordinate to the Father. The individual members of the Trinity have different tasks. The Father is the ultimate source or cause of the universe, divine revelation, salvation, and Jesus’ human works. He initiates and is in charge of all these things. The Son, the only form of God that we can see, is the one through whom the Father does the following works: creation and maintenance of the universe, divine revelation, and salvation. The Father does all these things by the power of the Holy Spirit. This is the human’s attempt to describe God. Do we understand it? No. But we believe it.

  Your last message really blessed my heart. It obvious that God is working in your life. When we first started writing, you had all the pieces of the spiritual puzzle but didn’t know how to put them together: yes, God loves me, but he is mad at things in my life, I feel forgiven, but God will judge me, I have serious problems, God will help, no, maybe not.

  1. Jesus is definitely the way to go. 2. No, you are not perfect, but you are in good company. No one who has ever lived, is alive now, or will be, except Jesus, is perfect.

  The earth’s problems began when God placed man and woman in a garden paradise and tested them by saying that there was only one thing they were forbidden to do: eat the fruit of one tree.

  Hi Dini, Here is a quantitative way to measure your faith and obedience to God. There are 2 Bible verses that I use to check on how I am progressing on my faith journey.

  Hi Dini, Your honesty in expressing your struggles is refreshing. Yes, I have been angry with God, all the time feeling guilty because we know he is always right. And yes, sometimes God seems slow to answer. 

  Hi Dini, I praise you for your honesty and openness about your problems. Experts say that the first step to solving a problem is to admit that you have one. We all have issues, or what Paul calls besetting sins. 

have to make a further comment on “God rewards lavishly, but condemns viciously.” I am not talking about the sins that entice us every day. “Condemns” refers to the judgment day, often referred to as “the day of the Lord.” Then, non Christians will be judged on not trusting Christ as Savior and condemned to the lake of fire we know as “hell” forever.

  Most Christians have a pretty good idea of what God expects of them and they genuinely want to obey. But once in a while they mess up. It’s called the sin nature, which we give in to once in a while. It’s like riding a bike. When you fall off, get up, brush your knees off and get back on.

  Yes, there is a supernatural world: God and his angels, Satan, evil angels and demons. A person who lives on the surface of life, thinking only of what pleases them, may never notice this. (Ephesians 6:12)

  After salvation our love and awe for God makes us want to obey. Our values and attitudes change when we believe God’s Word. They are a proof of salvation, not a cause.

  The two most effective witnesses for salvation are the Word of God and your personal experience with God.

  Yes, I think everyone has pride, some have a lot, some not so much or even feel unworthy. I think it was Paul who said we should think of others as better than ourselves. Well, that’s a tough one—better? Maybe just as good as me. We tend to look at our own lives through rose colored glasses where everything is beautiful.

  Peter wrote that we should respect the king (1 Peter 2:17). He did not mean the person. Nero was emperor at the time. How could anyone respect that tyrant? He meant the office and the authority that went with it. We should obey the government unless it violates God’s laws. I would guess the reason is that it promotes a peaceful orderly society where we can all live more safely.

  A person who has accepted Jesus as their Savior should want to grow to be like him (a lifelong process). That person should get to know him through study of the Bible and prayer. Letting go of pride and wanting our own way all the time can be such a big challenge, but I have lived long enough to see that my “brilliant “ ideas often did not work out well. God has the big picture. We have our own small picture, full of plans that please only us. Serving Jesus brings a satisfaction that can be found nowhere else.

  Deuteronomy 31:6. …..for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.

  The Lord is compassionate and merciful, slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love. He will not constantly accuse us, nor remain angry forever. He does not punish us for all our sins; he does not deal harshly with us, as we deserve. For his unfailing love toward those who fear him is as great as the height of the heavens above the earth. He has removed our sins from us as the east is from the west. The Lord is like a Father to his children, tender and compassionate to those who fear him. For he knows how weak we are; he remembers we are only dust.

  God offers you unconditional love. He doesn’t turn it off and on according to your behavior. Psalm 136:26. Give thanks to the God of heaven. His love endures forever.

  Hi Dini, I wanted to go over the basics with you because I read that you worry about God sending you to hell.

  Hi Dini, This is a thoughtful and helpful devotional. Obtaining God's Help  Read the Scripture: Psalm 77:11-13

  Psalm 103 says, “as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.” This phrase is meant to show complete and utter forgiveness. Think about it: east and west will never meet. If you confess a sin, worry about it, and bring it up again, God will say, “What sin, what are you talking about ?” He has let it go and so should we. We may remember, but not focus or worry about it any more. Concentrate on the future. Draw closer to God. Learn more about him in the Bible.

  The Bible tells us to fear the Lord. This does not mean to be terrified, but to revere and honor him knowing his greatness is beyond our understanding. People who have ignored, disobeyed, and said ugly, disrespectful things about him will have cause to be terrified at the judgment day. But God shows his love and mercy to those who trust him.

  An unbeliever fears God’s judgment and eternal death. A believer’s fear is reverence and awe for God. This fear is more than respect for God. We need to understand how much God hates sin and fear his judgment. We are not to be scared of God. We have his promise that nothing can separate us from his love, that he will never leave us or forsake us. Fearing God impacts the way we live. It means respecting him, obeying him, submitting to his discipline, and worshiping him in awe.

  “Only him hallelujah it’s finally over. Our battle against sins that slowly let go its grip on us.”

  Your story is very interesting and has some important points. God has commands, not suggestions. Generally, you can’t bargain with God. Moses did bargain to spare the Israelites, but we aren’t Moses. God has a simple pass/fail system. There is no above average/below average or pretty good/not too bad rating. It is yes or no, in or out. Now that is where Jesus comes in. God doesn’t want us to fall short, so he sent Jesus to pay the penalty for the sin that we have. Now, when God looks at a Christian, he sees Jesus’ righteousness, not our own.

  Hebrews 11:6. And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.

  Logically, there is an inherent self-contradiction in that complaint. Besides, it is irrelevant. God is entirely justified in holding his creations accountable. We should recognize the benefits of existence with as much clarity as the difficulties.

  In the most basic sense, love is the emotions felt and the actions performed by someone concerned for the well-being of another person.

  God is working in your life, helping you understand truth. You can learn a lot about God by reading the Bible: what he loves, what he hates, what is important to him, what is not. When you read a chapter, ask what does this tell me about God? What is he asking me to do? How will my life be different if I follow him?

  Many people cannot or will not see their sins: their hypocrisy, selfishness, determination to have their own way. It. Is a mark of God’s grace that he shows us our sins so that we can come to him for forgiveness. Someone asked Jesus which was the greatest commandment. He answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. The second is like it. Love your neighbor as yourself.” No one does that. We might want to for a while, but eventually, our desire to please ourselves and have our own way overshadows our love for God. Even the finest person you know cannot love God like that all the time. So God provided a way for us to be forgiven and live with him. Praise You, Jesus, for Your sacrificial love.

  I agree. Belief is harder than it looks. Many people believe Jesus lived and had an extraordinary life. So does Satan. That is not belief that saves. The believing that Jesus talks about is commitment to him, that you trust him to do what he says, that his power and glory is real, and his love for us is demonstrated by his actions. In Mark 9 a man asks Jesus to rid his son of an evil spirit. Jesus says that if you believe, all things are possible. The man cried, “Lord, I believe; help my unbelief.” That is where most of us are at times. We do believe, but in tough situations, doubts creep in. Then we must ask God to strengthen our faith and banish the doubts.

  God speaks to us through the Bible. That’s why it’s important to read it over and over. We can’t contain all the truth in one sitting, so frequent reading gives us new insights. I am glad you are returning to reading it.

  The Bible claims it is truth. Jesus said he was truth. John 14:6. If you are looking for truth, believe the Bible, not what other people say about it or what their opinions are.

  David appealed to God to cleanse him because of his loyal love and compassion. He knew he did not deserve the Lord’s forgiveness nor could he earn it. Divine pardon comes to sinners by his grace alone. There are two types of forgiveness. Judicial forgiveness is what we receive when we accept Christ as Savior. Familial forgiveness comes when we have offended God with our thoughts or actions. It restores our intimacy with God.

  God chose the Jews to demonstrate to the world his love, care and provision. They were to make the other countries want to have a relationship also. He did not choose them because they were better or more powerful than other countries. In fact, they were the fewest. He had his own reasons. Unfortunately, they wanted to have their own way more than God’s way, so God opened salvation through the Gentiles. He has not forgotten or abandoned the Jews, however. They will play an important role in the end days.

  The Bible clearly and consistently declares that homosexual activity is a sin. (Leviticus 18:22, Romans 1:26-27). God created marriage and sexual relationships to be between one man and one woman. When examining what the Bible says about homosexual behavior,it is important to distinguish between homosexual behavior and homosexual inclinations and homosexual inclinations or attractions. It is the difference between active sin and the passive condition of being tempted. Homosexual behavior is sinful, but the Bible never says it is a sin to be tempted. Simply stated, a struggle with temptation may lead to sin, but the struggle itself is not a sin.

  There are many verses in the Bible proclaiming God’s love for everyone.  

  Repenting is deeper than just saying I’m sorry. It is similar to a military term, “about face” or turn around. Repentance is evidence of a changed life, not a perfect life. Only time gives evidence of this change. We may think someone got off too easily, but that same grace applied to us as well and is the only reason we’re not toast.

  The first thing we need to think about is that no one deserves heaven. No one, not you, not me , not Paul, not John, not Peter. Forgiving sins and letting people into heaven is God’s decision.

  Psalm 139:3-4. Search me, O God, and know my heart; try me and know my anxious thoughts; and see if there be any hurtful way in me, and lead me in the everlasting way.

  When I say “functional God” I mean whoever or whatever is the most important thing in your life. We may say we love God, but in reality we desire riches more than anything. It is so important that we not fool ourselves in this matter.

  For the most part, God used humble everyday people to do his work. Mary, a young teenager, was a peasant girl. I think there are two reasons for this. First, God receives his rightful glory because we realize the person or prophet couldn’t have accomplished anything on his own. It had to be God working through the person. Second, if Jesus had been born in a palace, would the shepherds ever been let in to see him? God wants to have a relationship with each person, not just the rich and famous, who, frankly, don’t think they need him.

  Paul wrote in several of his letters a list of sinful behaviors that would keep a person out of heaven. He was referring to lifestyles: if it is a person’s habit to do something and they don’t see it as a sin. But Paul also wrote in Romans 7 that he would intend to do good and wind up sinning—he would fall victim to temptation. If a person tries to justify some sinful habit that he has as being right, he is deceiving himself and sinning. A Christian sinning is like a person practicing a song on the piano who accidentally hits a wrong note. He didn’t want to, he made a mistake.

  When people come to know Christ as their Savior, they are brought into a relationship with God that guarantees their relationship is eternally secure. Salvation is a sovereign act of God whereby an unregenerate sinner is washed, renewed, and born again by the Holy Spirit (John 3:3, Titus 3:5) Many passages of Scripture declare the fact, that as an act of God, salvation is secure.

  God sees who we really are; he sees inside our thoughts, motives, goals way beyond the face we present to others.

  In many books of the Bible we are told to wait on the Lord. Patient, confident trust in the Lord is the central idea. First, we wait on the Lord by trusting him. Second, we wait On the Lord by seeking him. We wait on him through prayer. This waiting involves confident expectation of a positive result. It brings God’s blessing because he is always working for our good.

  Committing to God can be easy, especially when things are going well. It is the 24/7 part that is hard. Sometimes it is the waiting. God takes his time, after all, he has all eternity to work things out. We want everything done in the next 5 minutes. To stay strong and patient is the difficulty. It takes practice, work, and faith. It is easier if you have one or two people who you can confide in or ask for help. Of course, I will always try to help you and encourage you.

  From what you tell me, I think you understand the gospel message of salvation and have accepted it. That puts you in the category of those in Romans 8:1 There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. You believe it. Now trust it. That means to quit worrying about hell and if you are good enough for heaven. No you are not. Neither is anyone who is in heaven. Salvation is God’s doing. Praise him for that Free gift that changes eternity from a horrible nightmare to paradise.

  Hi, My heart goes out to you. The good news is that you have a heavenly Father who loves you beyond measure who sent His only Son on mission to rescue you. The team and I would love to be a part of the Lord's healing for you. We will help you set things right with the Lord so that you can receive spiritual cleansing, be healthy in every way and serve Him wholeheartedly without hindrance.

  Salvation and repentance are gifts from God. Ephesians 1:4 For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. We are a chosen people, praise God.

  It is true that there are times we drift, times we know better but don’t care. It is our sin nature getting the best of us for a while. I have noticed in the Bible that God often lets people do the sinful thing they wanted to do. I think he wants them to see what a bad idea it was. Often their punishment is the consequences of their actions. For example: stealing something they wanted and then going to jail.

  Love of money brings immediate tangible results. You can count it to see how great it is. You can throw it around to impress others. You can buy all expensive things. You can feel you are safe from all problems. But Proverbs says money can get wings and fly away. You have seen this in your forex trading. Instead of impressing others, they may become jealous and even not like you. A car gets you from point A to point B whether it is a Rolls Royce or model T. Rich people get cancer, are robbed and cheated like everyone else.

  Praying for God to answer a request requires patience. Sometimes something needs to happen before your prayer can be answered. Also, when you are on the right track, things begin to fall into place making your answer work. Events happen, people make comments that confirm you are on the right path. When we wanted to adopt a baby, a person we hardly knew told us that his daughter was with an agency that placed newborns in Christian homes. Sometimes you get a roadblock: the employer hires someone else for the position you wanted.

  Knowing God and knowing truths from the Bible are just like studying a difficult course at school. At first, you don’t know what you don’t know. As you begin to read the Bible and pray, God begins to teach you—from the Bible, but also from a good preacher or Christian friend. For example: when I was new to Christianity, I worked in a pastor’s office to help out. I did some of the financial records and saw that some people actually tithed! On the church bulletin I saw the phrase “Tithes and Offerings.” I thought it was just a cute way of putting it. I had no idea that anyone in this day and age actually tithed. I also went to a prayer meeting. People took turns praying spontaneously. In the church where I grew up even the pastor read the prayers. I think reading the Proverbs over and over teaches you good moral principles. It is a lifelong process of staying close to God in trying to be obedient. He will bring helpful experiences or truth to you.

  You have understood an important truth. Satan, the ruler of this world, inflicts evil, pain, and heartache to try to capture people into his world. God intends good and can bring good out of terrible situations. We don’t understand why God doesn’t wipe away all evil now. I think he is waiting for people to repent. There is a day coming when he will banish evil from his world and Jesus will reign supreme. Until that day we ask for his provision and protection.

  Thinking you are good enough is a dangerous attitude, because in God’s eyes, no one is good enough. Thinking you are above average is also dangerous, because God says if you break the tiniest law, you have failed. That’s why we need Jesus, who never broke any commandment and made the perfect sacrifice for our sins. Repent and Follow JESUS. 

  First of all, God values honesty in the workplace. It does not mean you always have to lose. You can drive a hard bargain; just don’t cheat.

  Reading the gospels, I bet you never read that Jesus ate dinner at the Pharisees’ house. No he always linked up with the socially unacceptable, disreputable outcasts and ate dinner and spent time with them. Do you think he lectured them on what filth they were? No, they knew that. He

  It is true that no one asked to be born. It is always God’s idea. He has something he wants you to do.  

  There are people all over the world who are in the family of God. Some have money, some don’t. They are from every tribe and nation and have one thing in common: they love the Lord Jesus who has saved them according to God’s will. Looking at the worldwide church, you cannot say they are self satisfied hypocrites. Sure there are, but there are many humble hard working servants of God. The big thing to be concerned about is you! Your heart, your willingness to serve and trust are your concerns. Let God deal with the rest of it.

  Remember the story of Job? He had questions about God. God spoke to him, not really answering   His questions and he came to faith and trust because of that encounter. God does not have to prove or justify himself to anyone. Interestingly, the proof comes after you have committed yourself to him. He gives each of us the Holy Spirit to guide and correct us. He wants us to come by faith and faith is believing something you can’t prove. First, we learn about the gospel, about God, and his teaching. Then, we decide to believe it. The next step is to trust what you believe enough to live by it. As you see God working in your life, you will begin to understand his love for you. Your feelings are crowded—so many issues and problems to solve. I think these crowd out the ability to feel forgiven.

  Your comments under “I ever think that myself” surprise me. No one can prove that God exists, but what we see in human experience, science, logic, and history leads us to a confident yes. Perfect knowledge is beyond our ability. Bias and prejudice cloud our views. There will always be a gap between what we know and what we believe. Whether or not one acknowledges God, it requires faith. Evidence of God exists in daily human experiences. Romans 1:19-20, Psalm 19:1, and Ecclesiastes 3:11. Romans 1:18 tells us do not have the excuse of ignorance. Romans 1:20 says,”For since the creation of the world, God’s invisible qualities-his eternal power and divine nature-have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.”

  I agree that God has spared you for some reason, for your benefit and his glory. I have no answer about the suffering that people endure and God does not prevent. He gave everyone free will, which means they are free to make bad choices. He wants to see people turn from sin and love him. There is help and blessing for those who do this.

  I agree with everything you have said. We can’t impress God with what do. We can impress ourselves and that is called pride. God hates that. God loves our obedience and a loyal heart.

  In the early days it was common for girls to marry quite young. It is thought that Jesus’ mother, Mary, was a young teenager. But I have no definitive information on that.

  When you say you are looking for Jesus, you are looking for the right thing. First, we hear the gospel, the good news about Jesus. Then we believe it. Then comes the hard part: to trust him in the hard times of life. To obey his commands when we want to lash out with our own ideas often in anger and resentment. In Mark 4: 38-40 the disciples wake Jesus in the boat in rough water. He says, “Do you have no faith?” He is willing to help us. We just have to trust him.

  Hello Unknown, my name is Bet. Thank you for telling me about your struggles. I am proud of you for asking for help. I am here to encourage you on your journey with Jesus. Take comfort in the fact that God loves you and nothing can separate you from His love. I appreciate your desire to resist temptation and maintain lifestyle purity.

  The short answer is nothing. He created you with the capability of accepting or rejecting him. He wants a relationship with those he has created, but just like Adam and Eve, people want to run their own lives. Romans tells us that there is none righteous, no not one. So God made a way for us to be forgiven and have right standing with him by accepting Jesus, the perfect God man’s punishment on the cross. When we accept that payment as our own, then we join God’s family and are in a position to receive his blessing and guidance. He is pleased to guide and bless for his glory. He has far better blessings than money. His blessings affect the soul and spirit and bring peace, contentment, and joy.

  The epistles of Paul were written less than 40 years after Jesus’ death. This is extraordinary proof of the existence of a man named Jesus in the early first century.

  For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. Jeremiah 29:11 Matthew 6:33. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. God has a future for you, a good future with blessing. How do you find it? By seeking it and focusing on the future, not the past. We can’t change the past, but we can create the future with God’s help into something healing and beautiful and meaningful.

  A Christian is one who is a Christ follower, a disciple (Acts 11:26), not someone who has ascribed to a particular set of beliefs, joined a church, or prayed a prayer. They have repented of their sins and made Jesus Lord of their lives. (Romans 10:9,10). Left to ourselves, it is impossible to be completely free from sin (Romans 3:10). When we come to Christ by faith and trust him to forgive and cleanse us of all our sin, we are born again (John 3:3) God gives us a new heart turned toward obeying and pleasing him rather than self.(Romans 8:5,6). Sin’s control has been broken by the power of Jesus. However, we still live in the flesh, and the flesh is prone to want what it wants. (Romans 7:21-23) John wrote in 1John that Christians can still sin (1John 1:8,9) This verse shows us that God offers continual, ongoing grace whenever we agree with him about our sin and ask for his cleansing.

  Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine. Isaiah 43:1 Every follower has a not so great “before”: a rash, brash fisherman, a pious, fancy-pants religious leader, a thieving, indifferent to suffering tax collector, a demon possessed woman so insignificant that her “before” isn’t even recorded and we’re left to surmise what it might have been.

  God can fundamentally transform your life, but you have to trust him and move forward in his actions. The constant change of emotions—God is good. God is bad. I love him. I hate him.—prevent him from doing much in your life. Which is it? Is God good or not? The evil done in the world is because of sin. God allows it so that people will voluntarily turn to him without being forced. That’s the world we live in. It is not what God intended and he will correct it one day.

  Being a Christian and being a doormat are not the same thing. You are so right. I think you said some important things here. Relating to girls as friends is also so important.

  God created man to have a relationship with him and to guide him through the complicated moral choices life brings. He put man in charge of the garden or you might say the earth. But man wanted to be his own boss, not knowing it was a job he couldn’t do. God never intended to let man do whatever he wanted, because he knew man would destroy himself. He wanted a relationship where man did whatever God wanted. Jesus’ payment for our sin enables us to have this relationship.

  Dear Themostprivileged. 1 Corinthians 13

  Dear Themostprivileged. Matthew 5: 1-12

  Dear Themostprivileged. Psalm 46 1 God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.  2 Therefore will not we fear, though the earth give way, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea;  3 Though its waters roar and foam, and though the mountains quake with the swelling thereof.  4 There is a river, the streams whereof shall make glad the city of God, the holy place of the tabernacles of the Most High.  5 God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved; God shall help her, and early in the morning.  6 The nations rage, the kingdoms tremble; God utters his voice, and the earth melts.  7 The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge.  8 Come, see the works of the LORD, the desolations he has made on the earth.  9 He makes wars cease to the ends of the earth; he breaks the bow and cuts the spear in pieces; he burns the chariot with fire.  10 Be still, and know that I am God; I will be e...

  Dear Themostprivileged. Psalm 139

  Dear Themostprivileged. Joshua 1:1-9

  Dear Themostprivileged. Proverbs 3:1-6

  Dear Themostprivileged. Exodus 20:1-17

“What have I done with Jesus in my life, what have I done with my faith,, what have I done for him? Nothing.” Once we see our honest relationship with God we are in a position to do something about it.   When we see that our money, our good deeds do not impress Good—he has more wealth than we can imagine and more fame for miraculous deeds than we can even dream about, we are in the proper place to begin a meaningful relationship with God. We start with guilt and shame, but he will cleanse us from sin through forgiveness and restoration. We turn from that failed life to a life of obedience. Just read the Bible and do what it says. Sound easy? Well, it isn’t. It is the right path, but the road is difficult. Temptation to return to our former life distracts us. Inexperience and ignorance can cause us to make foolish choices, but the reality is that if we want to go with Jesus, he will help us. No heroic actions required. God will forgive you of all your sins, even the dumb stuff you h...

  You have questions for God: ask them. Reading the Bible thoughtfully is important. Many of life’s questions are answered there. How to live for him, how to be led by the Spirit, how to hear and find him are all questions that have answers in the Bible, particularly in Paul’s letters. The Bible says to search for God as if searching for gold. Then you will find him. It’s not “send me some ideas, God, and I’ll see if I like them.” It’s “ Here I am, God, send me.” Eternal peace and joy await if you have he courage to do it.

Your phrase “Live it well or go to hell” is succinctly put but basically correct. We acknowledge God as our creator and his Son as our Redeemer and live accordingly or face eternal judgment. I am currently reading Ezekiel , who was told by God to deliver judgments on rebellious Israelites. God waits patiently for repentance and if it does not come, he gives fierce judgment.  

  The world, our friends, family, government, everyone will ultimately fail because they are weak, imperfect humans often more concerned with their own well being than anything else. God never fails. Why does he let people go through hard times? I don’t know. Sometimes it is to strengthen them. I do know he has ultimately good purposes.

Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is written in it, because the time is near. -Revelation 1:3 And do this, understanding the present time: The hour has already come for you to wake up from your slumber, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. -Romans 13:11 The night is nearly over; the day is almost here. So let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. -Romans 13:12 Say this and MEAN IT, WITH ALL YOUR HEART: I'm a sinner and need a Savior. JESUS, SAVE ME. COME INTO MY HEART. I RECEIVE YOU NOW AS SAVIOR AND LORD. I believe you died for my sins and rose from the dead. I GIVE YOU ALL MY HEART AND ALL MY LIFE.

Elijah and ahab era baal worships Obadiah and joel minor prophets  Either obadiah the person who hid 100 prophets from izebel in Elijah time or not I think not Joel most people viewed as a contemporary of Elisha  Elisha and ahab kids Jehu and ahab family wiped away Jonah and neo assyrian king Nineveh Adad ninari iii IRAQ now amos micha hosea warnings against northern part and southern part Hezikiah and Isaiah era  Assyrian raise in power and ruled northern part and Sennacherib cant control southern part during Hezikiah and Isaiah era  Nahum zephaniah habakkuk warnings against the remaining southern part  Joshia and Jeremiah neo Babylonian power Nebuchadnezar Jeremiah Daniel Ezikiel in exile 70 years Babylonian Persian King Cyrus and Daniel old age ancient iran Haggai Zechariah and Darius i encourage temple rebuilding IRAN ANCIENT Esther and xerxes i ancient iran Darius ii ancient Iran  Ezra nehemiah and atarxerxes i ancient iran Rebuilded temple Malach...

  Connecting with God is probably easier than you think, because he wants to connect with you. James4:8 Draw near to God and he will draw near to you. Actually, it is similar to connecting with a friend or relative. First, you have to come close in order to show interest and so you don’t have to shout at each other. Then, you have to show an interest in them and learn about them. Ask questions respectfully, no shouting or cursing, please, or your friend will leave. They will ask about you. Be honest. Don’t pretend to be more than you are. As you share stories and information, your respect for them will grow. Love grows over time.

  All I hope is in You, all I hope is in You All the glory to You, God, the light of the world Jesus Messiah, name above all names Blessed redeemer, Emmanuel The rescue for sinners, the ransom from Heaven Jesus Messiah, Lord of all

“Then Agrippa said unto Paul, Thou art permitted to speak for thyself. Then Paul stretched forth the hand, and answered for himself: I think myself happy, king Agrippa, because I shall answer for myself this day before thee touching all the things whereof I am accused of the Jews: especially because I know thee to be expert in all customs and questions which are among the Jews: wherefore I beseech thee to hear me patiently.” ‭‭Acts‬ ‭26‬:‭1‬-‭3‬ ‭KJV‬‬ https://bible.com/bible/1/act.26. 1-3.KJV  

  Timothy Keller wrote “we are more sinful and flawed in ourselves than we ever dared believe, yet at the very same time we are more loved and accepted in Jesus Christ then we can ever dare hope.“ Romans 6:12–13 from The Message, a paraphrase of the Bible. You must not give sin a vote in the way you conduct your lives. Don’t give it the time of day. Don’t even run little errands that are connected with that old way of life. Throw yourselves, wholeheartedly and full-time – remember, you’ve been raised from the dead – into God‘s way of doing things.

  I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources, he will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit. Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God‘s love and keep you strong. And may you have the power to understand, as all God‘s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep the love is. May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God.

  Jesus said in Matthew 5:31-32, “ it has been said, anyone who divorces his wife must give her a certificate of divorce. But I tell you tha anyone who divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, makes her the victim of adultery, and anyone who marries a divorced woman commits adultery.   There are specific cases where divorce is accepted. In another place it is suggested that abandonment permits divorce. A person goes to hell for not having Jesus as his Savior. We are saved to do the work God planned for us. Ephesians 2:10  Guides to knowing God’s will for your life. 1. Prioritize daily prayer. Speak with him, listen for his voice, align your heart with his will. Tell him your desires, fears, and struggles. Ask for Wisdom and guidance. Even 5-10 minutes is effective. Stop picking fights and look for ways to help. Studying wisdom in proverbs allows you to see life from God’s point of view. It teaches you proper attitudes and conduct, relationships with others, moral ...