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  1. Lukamu

    James 1 says "be quick to listen", but who or what should we not listen to?

    So far I've decided there are arguments for and against. For listening (to everything): How else are sinners going to find Jesus? If we won't listen to them, why would they listen to us? Listening doesn't mean agreeing, but being able to understand and accurately articulate another person's...
  2. Lukamu

    James 1 says "be quick to listen", but who or what should we not listen to?

    Thank you for responding. It looks like all of those verses deal with times when we SHOULD listen to others. I'm asking if there are times when we SHOULD NOT listen (by listen I mean to be an audience to someone, not as in agreeing or obeying). Examples would be: if someone starts gossiping...
  3. Lukamu

    James 1 says "be quick to listen", but who or what should we not listen to?

    I'm leading a Bible Study on James 1 by asking/answering questions. One of the questions is: should we be quick to listen to everything and everyone? Or are there some people or situations where we should not be "quick to listen"? Some examples might be: gossiping, slander, crude humor...
  4. Lukamu

    Genesis "and it was good" problem:

    And the same word in Isaiah 31:2 so it looks like it can be translated either way. I don't believe that man's "evil" and God's "evil" are interchangeable though. Edit: and in Numbers 11:1, which is stronger evidence that "ra" can mean adversity.
  5. Lukamu

    Genesis "and it was good" problem:

    Are there any other translations for the Hebrew word for "evil" in this passage?
  6. Lukamu

    Genesis "and it was good" problem:

    Sorry, let me clarify: the original point of the discussion is DID GOD CREATE EVIL, the argument being that if God created everything (he did), and if evil currently exists (it does), then God created evil. My rebuttal is that IN THE BEGINNING God created the heavens and the earth (i.e...
  7. Lukamu

    Genesis "and it was good" problem:

    That was my understanding, after thinking about it more. I think: God was not finished creating, so when God says, "It is not good..." it's like saying he was not finished yet, and here's his next step - he was not saying "Oops! That's not good! Better fix that!" Though I wasn't using "perfect"...
  8. Lukamu

    Genesis "and it was good" problem:

    Genesis 1 describes how God created the heavens and the earth, "and it was good." This statement is repeated multiple times in Genesis 1. I've heard from many people (including myself) who believe that Creation, at the beginning, was perfect. Everything was good, and there was nothing bad...
  9. Lukamu

    A problem of evangelical churches...

    This may not be true for your church, but it is for the few that I have attended in the last decade. Every so often, the pastor will get on a streak about evangelism and preach about how my main purpose in life should be sharing the gospel with other people. That's a problem, because it's not...
  10. Lukamu

    Paying church musicians

    I'm asking from the perspective of a non-paid worship leader (me).
  11. Lukamu

    Paying church musicians

    Do the musicians who lead worship at your church get paid for their services?
  12. Lukamu

    Freedom in Christ powerfully understood

    The sin of "blaspheming the Holy Spirit" is essentially the sin of rejecting Christ. If you reject Christ, then you are rejecting the forgiveness of sins.
  13. Lukamu

    Freedom in Christ powerfully understood

    Freedom in Christ, rightfully understood, is not the freedom to continue sinning. The freedom of Christ is the freedom that allows me to choose, uncoerced, to do good. However, technically speaking, the freedom of Christ is the freedom to sin without fear of punishment. That is correct: you are...
  14. Lukamu

    Assurance vs. Insurance

    Thanks for sharing that. I have been through so many "this time it's REAL" experiences in my life that I've lost count. Yet somehow, every time I seem to find more things to question. In 2012 I was really 100% committed like you, but then life got hard. When my grandpa died in 2014, he told me...
  15. Lukamu

    Assurance vs. Insurance

    My "all in" question is why is there something instead of nothing? Why is there a universe if there was nothing, and how did it start and work out so well that I'm able to write this sentence? It's just unfathomable to think that it all happened naturally, that there is no higher power that...
  16. Lukamu

    Assurance vs. Insurance

    I have been a Christian for over 20 years, but I'm also the type of person who questions and looks at other points of view to try and get a fuller understanding. I have been born again, and I have rededicated my life to Christ several times at critical points in my life. So now that you know a...
  17. Lukamu

    What's the point of asking God for anything?

    Thank you all for the encouraging responses. I suppose that I was just a little bit tired and grumpy from having stayed up all night taking care of my sick kids. I was definitely feeling like "God, I really need some good rest tonight so I can be an effective employee at work tomorrow in a way...
  18. Lukamu

    What's the point of asking God for anything?

    I'm talking about prayer in this post. More specifically, I'm talking about those kinds of prayers that I hear all of the time known as prayer requests. For example, people praying for healing, praying for safe journeys, praying for rain, even praying for a good night's sleep. What's the point...
  19. Lukamu

    Sovereignty and Free Will as it relates to Salvation

    Thanks for replying, it's good to know that there are other people stuck in this same dilemma. I've had two family members die in the last two years, and neither were Christians, so it has been a real challenge to my faith. I also pray for other friends and family members, but it doesn't seem...
  20. Lukamu

    Sovereignty and Free Will as it relates to Salvation

    Is it right to believe that God is responsible for people who reject the gospel and die and go to hell? Two things to clarify first: God is sovereign and God is all-knowing. The first declares that all power and authority on heaven and Earth belongs to God alone. The second declares that God...