If Jesus was thin/slender when he began his 40 day fast , how is that healthy?

I thought our bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit. How can it be healthy to fast 40 days ???

Is prolonged fasting a sin ?

Why did Jesus fast that long ? Why did Jesus promote fasting ?

Is it because eating wheat is unhealthy and fasting counters the negative effects of consuming bread ???

This question "what happens after a person dies?" is both theological and apologetic.

But what happens when a person dies; is there medical research to shed light on this? Philosophy perhaps has a word to say? Science - physics, examination of energies and matter - do they have something to enlighten the matter?

Why is death and its aftermath of and in itself not a major research question?

How do you persevere through prayer when your mind tends to wander and it "feels" like you are going nowhere?

For example:

"Heavenly Father, thank you for XYZ, please have mercy on XYZ.....**mind goes blank***..."

Hi everyone, just wanted to introduce myself, I'm aNewMan, i'm literally a new Man, but not a new Christian. I'm living for God now whereas in the past I was not because I was immature spiritually. Life has been a journey the last few years but God has been faithful. Thanks for listening.

So I was thinking of ways to encourage my brothers and sisters in their walk with God, and this will be one such feeble attempt to do so.

Luke 17:5 (BSB)
The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith!”

How many times have I asked the Lord to increase my faith when I felt like I was lacking? How many times have I failed a test of faith just to get down on myself and think if I had just been a bit bolder or courageous. Well how do we increase our faith?

What did Jesus do in response to the request presented to Him?

Luke 17:6 (BSB)
And the Lord answered, “If you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it will obey you.

Notice Jesus didn't say, "You're request is granted." Well why?

Faith is like a muscle, I'm sure we've all heard that at some point. We all have some measure of faith already (Romans 12:3), you wouldn't be a child of God without faith so you have faith somewhere lurking inside you. So what do we do with that?

First a story. I spent 3 years of my younger adult life jumping out of airplanes. Why? I was young and rather lacking in sense. It was terrifying at first. I used to tell myself, no way would I ever do something like that. But I became familiar with my equipment, I observed others who were more experienced jumping, I trained in proper technique, and my confidence grew. Finally it came time for me to jump out and wouldn't you know it... I refused! No no, just kidding, I did! I jumped and my parachute opened and I landed safely on the ground.

What does that story have to do with faith? It has everything to do with faith! I had faith in that parachute to do what it was supposed to do. I did my part, it did it's part. My confidence in that parachute became stronger as I trained with it. That is how we MUST approach our walk of faith! We must approach it from that direction.

Become familiar with your equipment.

Ephesians 6:13-18 (BSB)
Therefore take up the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you will be able to stand your ground, and having done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness arrayed, and with your feet fitted with the readiness of the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. And take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. Pray in the Spirit at all times, with every kind of prayer and petition. To this end, stay alert with all perseverance in your prayers for all the saints.

Lots to unpack here, but to save time and stress on our eyes from reading, let me encourage you to familiarize yourself with the "Armor of God" Learn each and every piece and how you are to use it. Armor only does us good if we are trained in it's proper use.

So what is the armor?

1. Belt of Truth
2. Breastplate of righteousness
3. Feet prepared to do the work of the kingdom (share the gospel)
4. Shield of faith
5. Helmet of salvation

What are our weapons?

1. Sword of the Spirit! - The Word of God, we MUST read, meditate on and study the Word of God.
2. Prayer!

Now that you know your equipment, watch others use it!

1 Corinthians 11:1 (BSB)
You are to imitate me, just as I imitate Christ.

You can observe leaders in your church, watch videos of faith online, listen to a podcast, read faith inspiring stories from the Bible (this one is actually the most important I think). But it's important that you watch other people step out in faith and watch how God takes care of them.

Lastly, now that you've learned your equipment and you've observed others using it, you need to train.
1 Timothy 4:7 (BSB)
train yourself for godliness.

Well to train you need a guide or manual to show you the proper way of doing things.
Get into God's word! Remember the Word is your sword! It is your weapon! Jesus when He was tempted by the devil quoted scripture back to resist. Paul writes in Romans that faith comes from hearing God's Word (Romans 10:17). As you read stories of the faithful throughout the generations, observe how they walked through stressful and overwhelming situations, but God was with the the whole time! Let it build your faith.

Also when training, you need someone to observe you and give you advice on how you can do it better.
So pray! Ask the Lord to help you and show you His ways! Fully commit to Him and to do whatever it is He shows you! When you know you've made a mistake (which happens during training), admit that to Him, ask Him for forgiveness and then keep going.

So in conclusion, to build our faith we need to know what has been offered to us for living, the Armor of God. We need to observe and fellowship with other faithful believers who can encourage us by their example. And we need to train ourselves! As you persist in these matters, you're faith will grow, and you will find yourself becoming more bold, confident, and courageous in the Lord to the point where eventually you will also be able to say:

Philippians 4:13 (BSB)
I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength.

God bless you!

The priest, Lawrence Hecker, has been at the center of state and federal investigations of clergy sex abuse and a deepening scandal over why church leaders failed to report his admissions to law enforcement even as they permitted him to work around children until he quietly left the ministry in 2002.

Psalms 143:9-10 ESV


For those of us who are followers of Jesus Christ, who are our enemies? They aren’t just people who are mean and hateful and nasty to us and who do obvious evil to us in order to willfully cause us harm. Many are those who outwardly appear to be our friends, who seem “nice” and kind and caring and thoughtful, and who are friendly and charming and fun and engaging, and who know how to make us feel good about ourselves and how not to feel bad about ourselves. And so they are usually well liked people.

So, if they are so nice, why do I say they may be our enemies? Because “nice” is not necessarily telling the people the truth they need to hear, but often “nice” is lying to people by telling them what we know they want to hear, but that may send them straight to hell. For if someone is “nice,” they may be enjoyable, pleasant, amusing, polite, friendly, and acceptable (by worldly standards), but they may be charming, which can mean deceitful, manipulative, enticing, appealing, persuasive, seductive and bewitching.

So, just because someone appears “nice,” it doesn’t mean at all that he is our friend and not our enemy who is a wolf in sheep’s clothing. So we need to pray for much spiritual discernment to spot those who are our true enemies so that we do not fall prey to deceiving spirits and end up believing the lies that will send us to hell, and not the truth that will keep us out of the gates of hell and which will send us to heaven, provided we believe and we live the truth, which is then evident by what we do and say.

So we need to pray to be delivered from our enemies, but that also engages us in being spiritually discerning so that we do not fall into our enemies’ traps. And then we need to pray for the Lord to teach us to do his will and to lead us on level ground. But that is only going to take place in our lives if we are spiritually discerning and if we are students of the Scriptures who are getting our truth primarily and directly from the Scriptures, in context, and who are not relying heavily on external sources to tell us what is truth.

Mark 13:21-23 ESV


Now, this doesn’t have to mean that they are saying, “Look, here is the Christ!,” meaning a literal person that they are calling “the Christ” who presently exists on this earth, though it appears that is what is intended. But they could be saying, “Look, here is the Christ!,” in the way in which they are describing Jesus Christ to us, as to his character and nature, as to his will for our lives, and as to his teachings and his promises and his warnings, etc. So, this could indeed also include mischaracterizations of both Jesus Christ and his gospel message, for this is HUGE today!

For a false christ doesn’t have to be a literal person living presently on this earth, but it could be that people are teaching “another Jesus” and a “different gospel” and a “different spirit” other than what the Scriptures teach (2 Corinthians 11:1-4). And via these lies and mischaracterizations of Christ and of his gospel message many people are being led astray from a sincere and pure devotion to Christ to follow after this “another Jesus” who is not the true Jesus of the Scriptures, but it is a lie created by humans. For even “the elect” of God can be led astray by these charmers and their lies.

So, this brings me to something current that I have just discovered, and so I am just beginning to research this subject, and this is just another false teaching that you can add to the list of so many other false teachings that are out there which are leading many people away from the truth to follow after the lies. And this is called, “The Bible Project.” But as is the case with all deception, the lies are so cleverly blended in with the truth, and there is enough element of truth in what they say, that many people end up believing the lies, largely because they are not discerning the lies.

Now, on a surface level, “The Bible Project” may appear godly, and it is well done, for it is similar in nature to “Veggie Tales,” only not geared for children but for all people, although it is animated. But so much of it is a twisting of the Scriptures and of God’s divine nature and will for our lives, and of the divine character of Christ and the teachings of the gospel of Christ. But these videos take deception to another level, I believe, for now we are entering into what I believe is the rule of the beast and his one world religion where we all join hands across the globe and sing, “Kumbaya.”

And “Kumbaya” typically refers to the act of joining hands together and singing “Kumbaya,” which usually means to ignore our differences and for all of us to just “get along” with one another. And this is the theme I was seeing throughout these videos which I watched, albeit I have only watched two of them. And then I watched another video discussing the wrongness of what “The Bible Project” is teaching in these animated videos – videos which are supposedly presenting the truth of the Scriptures. But from what I have seen so far, it is a very twisted truth (see video links below this devotion).

Okay, so what are my main objections so far? The first thing I noticed was that the author(s) of these videos does not teach the wrath of God but rather teaches against it. So when he presents the gospel message, the wrath of God is absent, and thus we are not saved from hell and eternal damnation at all, nor are we delivered from slavery to sin, it appears. But it seems, although it is not made really clear, that Jesus’ sacrifice for our sins was so that we could all get along together and have no more differences which divide us but so we can all live in harmony in a heaven on earth.

The whole thing to me spoke of the rule of the beast and his one world government and his one world religion with the rule of the antichrist and the suppression of truth, and the suppression of differences of beliefs where we are being forced to all get along with one another by destroying all which divides us. And this reminded me of when Obama was president of the USA, for this was one of his central messages, along with the pope, and they were “singing a duet,” so to speak. But this is where things are all headed. So we must be spiritually discerning people who separate truth from lies.

The Truth

[Matt 7:21-23; Matt 24:9-14; Lu 9:23-26; Rom 1:18-32; Rom 2:6-8; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-14,24; Rom 12:1-2; Rom 13:11; 1 Co 6:9-10,19-20; 2 Co 5:10,15,21; 1 Co 1:18; 1 Co 15:1-2; 2 Tim 1:8-9; Heb 9:28; 1 Pet 1:5; Gal 5:16-21; Gal 6:7-8; Eph 2:8-10; Eph 4:17-32; Eph 5:3-6; Col 1:21-23; Col 3:5-17; 1 Pet 2:24; Tit 2:11-14; 1 Jn 1:5-9; 1 Jn 2:3-6,24-25; 1 Jn 3:4-10; Heb 3:6,14-15; Heb 10:23-31; Heb 12:1-2; Rev 21:8,27; Rev 22:14-15]

My Sheep

An Original Work / June 24, 2012
Based off John 10:1-18 NIV

My sheep hear me. They know me.
They listen to my voice and obey.
I call them and lead them.
They know my voice, so they follow me.
They will never follow strangers.
They will run away from them.
The voice of a stranger they know not;
They do not follow him.

So, I tell you the truth that
I am the gate, so you enter in.
Whoever does enter
Will find forgiveness and will be saved.
Nonetheless whoever enters
Not by the gate; other way,
He is the thief and a robber.
Listen not, the sheep to him.

Oh, I am the Good Shepherd,
Who laid his own life down for the sheep.
I know them. They know me.
They will live with me eternally.
The thief only comes to steal and
Kill and to destroy the church.
I have come to give you life that
You may have it to the full…

They know my voice, so they follow me.

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The Bible Project

What’s Wrong with The Bible Project?
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The Significance of the City in the Bible (and God’s Plan for It)
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How God Deals with Evil without Destroying Humanity
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of the Nativity of the Theotokos

Your Nativity , O Virgin, has [proclaimed joy to the whole universe ! The Sun of Righteousness, Christ our God, has shone from You, O Theotokos ! By annulling the curse, He bestowed a blessing. By destroying death, he has granted us eternal Life.

I believe it will be the downfall of the U.S. I've seen a great difference in our city since the borders were open. What. Possible good reason could they have. States are suffering financially, morally, violence is rampant. I just don't get it. A politician said in the news today that the country is moving up in every way. My words.. who is going to help the cities that have taken them in and are struggling financially? I would like to know how the citizens feel about it.

Romans 6:6 We know that our old self was crucified with him so that the sinful body might be destroyed, and we might no longer be enslaved to sin. 7 For he who has died is freed from sin.

Freed is (in Greek) δεδικαίωται and that word means be righteous.

1Corinthians 6:9 Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither the immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor sexual perverts, 10 nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor robbers will inherit the kingdom of God. 11 And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God.

Here "justified" is in Greek ἐδικαιώθητε and it means made just.

These verses are not about an imputed righteousness, at least not primarily and exclusively.

In church history there really is a first heresy. It involved circumcision and obedience to the Law of Moses.
Acts 15:1-21 DRB

It troubled the Church in Syrian Antioch, it came from the Church in Jerusalem, it involved people from the "Pharisee party" (think Conservative party).

It led to a Church council, a letter containing instructions from the Apostles and Elders who attended the council. It changed the way the gospel was to be preached.
Acts 15:22-35 DRB

And what you you think we deal with today, as if the council never happened, for some. We deal with some people who want believers to get circumcised and obey the Law of Moses, observe Sabbaths, New Moons, feasts, and keep Kosher.

In Genesis 4:26 the scriptures state that at the time of Seth's birth, people began to call upon the name of the Lord. That was the first form of prayer, prayer at it's most basic and pure form. Simply calling on the name of God.

So in ancient times, a person's name was way more than just a means by which to identify one person from the other. A person's name revealed their character and conduct. Jacob was named such as a deceiver, but after wrestling with God he was renamed as Israel. Abram became Abraham. Etc, we get the point.

Well the point of this thread is to open up the discussion to the community.

Here is what I'm looking for:

1. What are some names of God?
2. How does that specific name relate to us now?
3. How can we pray to the Lord in the relation to the name?

This is meant to be edifying and encouraging to our prayer lives. So please don't take this too seriously so as to become engaged in controversy here. Share a name of God you know from scriptures and what it means. Perhaps share a specific story in scripture that connects the name to God's character and how you believe you, I, and others can pray that name back to God for His blessing! By all means, you can use a name someone else has used as well.

I'll start:

A Democratic official who called for dismantling the police at the height of the Black Lives Matter protests was singing a different tune after being carjacked and viciously beaten in her driveway in front of her children.

Shivanthi Sathanandan, second vice chairwoman of the Minnesota Democrat-Farmer-Labor Party, posted a photo of herself with blood streaking down her face, saying she suffered a broken leg, bruises, cuts, and deep lacerations on her head in the attack.

Ms. Sathanandan went on to demand consequences, saying “we need to get illegal guns off the street, catch these young people who are running wild creating chaos across our city and,” changing into screaming all capital letters, “hold them in custody and prosecute them. Period.”

Noah, Abraham, Moses obeyed YHWH implicitly because they believed in YHWH. Their Obedience was from a humble and contrite heart, the kind of heart that God promises not to despise.

Saul, Pharisees, Sadducees obeyed God out of pride in their birth, role, and alleged surety of salvation. God did not accept their obedience, he despised it.

Jesus says about his disciples
John 15:11-14 DRB

What would you do with this? Do what you will with it. Use your imagination or go by the book.

I love this tune.

.

Ain't Zwinglian: "I'll call your bluff. Inconsistencies....Maybe you could come up with a list of 15-20 rock solid inconsistencies of the Resurrection narratives which we here at CF have "no hope of resolving" and at the same time "exposing our inability to resolve them. I can't wait for your listing."

[1] Disciples Ordered to go to Galilee to See the Risen Lord Vs. Disciples Ordered to Stay in Jerusalem
'
In His first appearance to the disciples in Luke Jesus forbids His disciples to leave Jerusalem:
"So stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high (Luke 24:49)."

But in Matthew (and Mark) the angel at the tomb sends the women to instruct the disciples to go to Galilee to see the Risen Lord:
"Go QUICKLY and tell His disciples, "He has been raised from the dead, and indeed He is going ahead of you to Galilee. There you will see Him (Matthew 28:7)."

The angel is merely echoing Jesus' earlier promise on tlhe Mount of Olives:
"But after I am raised up, I will go before you to Galilee (Mark 14:28)."

So how does Luke resolve this apparent contradiction? First, in both Luke and Acts he is careful to create the impression that Jesus never appeared to His disciples in Galilee. So how does Luke handle the angel's instruction to go to Galilee to see the risen Lord? He simply rewords the angel's message to refer to Galilee without mentioning the instruction to go there to see Jesus:
"He is not here but has risen. Remember how He told you, while He was still in Galilee, that the Son of Man must be handed over to sinners, and be crucified, and n the 3rd day risen again (Luke 24:5-7)."

So how would you resolve this apparent contradiction? Remember, I believe in Jesus' resurrection; and after presenting some of the most glaring apparent inconsistencies, I will present my perspective on the actual sequence of events on and after Easter Sunday.

What are your thoughts about reading about demonology? I've read everything I could about the late Ed and Lorraine Warren who were a devout Catholic couple. I also read many stories about Father Amorth.

Is it spiritually dangerous?

God bless

BE BLESSED AS YOU READ THESE DEVOTIONS, PLEASE SHARE THEM.

Please listen to the sermons at the bottom.

If you aren't already subscribing and you wish to, please email me at keitherichobkirk@hotmail.com


ONLY JESUS
唯独耶稣

I have just had another birthday, life goes fast doesn't it, the older I get the more I focus on what is truly important.
我刚刚又过了一个生日，人生如白驹过隙，转瞬即逝，不是吗？我年纪越大，就越专注于真正重要的事情。

So many things are calling for our attention, so what is important?
有那么多事情需要我们关注，那么什么才是重要的呢？

Life goes very quickly; it is over in a flash. I wonder where all those years have gone, it seems like yesterday that I was 16.
人生匆匆数十载，转瞬间就结束了。我好想知道这些年的时光都哪儿去了，一切恍如昨天16岁时的我。

What is truly important today?
今天真正重要的是什么？

Jesus asked some of the penetrating questions anyone ever asked, he asked:
耶稣问了一些其他人曾问过的具有穿透性的问题，他说：

Who do you think I am?
你们认为我是谁？

This is the question everyone must answer.
这是每个人都必须回答的问题。

The answer to this question will define you, it will not only define you here on earth, it will be the deciding factor to where you spend eternity.
这个问题的答案将界定你，它不仅将定义在世上的你，也将是你在哪里度过永恒的决定性因素。

What is your answer to this question?
对于这个问题你的答案是什么？

The apostles said in Acts 4, Now is the appointed time , now is the day of salvation.
正如门徒在使徒行传第4章所说的，现在是指定的时候，现在是拯救的日子。

The writer of the book of Hebrews said harden not your heart.
希伯来书的作者说，不要使你的心刚硬。

Jesus offers you life, don't put him off, don't put him aside and don't harden your heart.
耶稣给了你生命，不要敷衍搪塞把他放在一边，不要使你的心变得刚硬。

For those of you, who have trusted Christ and him alone, there is an ongoing relationship. Once you are his, it is the start of a relationship that will go on for eternity.
对于你们中那些信任基督和他的人来说，这是一种持续的关系。一旦你是属他的，这就是一段将持续到永恒的关系的开始。

What are you living for believer?
作为信徒的你是为什么而活呢？

Here are some reasons, why I should be living for Jesus
以下是我为什么要为耶稣而活的原因

I HAVE A MANSION
我有一座豪宅

People often say I have many flats/houses, many people in the world say look at my house isn't it brilliant, but all I can say, look I have a mansion John 14:1-6.
人们经常说我有很多公寓/房子，世界上很多人说看看我的房子不是很漂亮吗，但我只能说，看我有一栋豪宅（约翰福音14:1-6）。

I HAVE A REWARD
我有奖赏

We have a reward, Paul is striving for a heavenly reward, look at Philippians 3 and 2 Timothy 4. We see so many people get rich and have many rewards, we may envy them, but we have no need to envy them, we will have the most amazing reward for our service to Him.
我们有一个奖赏，保罗正在努力获得天堂的奖赏，看看腓立比书3章和提摩太后书4章。我们看到这么多人变得富有，得到了很多奖赏，我们可能会嫉妒他们，但我们没有必要嫉妒他们，我们会因为事奉他而得到最惊人的奖赏。

I HAVE AN INHERITANCE
我有一笔遗产

We have an amazing inheritance, that will not rust or be taken away, so many people have money in the bank, but we have treasure that will never fade away 1 Peter 1.
我们有一笔惊人的遗产，它不会生锈或被拿走，很多人在银行里存有钱财，但我们有永远不会朽坏的财富（彼得前书1章）。

I HAVE ETERNITY WITH GOD
我有上帝永恒的同在

We have our Jesus, we will be with him for eternity, whatever we go through here on earth, in terms of persecution, suffering etc is worth it, because of the glory we will have when we spend eternity with him in his heavenly home. Romans 8
我们有耶稣，我们将永远与他同在，无论我们在地上经历什么，无论是在迫害、苦难等方面，都是值得的，因为当我们在天家中与他共度永恒时，这将是我们拥有的无上荣耀（罗马书第8章）。

What matters to you believer?
什么对作为信徒的你来说很重要？

What will be the legacy you will leave?
你将留下什么遗产？
Will your legacy be one of spiritual or monetary value?
你的遗产是精神价值还是金钱价值？

I want my life to count for God, I want to remembered for the grace of God in saving a sinner like me.
我希望我的生命为上帝而活，我希望人们记住上帝拯救像我这样的罪人的恩典。

Whilst here on earth, I want to do two things:
在世上，我想做两件事：

I WANT TO KNOW HIM Philippians 3
I WANT TO MAKE HIM KNOWN MATTHEW 28:19-20
我想认识他（腓立比书3章）
我想让他被人所认识（马太福音28:19-20）

Make your life count, if you have never trusted Christ, trust him today, if you are serving him, strive for that heavenly crown, for your heavenly reward.
让你的生命有意义，如果你从未相信过基督，今天就来信他，如果你在事奉他，就为那天上的王冠而奋斗，为得着你天上的赏赐而奋斗。
Because LIVING FOR AND LOVING JESUS IS THE ONLY THING THAT TRULY MATTERS
因为为耶稣而活和爱耶稣是唯一真正重要的事情。

GOD BLESS YOU
上帝祝福你

KEITH








ACTS 12
使徒行传第12章

12 When he realized this, he went to the house of Mary, the mother of John whose other name was Mark, where many were gathered together and were praying. 13 And when he knocked at the door of the gateway, a servant girl named Rhoda came to answer. 14 Recognizing Peter's voice, in her joy she did not open the gate but ran in and reported that Peter was standing at the gate. 15 They said to her, “You are out of your mind.” But she kept insisting that it was so, and they kept saying, “It is his angel!” 16 But Peter continued knocking, and when they opened, they saw him and were amazed.
12（彼得）想了一想，就往那称呼马可的约翰，他母亲马利亚家去，有许多人聚集在那里祷告。13他敲门的时候，有一个使女，名叫罗大，出来探听。14她认出了彼得的声音，就欢喜的顾不得开大门，而是跑进去告诉众人说：彼得站在门外。15他们对她说：“你是疯了。”使女极力地说：“真是他！”，他们说：“必是他的天使！”16但彼得不住地敲门，他们开了门，看见他，就很惊奇。


MAD OR GLAD
疯狂还是兴奋

What do you expect when you go to a prayer meeting? You expect answers to prayer right! Maybe your prayers aren't answered in such a dramatic way as they were here.
I want to focus on Rhoda; one of the forgotten heroes of Scripture.
当你去参加祷告会时，你期待什么？你希望祷告得到正确的回应！也许你的祈祷没有像在这里那样得到戏剧性的回应。
我想关注的人物是罗大；圣经中被遗忘的英雄之一。

She had faith! Let's look at her faith:
It was an excited faith. She was probably saved. She probably knew the situation and was praying for Peter. People were there at the gate, and it says "in her joy". Literally she was so overcome with joy, that her heart was overflowing with excitement. When God answers prayer, does it excite your heart or is just, "oh well that's good?"
It was an eager faith. She couldn't wait to share what God had done. Is it like that with you/me? When God does something in your life in answer to prayer, do you want to share it?
她有信心！让我们看看她的信仰：
这是一种令人激动的信心。她很可能得救了。她可能知道当时的情形，也正在为彼得祷告。人们都在门口，上面写着“她正感到喜悦之际”。从字面上看，她是如此的欣喜若狂，以至于她的内心充满了兴奋激动。当上帝回应你的祷告时，你的心会激动吗？或者只是，“哦，好吧，这很好？”
这是一种热切的信心。她迫不及待地想分享上帝的作为。你/我就是这样吗？当上帝在生活中回应你的祷告时，你愿意分享吗？

Look at the reaction of the rest of the church. They thought she was totally mad. But, last, her faith was an enthusiastic faith. She kept telling them, over and over again.
看看教会其他人的反应。他们认为她完全疯了。但是，最后得以证明，她的信心是一种满腔热情的信心。她一遍又一遍地告诉他们。

The whole church was gathered for prayer. Seems impressive... yes. But when Peter arrived, they didn't believe it was him.
整个教会的人都聚集在一起祷告。看起来令人印象深刻。。。对但当彼得真的来得时，他们却不相信是他。

Why was the church amazed at what God had done?
Why are we so amazed when God answers prayer?
Why pray and ask God to answer us and then when He does, we refuse to believe Him?
为什么教会对上帝的工作感到惊讶？
当上帝回应祷告时，我们为什么如此惊讶？
为什么我们祷告并要求上帝回应我们，而当他回应时，我们却拒绝相信他？

God opens doors for us and then stands knocking on the door, but we refuse to answer the door. We think it's an "angel."
Do you truly believe that God answers prayer?
Rhoda did. She was glad!
Let's be a Rhoda and have an excited, eager, and enthusiastic faith.
上帝为我们开门，然后站在那里敲门，但我们却拒绝应门让他进来。我们认为这是一个“天使”而不是上帝自己。
你真的相信上帝会回应祷告吗？
罗达做到了。她很高兴！
让我们像罗达那样，有一个兴奋、热切和充满热情的信心。

God bless you
上帝祝福你
KK





SOAK IN SCRIPTURE

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John Knox Insitute

Systematic Theology

Part 1

传福音 第一课 羔羊君王

Part 2

传福音 第二课 复活基督的荣耀

PART 3

传福音 第三课 海德堡主日6 – 中保

Part 4

传福音 第四课 海德堡主日7 – 真信心




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John Knox Institute

Hermenutics

Part 1

John Knox Institute of Higher Education

Part 2

John Knox Institute of Higher Education

PART 3

John Knox Institute of Higher Education

PART 4

John Knox Institute of Higher Education

New York Mayor Eric Adams said Wednesday that the migrants arriving rapidly in New York will “destroy” his city.

The mayor’s comments marked a significant escalation in his rhetoric and offered a new challenge to the Biden administration, which has failed to stop the surge of people and has failed to offer the kind of financial support Mr. Adams and other local officials say is needed to accommodate all the new arrivals.

“I don’t see an ending to this,” Mr. Adams said at a community meeting. “This issue will destroy New York City.”

Lukewarm, as our Lord warned us of in Revelation 3:14-22. At the heart of it, a refusal of sound teaching also known as liberal theology ("MUSHY").


Liberal Theology

It's such a long story, but I am 59 and had a LOT of problems with religion growing up. Spent a larger portion of my life having it forced down my throat than I care to recall, mostly because when I tell someone I am not interested, they can't respect me. But anyway, that's not why I'm here.

I have some serious questions, and having asked SO many believers/followers over the decades, not ONE of them was able to give me an answer.
It would be appreciated if someone could actually answer these questions. Thank you.

As mentioned in the subject, there is no joking, mocking or anything negative. These are all questions I have wondered for years, and some information about past girlfriends.

1a. If we are all supposedly from Adam and Eve, and for lack of a better work Adam "gave birth" to Eve from a rib, why isn't it still done that way?
1b. When did it "switch" to a woman giving birth?

2a. Also, if we're all from Adam and Eve, wouldn't/shouldn't we all be related? (We've all heard during incestuous birth, the newborn often has some medical issues.)
2b. Also also, if we're all from Adam and Eve, why are there several blood types?

In 1990, I had a girlfriend who was relentless is trying to get me to "convert." I honestly have no interest in that, in any way, shape or form. Before she started buying me bibles, trying to get to to go see Billy Graham and trying to get me to go to church with her, she knew from day 1 that I was an Athiest and all of that. But like I said she was relentless. Why can't people just live and let live? So I was driving my ex-girlfriend and I to dinner one night and out of the blue, she says, "If it's not in the bible it doesn't exist." So I looked at her with a "stunned" look on my face and asked her, "Well then how in the world are we getting to dinner?" She said nothing. She also said, "There is no such thing as dinosaurs." Later that week we went to the Museum of Natural History in New York City. I pointed to the T-Rex and said, "See that? THAT is a dinosaur."

3a. Why would she (or anyone) say that if it isn't in the bible it doesn't exist? Obviously that is not correct.
3b. Why in the world would she say there's no such thing as dinosaurs when you can clearly with your own eyes see them in pretty much any museum?

One day we went on a long ride somewhere, I forget where. About an hour or so into the trip she realized she forgot her Insulin. So, I turned right around and went back to she could get it. She actually got MAD at me, because I DIDN'T get mad at her. Can someone PLEASE explain that one to me? So after all that and maybe a few months later, when she got fed up trying to get me to convert, she gave me an ultimatum one day and said, "If you don't convert, it's over." I was pretty much out the door by the end of the sentence and never talked to her again.

4a. If Noah's Ark was real, can someone please explain to me how the kangaroos were able to get to Australia?
4b. And on the subject of Noah, if he entire world was flooded and destroyed ALL life, didn't the fish survive?

5. For those who may not be familiar, the late comedian George Carlin has a video on YouTube about praying. (I'll leave out the expletives,) but he said that if your god has a "divine plan" for everyone that cannot be changed, why do people pray?

6. When my father was in the hospital in 2003, 7 years after his heart transplant, with a diabetic issue, so many people said, "I'll pray for him." He died from the bacteria from a bedsore, which the hospital denied. The point there is, praying did absolutely nothing to help. Many people will say it "was his will." Yeah, but if he was already supposed to die because of the "divine plan," again, why bother praying?

7. If the bible is supposed to be the "word of god," then why was so much removed from it in various version of the bible? There should be ONE version, with no contradictions. Can someone help me with that?

8a. If we're "all made in god's image," who is supposed to be a loving god, all-knowing, all-powerful, etc. Why was Hitler allowed to kill over 6 million people?
8b. Why is Putin allowed to do what he is doing?

9. I have been told SO many times that I ma not interpreting the bible correctly. While I have never and will never read it, I have of course, seen parts, many times. My question to the people who DO read it is, "How do you know YOU are interpreting it correctly?" Just because you believe/follow, there is nothing concrete in here. It's ALL open to interpretation." So what makes THEM right?

10. I thought long and hard about posting this question. I in NO way want to bring up politics (my other least favorite thing in the world) in this post, but I do have a question. I've heard there is a state that wants to bring the bible into the school and teach it. Isn't that what Sunday school is for? If it is an "elective" course, then sure. But if they are planning on making it part of the standard curriculum, then my children (if I had any) would pull them from there instantly and home schooled. Why are some people so adamant about this and not respecting the fact that not everyone follows the same thing? I never understood that.

11. It's a known fact that religion is a VERY large cause of many murders. Why? Why would someone kill someone just because they don't believe in the same thing? What happened to "Love thy neighbor?" Also going back to us all being related - why are you killing a "family member?"

There's many more questions, but this is a good start, Following are just some of the things I have gone through. Interested in others' take on these experiences.

While I do not celebrate or practice anything, if anything I guess I should be Jewish, as my ancestors were, mostly coming from Eastern Europe. My paternal grandmother actually survived the holocaust by putting blood from the murdered on herself and "playing dead" amongst the other murdered people. I had HOURS of her talking about this recorded on cassette in the 1970's, but sadly those were ruined in a basement flood.

So, since I don't practice anything, I have a (personal) problem with religious holidays. I have absolutely NOTHINBG against what people believe follow, etc. But if I tell you that I am not interested, I will ALWAYS say it politely, even though I want to scream. If that person cannot respect MY wishes, they better DARE not expect me to respect theirs. If I had a nickel for every time someone tried to force their religion down my throat or disrespected my wishes, I would have choked to death decades ago. Literally.

One day I was coming out of a store, and a woman was going through the parking lot with the Watch Tower magazine. Of course most everyone knows they're about the Jehovah's Witnesses. She came up to me and asked if I'd like some information. I played dumb like I didn't know what it was and asked her if it was religious. She said yes. I said no thank you. She said, sorry to bother you, have a nice day and then walked away. That was the FIRST and ONLY time in my life that someone actually respected my wishes. I was so shocked that I almost called her back to tell her I would take one of the magazines.

I have a serious personal problem with people who say "god bless you" and "merry christmas." I will say that I DO understand that not one of those people is saying that with ANY malice. They only mean it in a friendly and nice way. I REALLY do understand that. But the problem is, what THEY don't realize is, that they have NO idea who they're saying that to. They have NO idea what that person has been through in their lives (like myself.) I find it extremely frustrating. Depending on the situation. I say nothing and just keep moving. I find that MANY people who celebrate christmas don't realize that there's actually other holidays during that same month. THAT is what drives me nuts. Except for maybe the Muslims and the Orthodox or Hassidic Jewish people, it's not easy to tell what people do or do not believe it. What is wrong with "Happy Holidays"? Even though I hate all of it with a passion, I'd much rather hear THAT then the other thing. My problem with holidays is the commercialization of them. The fact that some store put the stuff out MONTHS in advance. That bothers me. It's a personal thing, I know, but still... I know for a fact I am not the only one.

I just don't understand why we all can't just get along. This world would be a MUCH better place.

Thank you for taking the time to read this. Hope nothing was offensive in there!

Mike

I have been reading a booklet on DANIEL .

And in Daniel 2 :1 King Nebuchdnezza had a DREAM that no could interpret .

#1 We know that this statute was what the KING saw

#2 a head of GOLD .

#3 Breast and Arms of SLIVER .

#4 BELLY and THIGH OF BRASS

#5 LEGS of IRON

#6 FEET AND TOES , are part of IRON and CLAY .

#7 We have to also notice that what is pictured are all KINGDOMS .

#8 The BODY OF CHRIST is not to my understanding a KINGDOM as we are PARTS OF CHRIST as written in 1 Cor 12:13-21 .

#9 What the KING wanted to know is in Dan 2:29 What shall come to pass HERE AFTER .

# 10 We have to before the Kingdom of FEET and TOES , because our gospel is a MYSTERY , and many there are that say that DISPENSATIONALISM is , just a new INVENTION and is fairly new interpretation and many refuse to see it was HIDDEN in Christ and we were chosen BEFORE / PRO the foundation of the world .

dan p



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