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Originally posted by Keifer
Even though we're very close to the same age, our mortal longevity makes no difference within the body of Christ, Bill. In eternal time, our lives are but a vapor which appears, then vanishes away ( James 4:14 ).

I mean absolutely no disrespect to you with my next statement, but in regards to your call to 'follow' Jesus: Even Judas chose to 'follow' Jesus, but not once did he ever call Him Lord. It is one thing to 'follow' Him by proclaiming His teachings, but it is quite another to refuse to confess Him.

Remember, Bill...this is Jesus' own words:

"Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven. But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven." ( Matthew 10:32-33 KJV )

I am very concerned for you, Bill. Anyone can 'follow' Jesus from now till the Judgement Day, but unless they will confess Him as Lord, as He Himself said to do in the verses above, one cannot be saved...because, He is the only way ( John 14:6 ).

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Sometimes I wonder if we are all on the same page, dude I know that Jesis is lord. If He were not the Lord of my life would I follow Him? If I have not confessed Him with my mouth would I  be asking others to confess Christ for the last 20 years? and my final question is what would make you think I have not confessed Jesus as lord? Jesus never said to confess Himself as Lord, you see Jesus was a humble one, meek and lowly in heart, now Keith can you really tell me that you believe that the Lord Jesus would ask anyone to call Him Lord? Or tell them they must do that.

What he did say is why do you call me lord, and do not do what I say. Anyone who has to tell you he is lord may not in fact be the Lord.

I must differ with you on your statement, Anyone can 'follow' Jesus from now till the Judgement Day, Keith you don't think you could follow Jesus with out the Holy Spirit do you?

Just your Friend Bill, Keith in 1982, after having one year clean and sober, I was asked to chair the AA meeting where all my friends who watched me struggle for years to get clean would be. They joked and called me born again Bill for the past year, still my friends they all sat and waited to hear me share on my first year of sobriety.

I began by saying, "As you all know this is a program of honesty. so I must be honest and tell you that my 1 and only year of being clean to this day is because Jesus is lord of my life, He is the reason I am here today.

All the people  except a few, at that meeting, including the man and woman who opened the door for me at the "church" the night I made my commitment to the Lord, Got out of their seats and walked out of the door to the meeting when I said the name Jesus.

Remeber Keith it is the Lord who told us not to Judge, and let me encourage you to Follow Jesus all the way to Judgment day.

Your friend Bill

 

Originally posted by Keifer
"Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven. But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven." ( Matthew 10:32-33 KJV )

"Also I say unto you, Whosoever shall confess me before men, him shall the Son of man also confess before the angels of God:" ( Luke 12:8 KJV )

"For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation." ( Romans 10:10 KJV )

Keith

A man hath joy by the answer of his mouth: and a word spoken in due season, how good is it! ( Proverbs 15:23 KJV )

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Keith a confession of our mouth is meaningless in these times, we need to confess christ with our lives. I don't think you qre understqnding me.

Let us approach it this way. Keith, what is it about your life that attracts or repells people from God?

Is there any reason why you have not given all you have to the poor? Because you have confessed Jesus as Lord, are you folling Him in ministry to the poor?

Keith how much money do you have? Don't answer this question, ask yourself, in light of your public confession of Christ, How do I use my money?

All these things will change with culture and our understnding. The principals remain the same.

Confession with the mouth is what was important then. The principal is that we acknowledge Jesus in this world, we are not ashamed of Him. If we confess him with our mouth in front of a bunch of people who will cheer when we do it, at church, that is a far cry from confessing him at your job. If you confess Jesus with your mouth at you place of work, that says a lot about how you will treat people, they expect more from you now.

These are not things you need to answer for me, thay are only to illustrate my point.

hmmm

Originally posted by Keifer
Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness. ( Isaiah 41:10 KJV )

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Keith, this is one of my most favorite verses, one that has given me much comfort when going thru difficult times. I just found out this morning that a favorite aunt had passed on, so it is very timely--even Holy Spirit inspired--that you would post this scripture on this day, exactly when I needed to read it anew.


Praise the Lord, He loves us so, and ever desires to bring us to Himself, with comfort and joy and peace for our hearts.

Originally posted by Keifer
Hi Auntie,

Do not despair, but rejoice that if she had Jesus as her Lord and Savior, your aunt is now with Him...which is where we want to be. My dear Father-in-law passed away this past year, but Nita and I take great comfort in knowing where he is, and Who he is with, and that shortly we shall be reunited with him.

Do not grieve, my dear sister in Christ, for He holds your aunt and us in His loving arms...and, as with that verse, He provides what we need, when we need it. Glory to Father!

I send you love from your brother in Christ,

Keith

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Thank you Keith. We have the victory in Christ, even tho it is hard to be separated from our loved ones while we are yet on this earth. I last spoke with my aunt on Dec. 8th. She talked about my uncle Buddy(her husband), who passed on 1 1/2 years ago. She said she knew without any doubt that Buddy was in Heaven, and she had comfort in that fact. Now, only a few weeks after my talk with her, my aunt is with Jesus and her beloved husband Buddy.

I am glad to know that you and Nita also have this comfort for your Father-in-law. We all must face the pain of separation from our loved ones, and yet, what a wonderful comfort we have that THEY are rejoicing and praising God at the feet of the Savior!