The Goodness of God

[DragonFox91]

Those who deny God as he’s revealed himself aren’t just the atheists w/ the megaphone on the corner – they have power in churches. Deny his miracles, Jesus's divinity, his authority & soverignty, etc. There's a lot of false teachers out there. Many times it's not so obvious. They may say a Creed or sing a song with the right words but behind closed doors their true clothing is revealed.

"he wasn't really dead" "the lake was frozen when he walked on it" "he's just a good teacher" "they were primitive so what they thought were miracles was just how they understood it" "it's just to show you how to live"

 

[DragonFox91]

I was so excited for God last night I couldn't sleep!

Last night too!

 

[DragonFox91]

If all but one person in the world disagreed with God’s truths & one did not, the one person would be right & God would call that person his friend. Be wary of mob rule. It’s the sign you used to see in elementary schools: “What is popular is not always right, what is right is not always popular”. Guess what: God’s truths usually aren’t popular. The harder his truths are, the less popular they are. BUT: God is good so a lot of people know his truths. There are many in his flock.

 

[DragonFox91]

Was listening to a sermon on 1 Corinthians ‘one body many parts’. Each child of God has their role to play, the "smallest" to the "greatest". Praise the Lord!

 

[DragonFox91]

I wish we had a general theology or Bible thoughts thread, so I'll just continue to post mine here.

I hear ‘followers of Jesus’, ‘Jesus’s disciples’, & ‘Christians’ a lot. These descriptions seem incorrect to me. Many people follow Jesus but aren’t his. It implies you’re just going thru the motions too. ‘The Crowds Desert Jesus’ heading comes to mind. 'Christian' is a such a watered down term today. & we don't really see Christian being used in the NT a lot either, a couple times maybe?

The word used in the letters of the apostles is ‘saint.’ Sadly saint today means someone living perfect. That’s not the Bible’s definition. We see the word ‘saint’ being used instead of ‘Christians’ & ‘followers of Jesus’. "To the saints in Ephesus", "all the saints", etc. Example after example

"Jesus's disciples" is used a lot in the Gospels, but it still seems incorrect to me, seems like a works-based term

I'd like to see a return back to using saint to describe God's people in Christ.

 

[DragonFox91]

"We've no less days to sing God's praise then when we'd first begun"

 

[DragonFox91]

So everything you have isn’t really your’s. It’s all on loan from God. This includes your very body & your very soul. It includes your talents, abilities, knowledge, & actions. You didn’t get it from someone else, who didn’t already have it on loan. But it’s not a loan that needs to be repaid back, except for using it correctly for the way he’s given it you. I don’t think it’s right to think of it as a gift either, b/c it’s still his. If it was a gift you could do whatever you wanted with it. & since it’s the Spirit in you, it’s him doing it.

 

[venksta]

So everything you have isn’t really your’s. It’s all on loan from God. This includes your very body & your very soul. It includes your talents, abilities, knowledge, & actions. You didn’t get it from someone else, who didn’t already have it on loan. But it’s not a loan that needs to be repaid back, except for using it correctly for the way he’s given it you. I don’t think it’s right to think of it as a gift either, b/c it’s still his. If it was a gift you could do whatever you wanted with it. & since it’s the Spirit in you, it’s him doing it.

This reminds me of the parable of the talents Jesus preached in Matthew 25.

The Parable of the Bags of Gold​

14 “Again, it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted his wealth to them. 15 To one he gave five bags of gold, to another two bags, and to another one bag,[a] each according to his ability. Then he went on his journey. 16 The man who had received five bags of gold went at once and put his money to work and gained five bags more. 17 So also, the one with two bags of gold gained two more. 18 But the man who had received one bag went off, dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money.
19 “After a long time the master of those servants returned and settled accounts with them. 20 The man who had received five bags of gold brought the other five. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you entrusted me with five bags of gold. See, I have gained five more.’
21 “His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’

22 “The man with two bags of gold also came. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you entrusted me with two bags of gold; see, I have gained two more.’
23 “His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’
24 “Then the man who had received one bag of gold came. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘I knew that you are a hard man, harvesting where you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered seed. 25 So I was afraid and went out and hid your gold in the ground. See, here is what belongs to you.’


26 “His master replied, ‘You wicked, lazy servant! So you knew that I harvest where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seed? 27 Well then, you should have put my money on deposit with the bankers, so that when I returned I would have received it back with interest.
28 “‘So take the bag of gold from him and give it to the one who has ten bags. 29 For whoever has will be given more, and they will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them. 30 And throw that worthless servant outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’

 

[DragonFox91]

This reminds me of the parable of the talents Jesus preached in Matthew 25.

The Parable of the Bags of Gold​

14 “Again, it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted his wealth to them. 15 To one he gave five bags of gold, to another two bags, and to another one bag,[a] each according to his ability. Then he went on his journey. 16 The man who had received five bags of gold went at once and put his money to work and gained five bags more. 17 So also, the one with two bags of gold gained two more. 18 But the man who had received one bag went off, dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money.
19 “After a long time the master of those servants returned and settled accounts with them. 20 The man who had received five bags of gold brought the other five. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you entrusted me with five bags of gold. See, I have gained five more.’
21 “His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’

22 “The man with two bags of gold also came. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you entrusted me with two bags of gold; see, I have gained two more.’
23 “His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’
24 “Then the man who had received one bag of gold came. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘I knew that you are a hard man, harvesting where you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered seed. 25 So I was afraid and went out and hid your gold in the ground. See, here is what belongs to you.’


26 “His master replied, ‘You wicked, lazy servant! So you knew that I harvest where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seed? 27 Well then, you should have put my money on deposit with the bankers, so that when I returned I would have received it back with interest.
28 “‘So take the bag of gold from him and give it to the one who has ten bags. 29 For whoever has will be given more, and they will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them. 30 And throw that worthless servant outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’

Yes, don’t take it from me. It couldn’t come from me. That’s a relevant section, as well as ‘body is a temple’ section & ‘Christ in me’ section. There are more, a lot more, but those 3 came to mind when I was thinking about it.

 

[DragonFox91]

He doesn’t do backup plans.
Nothing’s a surprise to him.
Nothing catches him off guard.
He doesn’t make mistakes.
He doesn’t have to correct himself.
He doesn’t disappear.
He never stops
He doesn’t lose.
He doesn’t get tired.
He doesn’t change
He can do all & all is thru him.
Nothing happens he doesn’t see or hear.
You can’t hide from him.
He knew the beginning, middle, & end.
He’s told us everything we need to know about it & himself.
So his enemies are in big trouble but his children can rest in him w/ full assurance

Yes, don’t take it from me. It couldn’t come from me. That’s a relevant section, as well as ‘body is a temple’ section & ‘Christ in me’ section. There are more, a lot more, but those 3 came to mind when I was thinking about it.

The one I was thinking of there's a parable where there's a landowner leases the property to workers. but that's one too.

 

[LoveDivine]

He doesn’t do backup plans.
Nothing’s a surprise to him.
Nothing catches him off guard.
He doesn’t make mistakes.
He doesn’t have to correct himself.
He doesn’t disappear.
He never stops
He doesn’t lose.
He doesn’t get tired.
He doesn’t change
He can do all & all is thru him.
Nothing happens he doesn’t see or hear.
You can’t hide from him.
He knew the beginning, middle, & end.
He’s told us everything we need to know about it & himself.
So his enemies are in big trouble but his children can rest in him w/ full assurance

The one I was thinking of there's a parable where there's a landowner leases the property to workers. but that's one too.

I was actually just reading that parable in Matthew 21:33-40.

 

[DragonFox91]

Look at the people God has placed in your life. What is he trying to communicate to you with them? Is he trying to show you something of him? Is he trying to show you something of his kingdom? Is he trying to show something of you? Is he trying to show you something of others? Is there any action you need to take? There no coincidences & randomness because it’s all from him. Rejoice he is communicating to you. He is not hidden as some call hidden, but we have not seen his glory fully yet.

 

[DragonFox91]

A lot of people think praying is giving your wants to God or begging for forgiveness. But that’s not what it is. Praying is spending time with him. It’s acknowledging who he is, to give him adoration & just talking to him. Do you know he responds back? He may respond but he likes to listen. Do you know he likes to hear from you? He knows everything about you, he is a lot bigger than you, but he likes that time anyways because you are all his.

 

[DragonFox91]

We were walking & they were playing Amazing Grace!

 

[DragonFox91]

When you meet new people you have to expose you're a Christian early on or they will try to make you do non-Christian things.

 

[LoveDivine]

When you meet new people you have to expose you're a Christian early on or they will try to make you do non-Christian things.

I agree. It's good to be open about our faith. It's very strengthening to confess Christ to others and it helps us to not get entangled in things we shouldn't.

 

[DragonFox91]

A lot of people think I believe what I believe b/c my parents taught me. This isn’t true. My parents were very lassize-faire. They were taught you couldn’t force your child to believe whatever you believe. I see the problems of trying to parent from a middle ground in regards to beliefs. Most of what I learned didn’t directly come from them telling me, in fact they were very bad at it. I’m not just talking about religious beliefs either, tho I certainly would read the Bible & other Christian literature a lot on my own. I wasn’t even exposed to a lot w/ similar beliefs as me & still really am not, tho am exposed to more than I used to. It was God who made me the way I am & taught me what I believe / know to be true & he continues that day. It’s like he says ‘I need someone like this person, I’m going to raise that kind of person up.’ We are just the pots he makes so therefore we rejoice

 

[DragonFox91]

They are tearing down a church near here. I don’t know why. There’s no webpage & the Facebook page hasn’t been updated since 2019. It probably died. I wonder who they sold it to & what will be on that property now? It looked like a pretty church inside. It looked very modern. It’s sad. I don’t like it when God’s meeting places are torn down & congregations die. Hopefully it died due to false teachers.

But the buildings may be torn down & congregations may scatter, but the Church, its Lord, & his Word live on eternally

 

[DragonFox91]

The concept of oral tradition is often used to discredit religion. How do you know things aren’t being changed or edited to deceive. Nowadays we can record visually and audibly to when it happened. The Game of Telephone is usually taught to show how untrustworthy oral communication can be. W/ enough passings on of the message, the message no longer resembles what was originally communicated.

But this isn’t how oral tradition worked in the ancient world. It wasn't like the Game of Telephone where you hear a long-winded message once & have to communicate it on. Oral tradition was a discipline. It required a vast amount of time & effort to get the message & it was practiced verbatim. It was recited when communicating it. It wasn’t just one person communicating it but a bunch of people. Even the common person had the ability because it was such an important part of the culture. It wasn’t something you referred to but something you knew. Just like people can recite the ABCs so could people recite their oral tradition. So people would know pretty quickly if something was being changed.

It’s important to remember how oral tradition worked because false teachers use it to paint as anything before the electronically recorded world was primitive & therefore not trustworthy. Oral tradition has its flaws, but the content of the message isn't one of them.

 

[DragonFox91]

The sheep is lost. It bleats 'where are you? where are you?' The Shepherd says 'I am here. I never left.' The sheep prances. Look! The shepherd takes the knife for the sheep on the altar. The sheep prances. It is saved. The Shepherd takes the sheep to the fold. The sheep rejoices gladly.