Time to be serious

[Gerry]

Each day we enter into a time unparalleled in history. Each day we grow closer to the time when Jesus will call His saints Home.

For a long time I have been preaching that NOW is the time for Christians to get serious about their Faith and to be obedient and do the work Christ has called each of us to do.

Often I am attacked in posts for that and receive what amounts to hate mail for it. But I urge all Christians to STUDY the Word as never before and to take a stand for Jesus and to bear fruit. The season is short and the night is approaching. But even it it were not so, there is still no excuse to not be about the business of bearing fruit, studying the Word, and praying without ceasing, as Jesus has commanded us to do.

It is my prayer that all Christians will work as never before and will be mightily blessed in their labors, and that the Love of Christ will abound in Christian hearts and that we will learn to love one another as the Family of God is commanded to do.

It is encouraging to see others posting the same message in various places in the Forums, and calling for Bible studies. May God bless these efforts.

 

[GraftMeIn]

Amen Gerry!
The season truly is short. We should be about our Fathers business

James 1:25
But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.

 

[EJO]

I am there with you gerry- study the word, abide in HIM, know who God is and what He can do in your life!

Our study in Ephesians has been great. We are half way through chapter 4. We are going to e looking at the old man and the new man the sunday after next. Last week was awesome!

Great post

 

[nomad]

Matthew 7:21 Not all people who sound religious are really godly. They may refer to me as ‘Lord,’ but they still won’t enter the Kingdom of Heaven. The decisive issue is whether they obey my Father in heaven. 22: On judgment day many will tell me, ‘Lord, Lord, we prophesied in your name and cast out demons in your name and performed many miracles in your name.’ 23: But I will reply, ‘I never knew you. Go away; the things you did were unauthorized.

 

[Didymus]

ask yourself what do you want to be found doing when Jesus comes ? keep it up Gerry.
my husband and i love your typing smiley. My husband works on a project for his company called elmo and elmos sign is a smiling face. we think that is elmo working on the computor causing problems for my husband

 

[Susan]

Hey, Gerry, you always mention "hate mail" or "people persecuting you for Jesus." Who is sending you this hate mail? What person(s)? What reason do they have for doing so? When do you recieve it? Where are some posts of this alleged hatred? How is it "persecution for Jesus" rather than someone saying "I have a beef with you over this issue/your way of presenting yourself?"

I'm sorry for those people who have mistreated you, and before I'm accused, I have never engaged in direct PM, e-mail or post exchanges with you. I am only slightly concerned about the way you come across sometimes. While you have a good message, whining, taking "spiritual potshots" at other Christians, and condescension are not very becoming of that message.

If you have an issue with someone, please address it with that person, ask someone neutral to mediate it and come to some kind of truce, or ignore that person. There are better ways to handle a dispute than dragging it out into every post directed to everyone.

 

[nomad]

I'm sorry for those people who have mistreated you, and before I'm accused, I have never engaged in direct PM, e-mail or post exchanges with you. I am only slightly concerned about the way you come across sometimes. While you have a good message, whining, taking "spiritual potshots" at other Christians, and condescension are not very becoming of that message.

This is a good post and you should read it with God's supervision and lead.

We must learn to walk in humility with one another.  Something I myself am trying to learn as well.  We can become spiritually arrogant and God doesn't like it.  We quickly loose focus of what our christianity is all about.  LOVE

 

[7-5-7]

The way I see it::

if.when armegeddon comes, there's nothing I can do anyway. So why should I care?

 

[GraftMeIn]

Sorry Susan, I see nothing wrong with the way Gerry made his post. Most of us here saw the attacks that took place.

 

[SBfaithful]

Today at 02:44 AM 7-5-7 said this in Post #8

The way I see it::

if.when armegeddon comes, there's nothing I can do anyway. So why should I care?

There is something you can do. Repent and believe in God the Father and Jesus and you will be saved to live eternally with them.

 

[SBfaithful]

Great post Gerry.
I agree with you 100%

 

[reeann]

Gerry's main point was that NOW is the day of salvation. Its directed at those who need it. Wake up out of your spiritual slumber, get bold, and preach Christ and Him crucified, i.e.,

The season is short and the night is approaching. But even it it were not so, there is still no excuse to not be about the business of bearing fruit, studying the Word, and praying without ceasing, as Jesus has commanded us to do.*

then Gerry prays for our unity of christians, reflecting the light of Jesus' love:

It is my prayer that all Christians will work as never before and will be mightily blessed in their labors, and that the Love of Christ will abound in Christian hearts and that we will learn to love one another as the Family of God is commanded to do.

You remind me a lot of myself at your age. Very sensitive and defensive. Why do you think Gerry has a beef about someone when the main theme of his post is put aside your feelings of persecution and come together in Christ's love to witness to the world.

I don't know you well yet, and I may be way off base here. If I am, please correct me. I welcome that.

 

[nomad]

Matthew 12:25 Jesus knew their thoughts and replied, “Any kingdom at war with itself is doomed. A city or home divided against itself is doomed.

The part I liked most about

It is my prayer that all Christians will work as never before and will be mightily blessed in their labors, and that the Love of Christ will abound in Christian hearts and that we will learn to love one another as the Family of God is commanded to do.

I think this is probably more important then anything.  We really need to love one another.  Not being quick to judge, overlooking one anothers faults being at ease with one another and being open and willing to accept one anothers thoughts and feelings.

We need to hold hands and work things out when problems arise.

I think most of all we need to commit ourselves to each other with an attitude of "Theres no way Out".

 

[Susan]

Why do you think Gerry has a beef about someone when the main theme of his post is put aside your feelings of persecution and come together in Christ's love to witness to the world.

I say this because, in almost all of his posts, there is some remark about all the hate mail he's getting, all the people who persecute him, etc., and because he was in a dispute with a liberal a month or so ago (who, in that dispute, was basically shoved out of the Deeper Fellowship door as not Christian enough)

I'm sorry if I'm wrong and being too sensitive, but grandstanding and pride have no place in the conservative Christian life, and if it's going on, I want it to stop and the parties involved to sit down to a truce discussion or at least ignore each other.

 

[Gerry]

Today at 03:32 PM GraftMeIn said this in Post #2

Amen Gerry!
The season truly is short. We should be about our Fathers business

James 1:25
But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.

Thanks for that quote from James. It is so spot on to what we are talking about here. As it says a couple of verses earlier, we need to be doers and not hearers only. And what we do, we need to do quickly as the day is wasting and the night is quickly approaching when we will be unable to work.

 

[Gerry]

Today at 03:34 PM EJO said this in Post #3

I am there with you gerry- study the word, abide in HIM, know who God is and what He can do in your life!

Our study in Ephesians has been great. We are half way through chapter 4. We are going to e looking at the old man and the new man the sunday after next. Last week was awesome!

Great post

Well said! Study His Word, Know Him and abide in Him! Amen! Indeed if we know Him we do abide in Him for it is IN Him that we live and move and have our being.

Ephesians is an awesome study and very relavent to the point of this post. Halfway through chapter 4, you say? Chapter 14 and 15 says it so well.

Ephesians 4:14: "That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive;
15 But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ:"

 

[altya]

Very good reminder and thread - Yes I am also busy to study and pray like never before.

 

[Gerry]

Today at 07:19 PM nomad said this in Post #4

Matthew 7:21 Not all people who sound religious are really godly. They may refer to me as ‘Lord,’ but they still won’t enter the Kingdom of Heaven. The decisive issue is whether they obey my Father in heaven. 22: On judgment day many will tell me, ‘Lord, Lord, we prophesied in your name and cast out demons in your name and performed many miracles in your name.’ 23: But I will reply, ‘I never knew you. Go away; the things you did were unauthorized.

Good Scripture. Thought I would add that in yet another version. The beautiful JB Phillips: 7:21 - "It is not everyone who keeps saying to me 'Lord, Lord' who will enter the kingdom of Heaven, but the man who actually does my Heavenly Father's will. "In 'that day' many will say to me, 'Lord, Lord, didn't we preach in your name, didn't we cast out devils in your name, and do many great things in your name?' Then I shall tell them plainly, 'I have never known you. Go away from me, you have worked on the side of evil!'"

But I also feel it is appropriate to add verses 15-20 of the same chapter.

"Be on your guard against false religious teachers, who come to you dressed up as sheep but are really greedy wolves. You can tell them by their fruit. Do you pick a bunch of grapes from a thorn-bush or figs from a clump of thistles? Every good tree produces good fruit, but a bad tree produces bad fruit. A good tree is incapable of producing bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot produce good fruit. The tree that fails to produce good fruit is cut down and burnt. So you may know men by their fruit."

 

[Gerry]

Today at 07:27 PM Didymus said this in Post #5

ask yourself what do you want to be found doing when Jesus comes ? keep it up Gerry.
my husband and i love your typing smiley. My husband works on a project for his company called elmo and elmos sign is a smiling face. we think that is elmo working on the computor causing problems for my husband

Amen! It is an awewsome thing to consider. How do we want the Lord to find us? Doing those things that will endure or doing the things of the world? I think as Christians we will all want our Lord to find us obeying His commands to love and pray for one another and to labor together to bear fruit and to fellowship in His Love.

LOL! Elmo! Now that is a goooood name for the smiley. He is sort of my hero. He works tirelessly and everytime I come on he is still busy. I envy his energy.

 

[Gerry]

Today at 08:31 PM Susan said this in Post #6

Hey, Gerry, you always mention "hate mail" or "people persecuting you for Jesus." Who is sending you this hate mail? What person(s)? What reason do they have for doing so? When do you recieve it? Where are some posts of this alleged hatred? How is it "persecution for Jesus" rather than someone saying "I have a beef with you over this issue/your way of presenting yourself?"

I'm sorry for those people who have mistreated you, and before I'm accused, I have never engaged in direct PM, e-mail or post exchanges with you. I am only slightly concerned about the way you come across sometimes. While you have a good message, whining, taking "spiritual potshots" at other Christians, and condescension are not very becoming of that message.

If you have an issue with someone, please address it with that person, ask someone neutral to mediate it and come to some kind of truce, or ignore that person. There are better ways to handle a dispute than dragging it out into every post directed to everyone.

Sorry Susan, but you do not read all my posts obviously. I do not "always" mention "hate mail" or any thing like it. But I do receive it and though I see others reveal secrets, I will not openly reveal what is said to me in private or by whom.

"While you have a good message, whining, taking "spiritual potshots" at other Christians, and condescension are not very becoming of that message." I am sorry Susan you have felt led of God to take me to task with such accusations and judgements.

Now that you have done that, do you have anything positive or negative to say about the point of the post, or is your only contribution one of accusation?