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P
dcon gave the answer that immediately came to my mind. In case anybody doesn't know what he was referring to, here is the text:
Matthew chapter 11 verses 16 thru 19
But whereunto shall I liken this generation? It is like unto children sitting in the markets, and calling unto their fellows,
And saying, We have piped unto you, and ye have not danced; we have mourned unto you, and ye have not lamented.
For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, He hath a devil.
The Son of man came eating and drinking, and they say, Behold a man gluttonous, and a winebibber, a friend of publicans and sinners. But wisdom is justified of her children.
In relation to John the Baptist's style of preaching, Jesus said that the people basically responded by saying, We have piped unto you and you have not danced. In other words, they wanted John to lighten or loosen up. John came neither eating nor drinking and the people said, He has a devil.
In relation to Jesus' preaching, Jesus said that the people basically responded by saying, We have mourned unto you and you have not lamented. In other words, they thought Jesus was too light or loose. Jesus came eating and drinking and the people accused Him of being a glutton and a winebibber and a friend of sinners.
Both men were led by the Spirit of God and not always with the same approach and both men were ultimately rejected by the majority...especially by the religious majority.
A while back, another Christian and I taught a Bible study together with each of us teaching on alternating weeks. The people compared him to Jesus and me to John the Baptist, but the truth of the matter is that they listened to neither one of us. Some people will never listen no matter how they are approached. I personally believe that there are three factors involved in all of this:
1. The sower.
We need to maintain our own walks of righteousness before the Lord no matter what anybody else does.
2. The seed.
We need to make sure that what we're seeking to plant and water in others is actually God's rightly divided Word. The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of truth and He will only seek to give the increase to that which is actually true.
3. The soil.
Ultimately, we have no control over how others respond to us.
If we get numbers 1 and 2 right, then I believe that God is pleased with us regardless of how others respond to us. I suspect that everybody reading this post has seen another member or several other members seek to correct another member with something that they don't even consider to be true. I've seen it a multitude of times myself already. Ultimately, I believe that there are too many wannabe preachers here and that's part of the problem to begin with. In other words, too many people seem to want to promote their own ideas and agendas as opposed to actually seeking to advance the kingdom of God and help to bring others to maturity in Christ. If you simply say Good morning to some people here, then they'll somehow turn it into an argument about their pet doctrine and then seek to justify their actions if you call them out on it. Sometimes it's just best to ignore certain people and seek out those whom you might actually be able to help.
My two cents.
Matthew chapter 11 verses 16 thru 19
But whereunto shall I liken this generation? It is like unto children sitting in the markets, and calling unto their fellows,
And saying, We have piped unto you, and ye have not danced; we have mourned unto you, and ye have not lamented.
For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, He hath a devil.
The Son of man came eating and drinking, and they say, Behold a man gluttonous, and a winebibber, a friend of publicans and sinners. But wisdom is justified of her children.
In relation to John the Baptist's style of preaching, Jesus said that the people basically responded by saying, We have piped unto you and you have not danced. In other words, they wanted John to lighten or loosen up. John came neither eating nor drinking and the people said, He has a devil.
In relation to Jesus' preaching, Jesus said that the people basically responded by saying, We have mourned unto you and you have not lamented. In other words, they thought Jesus was too light or loose. Jesus came eating and drinking and the people accused Him of being a glutton and a winebibber and a friend of sinners.
Both men were led by the Spirit of God and not always with the same approach and both men were ultimately rejected by the majority...especially by the religious majority.
A while back, another Christian and I taught a Bible study together with each of us teaching on alternating weeks. The people compared him to Jesus and me to John the Baptist, but the truth of the matter is that they listened to neither one of us. Some people will never listen no matter how they are approached. I personally believe that there are three factors involved in all of this:
1. The sower.
We need to maintain our own walks of righteousness before the Lord no matter what anybody else does.
2. The seed.
We need to make sure that what we're seeking to plant and water in others is actually God's rightly divided Word. The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of truth and He will only seek to give the increase to that which is actually true.
3. The soil.
Ultimately, we have no control over how others respond to us.
If we get numbers 1 and 2 right, then I believe that God is pleased with us regardless of how others respond to us. I suspect that everybody reading this post has seen another member or several other members seek to correct another member with something that they don't even consider to be true. I've seen it a multitude of times myself already. Ultimately, I believe that there are too many wannabe preachers here and that's part of the problem to begin with. In other words, too many people seem to want to promote their own ideas and agendas as opposed to actually seeking to advance the kingdom of God and help to bring others to maturity in Christ. If you simply say Good morning to some people here, then they'll somehow turn it into an argument about their pet doctrine and then seek to justify their actions if you call them out on it. Sometimes it's just best to ignore certain people and seek out those whom you might actually be able to help.
My two cents.
A
HAHA amen to that........I was 18 in that photo which was my graduation photo from the Marine Corp Recruit Depot in San Diego California 1985 HAHAHHAH September that is......Once a Marine...always a Marine........ here is my smile 
Only one Marine in the family, but he doesn't quite fit the profile. By the time he decided he needed to join or he'd be dead by the time he was 25, he only joined because he had already broken every bone in his body twice. (I never understood why my uncle kept letting his kids borrow his '64 Vet if all they were going to do with it was total it over and over again. That "kid" holds the record for number of times he totaled his Dad's car. My uncle has four kids. The daughter only totaled it once. Two sons totaled it twice. That cousin hit three times.) You'd think that is the start for a Marine, but he holds another record. He was the first person to launch a bomb (I'm not sure if that's the right word, but bigger than a bullet and smaller than an intercontinental missile) into civilian soil in the South since the Civil War. Skip he missed the target or even the target range. He missed the entire base. lol
C
I think just by posting this and bringing it into the light you are helping yourself and others. Myself included. Whenever I am struggling with something and keep it to myself I just go round and round. But once I expose it to the light I start to see more clearly. I also feel like sometimes when people say I'll pray for you they're using it as a put down. Not just on here but real life too. I often wonder did they really pray for me? And if so what did they pray for. Lol. I use the light and dark scenario many times with myself and my children as an example of Jesus is the light, Satan is the dark. Put everything in the Light then Satan has no power over it.
S
Hello
Hmmm...
I think its best to try and have enough self-control to make sure you dont have a plank in your own eye.
And to let your yes be yes and your no be no.
And to admonish with brotherly kindness and gentleness.
And maybe, if you can, stop looking at the circumstance you find yourself in and go to God in prayer instead.
And sometimes its a really good idea to replace how you are feeling with a fruit of the spirit instead....like if you are frustrated (which is not of God) replace this with love, peace and joy....as there is nothing that can be against any fruit of the spirit. Doing all of this usually makes what you thought was a problem disappear completely
Remembering of course that we are Gods representatives while we walk here in the world, and our voices and words are supposed to always edify God, yourself, and others.
Hope this is helpful.
God bless you indeed
Hmmm...
I think its best to try and have enough self-control to make sure you dont have a plank in your own eye.
And to let your yes be yes and your no be no.
And to admonish with brotherly kindness and gentleness.
And maybe, if you can, stop looking at the circumstance you find yourself in and go to God in prayer instead.
And sometimes its a really good idea to replace how you are feeling with a fruit of the spirit instead....like if you are frustrated (which is not of God) replace this with love, peace and joy....as there is nothing that can be against any fruit of the spirit. Doing all of this usually makes what you thought was a problem disappear completely
Remembering of course that we are Gods representatives while we walk here in the world, and our voices and words are supposed to always edify God, yourself, and others.
Hope this is helpful.
God bless you indeed
P
Mama Bear and Papa Bear were in divorce court to see who would be granted custody of Baby Bear by the judge. The judge asked Baby Bear, "Do you want me to grant custody to Papa Bear?" and Baby Bear said, "No, Papa Bear beats me all the time and it hurts, so please don't grant custody to Papa Bear." The judge then said, "Okay, then I'll grant custody to Mama Bear." Baby Bear said, "No, please don't grant custody to Mama Bear either. She beats me all the time too and it hurts." The judge then asked, "Well, if you don't want me to grant custody to Papa Bear or to Mama Bear, then who do you want me to grant custody to?" Baby Bear thought for a moment and then responded, "I want you to grant custody to the Chicago Bears." The judge said, "The Chicago Bears? Why the Chicago Bears?" Baby Bear answered, "Because they never beat anybody!"
By the way, I wasn't really talking about putting people on ignore. Personally, I have nobody on ignore, but I do pretty regularly avoid reading certain peoples' posts because I presently deem them to be unwilling to hear any constructive criticism. I do pray for such people though.
By the way, I wasn't really talking about putting people on ignore. Personally, I have nobody on ignore, but I do pretty regularly avoid reading certain peoples' posts because I presently deem them to be unwilling to hear any constructive criticism. I do pray for such people though.
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A
LOL I wish I lived in Chicago. At least I could laugh at how the Eagles do. lol (I was expecting Goldilocks as part of the punchline.)
That's the usual reason I put people on ignore too. (The other reason is heretics -- so I don't keep giving them an audience.) It's also the reason I take them off later. If I can't get too far on patience, at least online I've learned how to avoid my lack-of-patience sometimes. Taking them off ignore means God's handed me a little more patience that day. You'd be surprised how many people I've put on ignore that I consider friends now. lol
That's the usual reason I put people on ignore too. (The other reason is heretics -- so I don't keep giving them an audience.) It's also the reason I take them off later. If I can't get too far on patience, at least online I've learned how to avoid my lack-of-patience sometimes. Taking them off ignore means God's handed me a little more patience that day. You'd be surprised how many people I've put on ignore that I consider friends now. lol
A
Hello
Hmmm...
I think its best to try and have enough self-control to make sure you dont have a plank in your own eye.
And to let your yes be yes and your no be no.
And to admonish with brotherly kindness and gentleness.
And maybe, if you can, stop looking at the circumstance you find yourself in and go to God in prayer instead.
And sometimes its a really good idea to replace how you are feeling with a fruit of the spirit instead....like if you are frustrated (which is not of God) replace this with love, peace and joy....as there is nothing that can be against any fruit of the spirit. Doing all of this usually makes what you thought was a problem disappear completely
Remembering of course that we are Gods representatives while we walk here in the world, and our voices and words are supposed to always edify God, yourself, and others.
Hope this is helpful.
God bless you indeed
Hmmm...
I think its best to try and have enough self-control to make sure you dont have a plank in your own eye.
And to let your yes be yes and your no be no.
And to admonish with brotherly kindness and gentleness.
And maybe, if you can, stop looking at the circumstance you find yourself in and go to God in prayer instead.
And sometimes its a really good idea to replace how you are feeling with a fruit of the spirit instead....like if you are frustrated (which is not of God) replace this with love, peace and joy....as there is nothing that can be against any fruit of the spirit. Doing all of this usually makes what you thought was a problem disappear completely
Remembering of course that we are Gods representatives while we walk here in the world, and our voices and words are supposed to always edify God, yourself, and others.
Hope this is helpful.
God bless you indeed
I suppose being like Christ would mean having good manners, but the world sometimes substitutes its own definitions of good manners. You have to expect that. Satan rules the world, you might remember. Love the Lord your God with all of your heart, mind, and soul, and love your neighbor as yourself. Those are the only good manners you have to learn.