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Nice analogy, but you have to remember we are not the shepherd we are one of the sheep and we can do nothing without the shepherd and the wolves are also loved by the shepherd because he knows they serve a purpose in real life he just doesn't want them to eat his sheep, but even wolves can be saved if they surrender their heart to the shepherd and don't eat the sheep but truly transform into a sheep reflecting the love of the shepherd. The goal is to save as many as possible and it is the love of Christ that drew me to Him.
I'm all for the 'love' message. The 'natural affection' message. The 'grateful' message. But how can anyone miss the 'truth' message?
Apostate from His 'truth' and you end up with the Laodecian and Sardis churches. DEAD, when it comes to love, natural affection, and gratefulness, among other things. That's where the 'church' is today. Sorry to say.
Just being NICE and avoid correction, reproof, rebuke, and exhortation is Disaterous. It may seem 'the Christian thing to do' but 'nice' will not set anyone free from the things of this world.....the 'Truth will make you free'..free to have the full operations of the Spirit within that activates agape love, thankfulness, kindness, patience, humility, holiness, and generosity.
Just being 'nice' for the sake of 'nice' can send folks right to Gehenna if that 'nice' is not enveloped by the fullness of the Holy Spirit and ALL the council of God.
If just being 'nice' is all that it takes to get to our destination, then God could have just put it on a post card.....'Get BORN AGAIN AND BE NICE'! Signed ...GOD!
But He has handed down to us some very important eternal instructions, corrections, and guidelines, as such.
Now I hope I said all that nice! Smile.
Apostate from His 'truth' and you end up with the Laodecian and Sardis churches. DEAD, when it comes to love, natural affection, and gratefulness, among other things. That's where the 'church' is today. Sorry to say.
Just being NICE and avoid correction, reproof, rebuke, and exhortation is Disaterous. It may seem 'the Christian thing to do' but 'nice' will not set anyone free from the things of this world.....the 'Truth will make you free'..free to have the full operations of the Spirit within that activates agape love, thankfulness, kindness, patience, humility, holiness, and generosity.
Just being 'nice' for the sake of 'nice' can send folks right to Gehenna if that 'nice' is not enveloped by the fullness of the Holy Spirit and ALL the council of God.
If just being 'nice' is all that it takes to get to our destination, then God could have just put it on a post card.....'Get BORN AGAIN AND BE NICE'! Signed ...GOD!
But He has handed down to us some very important eternal instructions, corrections, and guidelines, as such.
Now I hope I said all that nice! Smile.
surely I've seen some guy named William
That's a real problem with the church today. Folks have been brainwashed to think that being nice is godliness. Jesus was never nice; he was kind. Big difference. Niceties have their place, but many times being nice is just a cowardly way of avoiding having to be real. Being real hurts sometimes and involves risk.
P
How can anyone discuss the "state of the Church" besides Christ?
- Me thinks the internet makes us feel like the planet is smaller than it actually is.
- What you witness online is a small percentage of what occurs in reality.
- Your local congregation is a very small percentage of the entire Church.
- Me thinks the internet makes us feel like the planet is smaller than it actually is.
- What you witness online is a small percentage of what occurs in reality.
- Your local congregation is a very small percentage of the entire Church.
As some of you know, my chubby little hippy buddy, Mike, is down for his yearly visit. He stays at a friend's condo on the beach. I sat in on a seminar he was doing.
Half-way through the first session, something that had to be The Holy Spirit, hit me. According to Paul, the church (even the original Jerusalem church) exhibits the signs of the "AntiChrist" in much of their religious performance.
That's a hard thing to generate "love" for.
Half-way through the first session, something that had to be The Holy Spirit, hit me. According to Paul, the church (even the original Jerusalem church) exhibits the signs of the "AntiChrist" in much of their religious performance.
That's a hard thing to generate "love" for.
I heard from Dr. Michael Eaton..a theologian from England that by the time Paul went to Jerusalem in Acts 21 ..much of the gospel had been watered down by the Jewish believers...thousands of them were living a mixed-covenant gospel ....much like we see today with our modern day Judaizers that are against the gospel of the grace of Christ.
Acts 21:20 (NASB)
[SUP]20 [/SUP] And when they heard it they began glorifying God; and they said to him, "You see, brother, how many thousands there are among the Jews of those who have believed, and they are all zealous for the Law;
Acts 21:20 (NASB)
[SUP]20 [/SUP] And when they heard it they began glorifying God; and they said to him, "You see, brother, how many thousands there are among the Jews of those who have believed, and they are all zealous for the Law;
Fruit - I used to think this was converts.
Then there is the fruits of the spirit.
Then I thought of emotional projection. You know when you have met a very thorny person, they tell you where you are wrong and right and want you to behave in their particular way or else. Scarcasm is the quick response, and you get the feeling of being bulldozed.
Jesus talked about a good person bringing good things out of their hearts to share.
The kind of fruits I would want to see in a christian leader was victory over sin, and walking in righteousness and purity.
For some a preacher with a prison sentence for fraud, lying and corruption, divorced and caught in lust is no problem if the worship session is good. I would suggest they have a nacassistic personality and love being the centre of attention and it has little to do with the Lord.
Words are also fruit. If people bring Gods word in honesty and purity, then the Holy Spirit is truly moving.
Then there is the fruits of the spirit.
Then I thought of emotional projection. You know when you have met a very thorny person, they tell you where you are wrong and right and want you to behave in their particular way or else. Scarcasm is the quick response, and you get the feeling of being bulldozed.
Jesus talked about a good person bringing good things out of their hearts to share.
The kind of fruits I would want to see in a christian leader was victory over sin, and walking in righteousness and purity.
For some a preacher with a prison sentence for fraud, lying and corruption, divorced and caught in lust is no problem if the worship session is good. I would suggest they have a nacassistic personality and love being the centre of attention and it has little to do with the Lord.
Words are also fruit. If people bring Gods word in honesty and purity, then the Holy Spirit is truly moving.
T
I don't think anyone is arguing that truth should be forsaken ...
There is an awful lot of contending for the truth going on here on this board.
I personally think there is room to accomodate more love in those discussions.
We CAN bear good fruit whilst contending for the truth.
Both should walk hand in hand - TOGETHER.
There is no need to forsake love to promote truth.
There is an awful lot of contending for the truth going on here on this board.
I personally think there is room to accomodate more love in those discussions.
We CAN bear good fruit whilst contending for the truth.
Both should walk hand in hand - TOGETHER.
There is no need to forsake love to promote truth.
B
If I was to depict my interaction with people to be Nice I have to use a metaphor lol...
people in the form of a peacemaker tree.
on a river bank there are many trees full of leaves for these leaves are like food.
so I go up too one tree and pick a leaf to eat but no leaf grows back right away.
this is strange to me something is wrong but I can't see the underlying problem.
that keeps the leaf from regrowing in front of me.
So i eat a couple more still no regrowth i come back tomorrow.
the leafs has grown back ahh the problem has been addressed.
the next tree I pick not one but many I come back the next and sure enough they all grow back.
the next tree I pick and pick and pick nothing,,, I come back the next day and no leaves have grown back.
huh enough of this I'm going to burn this tree up till the seed falls to the ground.
i come back the next day to my amazement the seed has sprouted.
now that was truly a peacemaker tree just had to be made new again.
i eat from the next tree and pick n pick n pick until the seed falls to the ground.
the next day I come back and there's nothing the seed didn't take.
O my now I see the seed in that tree was never really a peacemaker tree.
This tree must have been affecting all the trees.
for now I can't pick a leaf from any tree in the field and that leaf will grow back right in front of me.
now this is truly a good crop of trees indeed.
You may have to dig deep to understand my quirkiness hahahaha....
people in the form of a peacemaker tree.
on a river bank there are many trees full of leaves for these leaves are like food.
so I go up too one tree and pick a leaf to eat but no leaf grows back right away.
this is strange to me something is wrong but I can't see the underlying problem.
that keeps the leaf from regrowing in front of me.
So i eat a couple more still no regrowth i come back tomorrow.
the leafs has grown back ahh the problem has been addressed.
the next tree I pick not one but many I come back the next and sure enough they all grow back.
the next tree I pick and pick and pick nothing,,, I come back the next day and no leaves have grown back.
huh enough of this I'm going to burn this tree up till the seed falls to the ground.
i come back the next day to my amazement the seed has sprouted.
now that was truly a peacemaker tree just had to be made new again.
i eat from the next tree and pick n pick n pick until the seed falls to the ground.
the next day I come back and there's nothing the seed didn't take.
O my now I see the seed in that tree was never really a peacemaker tree.
This tree must have been affecting all the trees.
for now I can't pick a leaf from any tree in the field and that leaf will grow back right in front of me.
now this is truly a good crop of trees indeed.
You may have to dig deep to understand my quirkiness hahahaha....
P
The Church is Christ's and Christ's alone.
The Church is not ours.
We are members of a body.
People say: I see this problem, I see that problem "with the Church".
But, their problem is not with the Church -- their problem is within themselves.
For, they take issue with the actions of a few individuals and let it sour their taste for the entire Church.
They let their angst control their minds though it should not be so. (Consider the lilies.)
In doing so, they separate themselves from the Church.
Now they are on the outside looking in -- pointing their accusatory finger of judgment and disapproval.
They don't realize that each time they point their finger, there are three fingers pointing right back at them.
(This section doesn't need clarification, does it? Willie-T did a good job of clarifying. )
- Me thinks the internet makes us feel like the planet is smaller than it actually is.
- What you witness online is a small percentage of what occurs in reality.
- Your local congregation is a very small percentage of the entire Church.
I'm reminded of a quote by an unknown author: "Promote what you love rather than bashing what you hate."
The Church is not ours.
We are members of a body.
People say: I see this problem, I see that problem "with the Church".
But, their problem is not with the Church -- their problem is within themselves.
For, they take issue with the actions of a few individuals and let it sour their taste for the entire Church.
They let their angst control their minds though it should not be so. (Consider the lilies.)
In doing so, they separate themselves from the Church.
Now they are on the outside looking in -- pointing their accusatory finger of judgment and disapproval.
They don't realize that each time they point their finger, there are three fingers pointing right back at them.
(This section doesn't need clarification, does it? Willie-T did a good job of clarifying. )
- Me thinks the internet makes us feel like the planet is smaller than it actually is.
- What you witness online is a small percentage of what occurs in reality.
- Your local congregation is a very small percentage of the entire Church.
I'm reminded of a quote by an unknown author: "Promote what you love rather than bashing what you hate."
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