Tag Archives: Faith

by Guestspeaker | 2026/04/25 · 7:02 pm

A word about faith – primarily a matter of the heart

A word about faith: Faith is primarily a matter of the heart and secondarily of the mind; for with the heart man believes, and with the mouth he confesses his belief. The natural man has trouble with faith for he needs to understand something before his heart can accept it; the spiritual man accepts something in his heart and leaves the understanding to God. The natural man exercises his mental facilities (claiming promises, standing on the Word, etc.); the spiritual man rests in the faithfulness of God. Both ask of God, one believes he’ll receive because of his efforts, the other believes he’ll receive because of God’s faithfulness. One leans on his understanding, the other leans on Jesus.

Faith is a highly active force. By it men have quenched fires, conquered kingdoms, and turned weakness into strength. The power of faith is astounding. However, the power of faith is not inherent in faith itself, but in the One in whom the faith is placed. Faith is powerful because God is powerful. (Our confidence is not in our faith, nor in our ability to exercise faith; our confidence is in God who gives us faith.)

Faith, like gold, is tried by fire. One endures the fire, not by claiming or rebuking, but by weeding out everything that tends to choke the word of faith, such as unbelief, the cares of life, the desires for riches, and the tendencies to worry. Man cannot make faith grow or become strong (faith is a gift of God and He alone causes the increase). Man can only cultivate the soil in which the seed of faith grows.

As we weed out the things which are contrary to faith and water the soil of our hearts with the Word of God, we walk in the sunlight of His love and the seed sprouts and bears fruit to eternal life. Its fruit are works of love. Our faith can be seen by our works of love. While it is possible to give without loving, it is impossible to love without giving; for love is of God and God is love, and every seed bears fruit after its kind. So our faith can be seen by our giving for the sake of others. Peace to all who have faith in Jesus.

Jon David Banks, God’s most unworthy servant

John Maki replies:

Faith is a noun has no action! You should of used trust because trusting shows action . And with out action you have done nothing . You can have all the faith you want but till you take action in trusting in the lord you can actually show love and live his words and commands for us to live by . Just my opinion to many people have faith with no action.

Michael Delancy reacts:

There is much more to faith than reason can define, or intellect understand, so try to avoid that temptation. It has misled many and even spawned multiple heresies through the centuries and still today. We just cannot seem to let God be God and His ways be beyond understanding (Romans 11:33-34). We are more like Eve than we want to admit. Eve did not understand why a good-looking fruit could be off limits just because God said so.

I see things turn out the same way every time we think or act against our trust in God. But faith is so much more than trust.

Some examples:

1.

Faith Alone is believing but believing Alone is not Faith. Even Devils believe but shake in fear. James 2:19.

2.

Faith Alone is confidence but confidence Alone is not faith. Both David and Goliath had great confidence 1 Samuel 17.

3.

Faith Alone is courage. Courage Alone is not Faith. And courage does not explain Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego in the Fiery Furnace (Daniel 3) or Daniel in the Lion’s Den (Daniel 6). And Judas showed great courage in betraying Jesus (Luke 22).

4.

Faith alone is knowing (Hebrews 11:3), but knowledge Alone is not faith. Highly educated people who know a lot more than I ever will, say Bible stories like creation, Adam and Eve, even Jesus’ conception and resurrection can only be myths or legends. And I have dialogued through the years with people, including Pastors, who are Bible experts who say the same thing. Why do I feel sad for them? Faith.

5.

Faith Alone is Righteousness, but Righteousness Alone is not faith Matthew 5:20.

6.

Faith Alone is random acts of love, but random acts of love Alone are not Faith. John 13:25

7.

Faith Alone is worshipping God but worshipping Alone is not faith. John 4:24

I could go on because Faith is a lot of things in this world that mankind likes to take credit for, but those things are not faith. Where many good people go wrong is when they believe those things are faith or make faith into a god, like the Power of possibility thinking, Name it to claim it, Prosperity Gospel, Mind of Christ theologies, etc. You do not need Christ in these groups, just what they call faith. And there have also always been denominations that do not believe the Bible is God’s word so you have to rely on the “experts” to tell you what is true and what is not. Your faith is in them. A very popular preacher on Television yesterday began his service by leading the audience in worshipping the Bible, and then preaching a prosperity Gospel. Neither of these are Jesus or the Gospel that redeems.

So the conservative Biblicist churches work hard to keep us focused on the five Solas and away from self-deification, and faith idolatry by encouraging us in love and good works through faith Romans 1:16.

I will add a couple of thoughts for your perusal.

Hebrews 11:1 is often quoted as the definition of faith, but it literally says:

“Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. (and I include verse 2) This is what the ancients were commended for.”

Hebrews 11 tells what faith does in you as a believer, and posts numerous examples of how God used it in times past to bless His people, and I suggest He still does. Other places say God is the only source of faith (Hebrews 12:2), and Jesus will complete the life of Faith He began in each of us (John 19:30), and only faith pleases God (Daniel 11:32), and not knowledge, or good intentions (Matthew 15:11). So it is the faith God has given you, that matters, and what that means to God.

What did He give you faith to do? Heal? Teach? Encourage? Support? If it takes commitment, training, courage, or dedicated practice to do it, you are exercising Faith and becoming what God says you are (remember the handout from class?). Consider the biblical teaching that altruistic works, even random acts of kindness, are not good works without Faith. Even the Chosen people of God knew that all of what man likes to call good works, are nothing but filthy rags without Faith Isaiah 64:6. In one commentary it explains we are born untouchable, moral lepers, unrighteous in every way, until God declares us just, and then our acts can be in faith to honor God, not self-pleasuring to honor self.

“Without Faith it is impossible to please God” (Hebrews 11:6).

Are the esoteric spiritual gifts still being given to the church today?

Healings, tongues, miracles of all kinds, and extreme acts of faith are being reported around the world almost every day, and even here in Virginia. I have no reason to assume God is being defrauded or that I should have one of the esoteric gifts myself. God gives what gifts each church needs. God is God, and I am well pleased to have and use a gift of encouragement to the honor and glory of God. I would use the gift of healing on my Granddaughter Lexie if I had it, but I am pleased to watch God work out his plan for everyone’s good. God gave to you your gift or gifts to bless OSWLC.

What did he give you faith to believe? If you cannot believe it without God’s intervention, it is faith possibly coupled with experience, logic, and decision. Remember I pointed out in class that you can never completely explain to a non-believer why you believe in Jesus, the Trinity, Creation, etc. You cannot talk someone else into Faith, you can only explain what you believe, what that means to you and pray that the God who called them by the Gospel, now chooses them to be His own and gives them Faith like yours (Matthew 22:13, Ephesians 2:8-10).

I have been dialoging online with a series of self-proclaimed Atheists on Quora who insist that not only can they not see God or any evidence of God, that the modern church does not part seas, still storms, or even walk on water so people like them can start to believe the Bible “myths (their word not mine.)” But I read in the bible that very few of the people who saw Jesus’ miracles became believers or even followers of His. Faith does not come from observing miracles or recognizing God around you. It comes from God’s plan and purpose alone (Romans 1:17-21). Remember, Jesus said,

“You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last—and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you. This is my command: Love each other.” John 15:16-17.

Do you remember in the book of Exodus that God performed miracles only through two people in the wilderness community of Hebrews even though all of them had the same Faith, saw the same miracles, had the same Spirit, and saw the same God with them day and night? They were not all leaders, preachers, teachers, miracle workers, priests, parents, or whatever. But they had already been rescued and were being visibly led by God, himself in a column of fire by night and a cloud by day. They could all have lived by faith, but only a remnant did. They never asked what their purpose was in the wilderness, and things got tough, they went back to wanting to stay slaves to self in their minds and beliefs, and most of them died in that wilderness to protect the chosen community going forward. God had many purposes for that wilderness. It was to train, prune, weed, and prepare the faithful for kingdom living by faith. That is why the 10 commandments, the priesthood, and the 40 years.

God brought you to where you are, and you have many purposes in life as daughter, wife, mother, Nana, church member, etc. There is only one purpose that transcends, and it is only hoped for and assured by Faith. That is why the world ridicules and fears it. It transcends secular reality with spirit and truth through Faith in Jesus. They don’t mind if you have “faith” in yourself or some leader or political party. They don’t even mind if you have faith in magic, or the paranormal, or even aliens, as long as you do not publicly have a faith relationship with Jesus Christ. But that is what faith is, in the Bible; a solid, dependable relationship with God through Jesus Christ. That was lesson two in our new member class. Faith is about relationships, but that is not all that it is about.

So, you see, a simple definition of faith will always be misleading, incomplete at best. Like defining God, or even love. Most churches and preachers box-up one or two definitions and basically build their ministry and church on them. But the Bible does say a lot about Faith that cannot be distilled into a few words. Like a diamond with many facets, there are many precious (I would say priceless) sides to faith. Allow me to share a couple more.

The first facet of Faith illustrated by someone other than God is in the garden, Genesis 3. Eve did not use her knowledge and faith. She ignored the promise and possibility of taking God at His word and looked to her own wisdom and desires when the temptation entered her thoughts. Instead of turning to God in faith, she dwelt on the temptation until she would not resist it. Some say her disobedience rejected the spirit of God inside of her. Others insist the devil made her do it. But I remember where the apostle Paul tells us in Romans 14:23,

“Whatever is not from faith is sin.”

So, faith is something far more important than obedience or belief. It is truly the opposite of everything the Devil and human nature says is good without God. So Faith is an attribute of Godliness.

Satan has been using temptation ever since to turn every good gift of God’s into sin. Every child of man has been born spiritually dead since Adam and Eve chose self-actualization instead of God-guidance (faith). The principles of this world insist God is nothing vital, simply religion and must remain separate from secular life. They even deny Creation needs anything from God to exist and succeed. But there is no division between God and any part of my existence. God is “I AM”, everything. And He is in everything including us, and we in him. “In him we live and move and have our being” (Acts 17:28). Only Faith agrees. For obvious reasons the world, our flesh, and Satan do not.

I believe that if fish could think and have pride like humans, I have no doubt most of them would not believe in water. It would be called a myth even though it is their very source of life and everything good, and even makes up 70% or more of their very body. It does not take faith to know God exists, (Romans 1:18-32) but it takes faith to have a love relationship with God, and to worship Him in Spirit and in Truth (John 4:24).

The second facet that comes to mind is from the Sinai wilderness, where God struck down thousands of Hebrews that He had just freed from slavery (Numbers 21). They did not question or ignore God, they outright rejected God’s and Moses’ authority over them and their lives, and wanted to go back into slavery to self, so God sent poisonous vipers. God told the people through Moses, that if they looked up at the bronze serpent on a pole they would live, and they did. Thousands would not look and they died. Did obedience or faith save the ones who looked? I say faith because God healed them, they did not heal themselves, and Jesus uses this story in John 3.

“Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him.”

Faith is looking on Jesus. Eternal life is in him not the empty cross nor any ability of mankind.

And there are many, many verses that restate this truth. One of my favorites is Peter’s insistence

“there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved” Acts 4:12.

And don’t forget the many times Jesus said it too.

“I am the way…” John 14:6

Another facet of Faith is love. Not only God is love 1 John 4:8,16, but so too are those who are one with Him (John 13:35, John 17:22-24). If you don’t love your brother then God is not in you (1 John 4:20) and you are not love. If you do not have faith in God, you do not love him and you are not training in spirit, truth, love, honor, or obedience for your forever marriage to Jesus. Revelations 19.

Another facet of Faith is that no man or woman can make or increase the gift of Faith. What God gives is not something anything in creation can equal, create, or even fully explain. Please use discernment and your own biblicism when someone insists, they can give you faith, prove you have faith, or increase your faith for you. The Bible is the primary means of Grace but not the means of faith. Faith comes by hearing the same way confession saves you, Grace Alone. It is not the hearing or the confessing that saves me Romans 10:9.

But this facet corrects a lot of misleading and false teachings that are floating around. A dangerous one is that if you have faith you don’t have doubt. The Bible shows the faithful might still have doubts, but they know who to go to. John the Baptizer had doubts (Matthew 11:3) and Jesus just reminded him to see what God is doing right now, the Kingdom has come. Thomas had doubts even though he heard the same things the other disciples heard, saw all the miracles, heard all the teachings, and even performed miracles himself (Mark 6), and Jesus answered his doubts (John 20:27). Jesus appears to have momentary doubt on the cross (Matthew 27:46). With Him and us, Faith answers all doubts. Give it a chance. Have your doubts honestly and go to the only source that has the answers. Don’t expect psychology, science, or even theologians to answer your doubts the way Jesus will. I pray my doubt as clearly as I can and have always found the answer as I prayed. The Holy Spirit will confirm you in the truth you already read in scripture and confessed in church (Matthew 7:7-8 & 1 John 2:27).

My father was raised in a small Holiness church in Yale, OK, but left it as soon as he could because he did not receive the gift of Tongues. His mother, father and minister worked hard on him to get him to imitate their “prayer tongue” until he got his own. But it just felt wrong to him, like a lie in God’s name, so he refused, but kept on praying for the real gift so he could be sure he had a saving relationship with Jesus. It never came, so he was never sure. Until after leaving the church for over 10 years, he was led to the proper Bible verses and his faith was renewed in loving and trusting Jesus. He was sure of his salvation for the first time in his life by Grace, through faith, and wanted to make sure his wife and children gained the assurance of faith as well.

Jon David Bank closes:

Faith is no more and no less than the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things unseen.

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by Guestspeaker | 2026/02/03 · 8:00 am

Cultivation of godly affections that correspond to the truth

Cultivate godly affections that correspond to the truth. The catechism mentions three in particular. We are to receive the word “with faith, love, meekness.” If listening to preaching is a vital part of our worship, then our attitude toward the message really matters.
We’re not to be critical judges, assessing the message and comparing its delivery to that of our favorite celebrity preachers. We are not to be self-appointed doctrinal police, constantly scanning for error so that we can pounce with glee on the poor pastor’s mistakes. Let’s avoid imitating the scribes and the Pharisees who constantly tested Jesus, “lying in wait for him, to catch him in something he might say” (Luke 11:54). We are to hear the Word with godward affections.

The catechism mentions faith first. Hebrews 4:2 reminds us that the generation of Israelites who perished in the wilderness failed to enter the land of Canaan because

“the message they heard did not benefit them, because they were not united by faith with those who listened.”

Faith is necessary if we are to benefit from the Word. Ask God to help you to truly believe what he has said and to trust in it today and tomorrow and in the years ahead.

Next, the catechism mentions love. Jesus said,

“If anyone loves me, he will keep my word” (John 14:23).

Love obeys the Word of God. It takes what faith believes and puts it to work. It keeps Christ’s commandments (see John 14:15). It’s not good enough merely to know the Word. We must learn to love it and to say with the psalmist,

“I find my delight in your commandments, which I love” (Ps. 119:47).

Finally, the catechism mentions meekness. James 1:21 reminds us that we are to

“put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.”

Meekly receiving the Word, James is telling us, is basic to dealing with the deep festering sins of our hearts. Meekness means refusing to presume that we know better than God. It is the one essential ingredient in a teachable spirit.

Expository Preaching (Blessings of the Faith), David Strain

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by Bijbelvorsers | 2024/12/09 · 7:24 pm

What the King James Bible tells us about Faith

“And Terah took Abram his son, and Lot the son of Haran his son’s son, and Sarai his daughter-in-law, his son Abram’s wife; and they went forth with them from Ur of the Chaldees, to go into the land of Canaan; and they came to Haran, and dwelt there.” (Genesis 11:31 KJB)“1 Now Jehovah had said to Abram, Get you out of your country, and from your kindred, and from your father’s house, to a land that I will show you: 2 And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great; and you shall be a blessing: 3 And I will bless them that bless you, and curse him that curses you: and in you shall all families of the earth be blessed.” (Genesis 12:1-3 KJBP)“And Jehovah appeared to Abram, and said, Unto your seed will I give this land: and there built he an altar unto Jehovah, who appeared to him.” (Genesis 12:7 KJB)

“14 And Jehovah said to Abram, after that Lot was separated from him, Lift up now your eyes, and look from the place where you are northward, and southward, and eastward, and westward: 15 For all the land which you see, to you will I give it, and to your seed forever. 16 And I will make your seed as the dust of the earth: so that if a man can number the dust of the earth, then shall your seed also be numbered. 17 Arise, walk through the land in the length of it and in the breadth of it; for I will give it to you.” (Genesis 13:14-17 KJB)

“In the same day Jehovah made a covenant with Abram, saying, Unto your seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the river Euphrates:” (Genesis 15:18 KJB)

“And I will establish my covenant between me and you and your seed after you in their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God to you, and to your seed after you.” (Genesis 17:7 KJB)

“9 And God said to Abraham, You shall keep my covenant therefore, you, and your seed after you in their generations. 10 This is my covenant, which you shall keep, between me and you and your seed after you; Every man child among you shall be circumcised. 11 And you shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskin; and it shall be a token of the covenant between me and you.” (Genesis 17:9-11 KJB)

“But my covenant will I establish with Isaac, which Sarah shall bear to you at this set time in the next year.” (Genesis 17:21 KJB)

“Seeing that Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him?” (Genesis 18:18 KJB)

“16 And said, By myself have I sworn, says Jehovah, for because you have done this thing, and have not withheld your son, your only son: 17 That in blessing I will bless you, and in multiplying I will multiply your seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and your seed shall possess the gate of his enemies; 18 And in your seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because you have obeyed my voice.” (Genesis 22:16-18 KJB)

“And you shall be hated by all men for my name’s sake: but he that endures to the end shall be saved.” (Matthew 10:22 KJB)

“And Jeshua went out, and departed from the temple: and his disciples came to him for to show him the buildings of the temple.” (Matthew 24:1 KJB)

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16 KJB)

“For what says the scripture? Abraham believed God [Jehovah], and it was counted to him for righteousness.” (Romans 4:3 KJB)

“13 For the promise, that he should be the heir of the world, was not to Abraham, or to his seed, through the law, but through the righteousness of faith. 14 For if they which are of the law are heirs, faith is made void, and the promise made of no effect: 15 Because the law works wrath: for where no law is, there is no transgression.” (Romans 4:13-15 KJB)

“Bear you one another’s burdens, and so fulfil the law of the Messiah.” (Galatians 6:2 KJB)

“9 And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not. 10 As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good to all men, especially to them who are of the household of faith.” (Galatians 6:9-10 KJB)

“One Lord, one faith, one baptism,” (Ephesians 4:5 KJB)

“11 Put on the whole armour of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. 12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. 13 Therefore take to you the whole armour of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. 14 Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; 15 And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; 16 Above all, taking the shield of faith, with which you shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. 17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God: 18 Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;” (Ephesians 6:11-18 KJB)

“And that we may be delivered from unreasonable and wicked men: for all men have not faith.” (2 Thessalonians 3:2 KJB)

“You are our epistle written in our hearts, known and read of all men:” (2 Corinthians 3:2 KJB)

“6 Therefore we are always confident, knowing that, while we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord: 7 (For we walk by faith, not by sight:) 8 We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord. 9 Therefore we labour, that, whether present or absent, we may be accepted by him.” (2 Corinthians 5:6-9 KJB)

“Now the Spirit speaks expressly, that in the latter times, some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils;” (1 Timothy 4:1 KJB)

“Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto you are also called, and have professed a good profession before many witnesses.” (1 Timothy 6:12 KJB)

“1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. 2 For by it the elders obtained a good report.” (Hebrews 11:1-2 KJB)

“Through faith, we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.” (Hebrews 11:3 KJB)

“But without faith it is impossible to please him:for he that comes to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.” (Hebrews 11:6 KJB)

“8 By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing where he went. 9 By faith he sojourned in the land of promise, as in a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise: 10 For he looked for a city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God. 11 Through faith also Sarah herself received strength to conceive seed, and was delivered of a child when she was past age, because she judged him faithful who had promised. 12 Therefore sprang there even of one, and him as good as dead, so many as the stars of the sky in multitude, and as the sand which is by the sea shore innumerable.” (Hebrews 11:8-12 KJB)

“For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.” (James 2:26 KJB)

“7 That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perishes, though it is tried with fire, might be found to praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jeshua the Messiah: 8 Whom having not seen, you love; in whom, though now you see him not, yet believing, you rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory: 9 Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls.” (1 Peter 1:7-9 KJB)

“1 Whoever believes that Jehshua is the Messiah is born of God: and every one that loves him that begot loves him also that is begotten of him. 2 By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God, and keep his commandments. 3 For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous. 4 For whatever is born of God overcomes the world: and this is the victory that overcomes the world, even our faith. 5 Who is he that overcomes the world, but he that believes that Jeshua is the Son of God?
6 This is he that came by water and blood, even Jeshua the Messiah; not by water only, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit that bears witness, because the Spirit is truth.” (1 John 5:1-6 KJB)

“10 Fear none of those things which you shall suffer: behold, the devil shall cast some of you into prison, that you may be tried; and you shall have tribulation ten days: be you faithful unto death, and I will give you a crown of life. 11 He that has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the congregations; He that overcomes shall not be hurt by the second death.” (Revelation 2:10-11 KJB)

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by Bijbelvorsers | 2024/12/09 · 7:22 pm

What the Bible tells us about Faith

– Only New Testament –
“And ye shall be hated by every one, on account of my name. But he that shall endure to the end, shall have life.” (Matthew 10:22 Murdock)“And Jesus passed out of the temple to go away: and his disciples came to him, showing him the structure of the temple.” (Matthew 24:1 Murdock)

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth on him, should not perish, but should have life eternal.” (John 3:16 Murdock)

“For what saith the scripture? That Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.” (Romans 4:3 Murdock)

“13 For the promise to Abraham and to his seed, that he should become the heir of the world, was not by the law, but by the righteousness of his faith. 14 For if they who are of the law were heirs, faith would be made void, and the promise of no force. 15 For the law is a worker of wrath; because where no law is, there is no transgression of law.” (Romans 4:13-15 Murdock)

“And bear ye one another’s burdens, that so ye may fulfill the law of the Messiah.” (Galatians 6:2 Murdock)

“9 And while we do what is good, let it not be wearisome to us; for the time will come when we shall reap, and it will not be tedious to us. 10 Now, therefore, while we have the opportunity, let us practice good works towards all men, and especially towards them of the household of faith.” (Galatians 6:9-10 Murdock)

“For, the Lord is one, and the faith one, and the baptism one;” (Ephesians 4:5 Murdock)

“11 And put ye on the whole armor of God, so that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the Accuser. {Greek: the Devil} 12 For our conflict is not with flesh and blood, but with principalities, {Greek: [arcas]} and with those in authority, and with the possessors of this dark world, and with the evil spirits that are beneath heaven. 13 Therefore put ye on the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to meet the evil [one]; and, being in all respects prepared, may stand firm. 14 Stand up therefore, and gird your loins with truth; and put on the breastplate of righteousness; 15 and defend your feet {Syriac: shoe your feet} with the preparation of the gospel of peace. 16 And herewith take to you the confidence of faith, by which ye will have power to quench all the fiery darts of the evil [one]. 17 And put on the helmet of rescue; {Greek: [swthrion]} and take hold of the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. 18 And pray ye, with all prayers and supplications, in spirit, at all times: and in prayer be watchful, at all seasons, praying constantly, and interceding for all the saints:” (Ephesians 6:11-18 Murdock)

“and that we may be delivered from evil and perverse men; for faith is not in all.” (2 Thessalonians 3:2 Murdock)

“Ye are our epistle, written on our hearts, and known and read by every man.” (2 Corinthians 3:2 Murdock)

“6 Therefore, because we know and are persuaded, that while we lodge in the body we sojourn away from our Lord; 7 (for we walk by faith, and not by sight;) 8 therefore we are confident, and desirous to be away from the body, and to be with our Lord. 9 We are assiduous, that whether we are absent, or whether at home, we may please him.” (2 Corinthians 5:6-9 Murdock)

“But the Spirit saith explicitly, that in the latter times, some will depart from the faith; and will go after deceptive spirits, and after the doctrine of demons.” (1 Timothy 4:1 Murdock)

“And contend in the good contest of faith; and lay hold of life eternal, to which thou art called, and [of which] thou hast confessed a good confession before many witnesses.” (1 Timothy 6:12 Murdock)

“1 Now faith is the persuasion of the things that are in hope, as if they were in act; and [it is] the manifestness of the things not seen. 2 And for it the ancients are well testified of. — ” (Hebrews 11:1-2 Murdock)

“For by faith, we understand that the worlds were framed by the word {or: the fiat} of God; and that things seen, originated from those that are not seen. — ” (Hebrews 11:3 Murdock)

“But, without faith, a man cannot please God. For he that draweth near to God, must believe his existence, and that he will recompense those who seek him.” (Hebrews 11:6 Murdock)

“8 By faith Abraham, when he was called, obeyed, and departed to the place which he was to receive for an inheritance: and he departed, while he knew not whither he was going. 9 By faith, he became a resident in the land that was promised him, as in a foreign land; and abode in tents, with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise. 10 For he looked for the city that hath a foundation, of which the builder and maker is God. 11 By faith, Sarah also, who was barren, acquired energy to receive seed; and, out of the time of her years, she brought forth; because she firmly believed, that he was faithful who had promised her. 12 Therefore, from one man failing through age, numbers were born, like the stars in the heavens, and like the sand on the shore of the sea, which is innumerable.” (Hebrews 11:8-12 Murdock)

“As the body without the spirit, is dead; so faith without works, is dead also.” (James 2:26 Murdock)

“7 so that the proof of your faith may appear more precious than refined gold that is tested by fire, unto glory and honor and praise, at the manifestation of Jesus the Messiah: 8 whom having not seen, ye love; and in the faith of whom ye rejoice, with joy that is glorious and ineffable, 9 that ye may receive the recompense of your faith, the life {Greek: salvation} of your souls;” (1 Peter 1:7-9 Murdock)

“1 Whoever believeth that Jesus is the Messiah, is born of God. And whoever loveth the begetter, loveth him also that is begotten of him. 2 And by this we know, that we love the children of God, when we love God, and follow his commandments. 3 For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not burdensome. 4 Because, whoever is born of God, overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, — ur faith. 5 For who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God?
6 This is he who came by the water and the blood: — Jesus the Messiah; not by the water only, but by the water and the blood. And the Spirit testifieth; because the Spirit is truth.” (1 John 5:1-6 Murdock)

“10 Be not terrified at any of the things thou art to suffer. For lo, the Accuser will throw some of you into custody, that ye may be tried; and there will be trouble to you ten days. Be faithful unto death, and I will give thee the crown of life. — 11 He that hath ears, let him hear what the Spirit saith to the churches. He that is victorious, shall not be harmed by the second death.” (Revelation 2:10-11 Murdock)

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Tagged as 1 John 5:1-6, 1 Peter 1:7, 1 Timothy 4:1, 1 Timothy 6:1, 2 Corinthians 3:2, 2 Corinthians 5:6-9, 2 Thessalonians 3:2, Abraham, Abraham's seed, Abraham’s righteousness, accounted for righteousness, Armour of God, Believe that Jesus is the Messiah, Breastplate of righteousness, co-heirs of the promise, Confidence of faith, Ephesians 4:5, Ephesians 6:11-18, Faith, Galatians 6:2, Galatians 6:9-10, Hebrews 11:1-2, Hebrews 11:3, Hebrews 11:6, Hebrews 11:8-12, Helmet of rescue, Isaac, James 2:26, John 3:16, Matthew 10:22, Matthew 24:1, promise to Abraham, Revelation 2:10-11, Romans 4:13-15, Romans 4:3, Sarah, Walk by faith

by Bijbelvorsers | 2024/06/30 · 8:00 am

Summer time to dream of the time still to come

There are some certainties we hope to see in life. One of them is that we get to see four seasons in the year, one of which is summer when we can leave work behind and take a holiday.

Today is the day. Children may start enjoying the summer holidays and many parents are looking forward to going out with their children too.

Whatever may happen, everyone does want to make the best of what is to come.
Those who believe in the words of the Bible will now have more time these warmer days to delve further into that Word of God. Together with family, they will be able to see how God has always supported His People and how His promises have become true.
Further, they will know that there will be another time that will make all our problems and concerns forgotten. For we may believe that those promises of God that have not yet come true will indeed come true.

“Now faith is the persuasion of the things that are in hope, as if they were in act; and [it is] the manifestness of the things not seen.” (Hebrews 11:1 Murdock)

Faith sees substance in the scriptures that paint a wonderful picture about a time to come of peace and safety such as has never been. The world as it is today maybe appears permanent, its roads, vast cities, transport systems and institutions unassailable. Yet the eye of faith sees a vastly changed vista, for faith views amongst many things.

May summer time, during the wonderful days of rest, make us continue to dream of that time to come, of which we hope to be partakers.

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Tagged as Certainties in life, Faith, God's promises, Hebrews 11:1, Holiday, Promises of God, Summer, Time to come

by Guestspeaker | 2023/10/30 · 1:23 pm

Taking a dog by the ears

When we browse the internet to find interesting articles, we come across a lot of junk that we ignore further. But there are also sites that touch us because of the attitude they dare to adopt towards other people.

A multitude of articles are placed on the net against believers, be they Christians, Jews or Islamists. Certain people are not afraid to adopt an ugly and sometimes degenerate attitude towards believers.
People seem to be ugly, especially against Christians. Bad enough, those who speak very negatively and even go too aggressive towards other Christians can also find people who call themselves Christians.

Of course, the ex-Christians are the most Christian-hating group, which are underpinned and encouraged by atheists, who don’t like anything else to ridicule Christians. It doesn’t bother them, even if they have a business to do such a thing. Strangely enough, they often do like to get as much money out of people with religious traditions to sell their products based on such occasions. Take the South African Ark, for example, which takes every opportunity to ridicule Christians, while she does not even seem to bother, to get to know those people’s thinking on a religious level, plus also on a political or civil level and would like to have her readers to follow her business site. When you take only that one site with articles like:

you can get a fairly good picture of such a shameful attitude to other thinkers and human beings. What is also striking about negative judges of Christianity is that they mainly look at American evangelical Christians and do not look further at what other Christians believe or how they practice their life of faith.

Ark herself points her finger rightly to the biggest cause of problems. She writes:

…if, as kids, we were each given a KJV bible as part of our school curriculum and told to read it …. ”there will be a test!” {I wonder ….}

The biggest problem of those that criticise Christianity and/or Christendom (them not even seeing the difference between it) is that they never have taken enough time to read the most important Book of books which should be the basis of such faith and for society. In case several believers actually take up the Bible and read the entire book, many more people would leave a certain group of faith because they will have insight into the many false doctrines in that faith community.

Another question some could have asked.

would any of us have believed what we read or become Christians simply on the strength of being told we were reading the ‘Divine Word?’ {I wonder ….}

But we also notice that a lot of atheists and critics of certain faith groups even do not bother to look carefully what those groups believe. Some who call themselves Christian even attack other Christians and tell all sorts of lies about them. One such blog has even as title “The Bible & Exposing Cult Error Darkness Into Light” were the writer wants his readers to believe he exposes errors of others, but in fact does nothing more than presenting his own errors, ignorance or lack of knowledge. For certain groups, like Christadelphians calls them a cult, without really having studied their teachings. Others prefer to stay anonymous. We also can find so-called Christians who hate Jews and preach anti-semitism.

Several of those so-called Christian sites even do not let readers reply on their articles or in case they do they delete all reasonable answers shedding a true light on the Bible or do not allow reply which are not according their idea or oppose the sayings in the article.

From some articles we can find on the net we would think the blogger conciders the other the enemy, though he does not dare to talk nicely to that enemy, what he better would. Desmond Tutu once said;

“If you want peace, you don’t talk to your friends, You talk to your enemies.”

Also the Indian leader Mahatma Gandhi could not understand why there was so much hatred by Christians against other Christians whilst in case they would follow the example of the master teacher they say they follow, there would be much more peace in the world.

We may not forget that most wars originated from greed, often people using religion or a gruesome event that happened before as an excuse.

There is quite honestly probably no country or emirate or society that has not, at one time or other in their history (including any country that has made a concerted effort to wipe out indigenous peoples) done the very same thing, mostly for greed or revenge or because their god commanded them to do it. {Judy Thompson‘s reply to Islam: Can you feel the love?}

The blogger Nora Marie has been been on both sides…both sides of the grass… and has experienced rejection from God’s people as well as the people closest to her. She looks at the problem of false accusations or people not looking at the matter closely.

She writes:

Now, why would he believe anything the person said as gospel when he himself caught the person on a false accusation? Because we humans tend to be drawn to and believe the negative, especially with people we don’t like or are in competition with. Betrayal and getting stabbed in the back hurts when the falsehood comes from an acquantience, crushes when it comes from a friend, and destroys when it’s a relative. Gossip destroys. {Grab a Dog by the Ears?}

Several name Christians do forget that a Christian should be a real or true follower of Christ, having the same God as Christ, and trying to become like Christ.

Instead of loving other Christians, some make it a sport to blacken others and even incite people to hate those other Christians.

Nora Marie writes:

Why do we (yes, especially so-called Christians) stick our noses in other people’s poop?

Why do Christians feel the need to spread stuff around that they know will hurt others? {Grab a Dog by the Ears?}

and gives a good answer:

Two reasons:

1. Pride and arrogance in thinking they are more righteous than others, and

2. Revenge, thinking they will straighten out the person, not realizing that God will always put the gossiper in their place! {Grab a Dog by the Ears?}

It is often because they cannot tolerate something from the other party that they go against it so much. Most vehemently they go against non-trinitarian Christians and their churches because they cannot stand up to the dignity of those God-loving persons who base themselves totally on the Bible and not on the doctrines of certain popular churches.

Much too often, certain Christians forget the words of the Bible concerning their attitude against others and worse in their way of living go far away from the essence of Scriptures.

We are fools when we fly far from God’s precepts, when we are lazy, and when we use our tongues to hurt others in order to build ourselves up. {Grab a Dog by the Ears?}

correctly reminds her readers.

God has given His Word to anyone who wants to hear, to provide instruction and insight so that one can build a perfect life full of respect for others.

God’s word is genius. God’s word flows together into every area of our lives. Yes, it is possible to live right with only the Ten Commandments, but thankfully, God gave us a whole Cannon to explain to us dumb sheep how to treat others, and more importantly, to draw closer to the Lord! {Grab a Dog by the Ears?}

Naive or inexperienced and gullible persons are easily misled and believe every word they hear, but the prudent man [is discreet and astute and] considers well where they are going, sifting and weighing every word. Therefore, let’s think carefully about some bible texts like these:

He who passes by and meddles in a quarrel not his own
Is like one who takes a dog by the ears. ~Proverbs 26:17

“The simpleton believes every word he hears, but the prudent man looks and considers well where he is going.” Proverbs 14:15

Remembering also

“You are not mature if you have a high esteem of yourself. He who boasts in himself is but a babe in Christ, if indeed he be in Christ at all.
Young Christians may think much of themselves. Growing Christians think themselves nothing. Mature Christians know that they are less than nothing.
The more holy we are, the more we mourn our infirmities, and the humbler is our estimate of ourselves” { Charles Spurgeon}

And

Let’s live in love instead of arrogance. {Grab a Dog by the Ears?}

Preceding

Confrontation by people telling lies to force others to avoid the targetted groups

The written, the spoken, and the audible a part of the soul and a blessing to humanity but also the trigger to those who love Crusades and the Inquisition

Need to reject an archaic, racist inspired interpretation of the Bible and animosity against other believers

Are Christianity and Capitalism Compatible?

How Many Gods?

When does your day begin and when begins God His day

This is Church Unity?

Preaching as Public Speaking

Should church members question preachers about the doctrine that is not in the Holy Bible?

Passover 7 days of meditation opening a way to conversion

Culture War Christianity in American history

Americans their stars, pretension, God, Allah and end of times signs #3 Cyberwars and prophesy

Responses to Radical Muslims and Radical Christians

Seeds from the world creating division and separation from God

Preventing conflicts and war

Contemplation for the month of April……Falsehood darkens the pure knowledge of God!

Additional reading

+++

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Tagged as 10 Commandments, Aggressiveness, Aggressiveness against Christians, Anti-Christ cults, Anti-Christian act, Anti-Semitism, Arrogance, Atheists, Attitude to others, Basis of faith, Believers, Bible reading, Charles Spurgeon, Christendom, Christian faith, Christian-hating group(s), Desmond Tutu, Ex-Christians, Faith, Faith-groups, False doctrine, False doctrines, Falsehood, God’s Word, Judges of Christianity, Life of faith, Mahatma Gandhi, Negative judges of Christianity, Perfect life, Pride, Proverbs 26:17, Revenge, to Draw close to God, to Ridicule Christians, True follower of Christ, Word of God

by Guestspeaker | 2022/09/22 · 6:18 pm

Watch The News

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Tagged as Belief in God, Choice, Faith, Grief, News, Re-evaluation, to Evaluate, Why

by Marcus Ampe | 2022/09/19 · 11:42 pm

Leaving (the) Church

Today I had a look at the cathedral of the Reigning King Christ at La Spezia, in Liguria, Italy. An awful huge round building only build in 2015, but already showing signs of being in ‘decay’, materially but probably also spiritually, not receiving many congregants anymore.

It is something we can see all over Europe, churches running empty. Some may find it just a sign of the present modern times, others consider it as normal, people being fed up by the false stories of those churches.

Dan Foster last month asked

Is It Time To Leave Your Church?

Image by Thidarii on Shutterstock

He compares leaving a church as kind of like walking away from a long-term girlfriend or boyfriend. In a way he has good reasons to compare it to that, because often people have grown up with a church or have been affiliated for many years with a certain denomination.

Lots of time people have a history with a certain church and have shared memories — many of them good. Foster writes

You may have raised children together. You might have decades-long friendships attached to your church as well. And there is so much comfort in the familiar.

Though for some there is some awkward feeling. The fire seems to gone out. Previously everything seemed to go nicely and you felt you could even be active in that church.

Yet, at the same time, you just know it’s not working anymore. You have grown apart. Things are not what they once were. There might be conflict — words and deeds that leave you feeling detached a cold towards your former love. You are left with a lingering question,

“Is it time to leave my church?”

This was the situation that Dan Foster with his wife faced. He writes

We walked away from the church that had been my wife’s spiritual home for over thirty years. Imagine that! It was not an easy thing to do. However, we realized in the end that we could not remain in an environment that had, for the most part, turned toxic. {Is It Time To Leave Your Church?}

And for him it was not as such a matter of teachings, though people should better think more about what their church teaches and what is really written in the Bible. But when they come to see there is something not right or not conform of what is written in the Bible, lots of people do not dare to step away from their church … though they better should.

Dan Foster gives eight questions one should pose:

Does your church use guilt, shame, or fear to motivate you?
Does the church act like it has a monopoly on the truth?
Does the church speak at you or listen to you?
Does the church discourage you from asking questions?
Does the church try to isolate you from your non-believing friends?
Does the church preference certain kinds of people over others?
Does the church care most about maintaining the system?
Does the church berate other people who have left?

Strangely enough he forgets the 2 most important questions:

Does the teaching of your church follows the teachings of Jesus Christ?
Does your church worship the same God as Christ?

Because in Christianity we find lots of churches where there is worshipped another God than the God of Christ. That God of that Nazarene master teacher is a singular eternal Spirit Being. In such churches often there exist the idea that only clerics (priest or ministers) can bring and explain the Word of God.

Foster warns people

Often in churches, the pastor, priest, or minister does our spiritual homework for us. We come to rely on them to read, interpret and deliver the word of God to us in a form that is both palatable and entertaining each week. They do this with varying degrees of success.

However, if Christ came to be the one and only mediator between God and us, enabling us to have complete, unfettered access to the divine, then that ought to change the pastor-parishioner relationship from that of teacher-student to one where both parties have equal access to the revelation of God. {Is It Time To Leave Your Church?}

Each person can learn from reading the Scriptures and can help others to read it as well. As such a church should promote dialogue and joint learning. For centuries dialogue was already gone in the Catholic churches, but for several decades it has also dispeared in many protestant churches.

In several churches the leaders do not want to hear questions and tell their flock when they have such difficult questions their faith is weak.

If your pastor bristles when you ask him a difficult question, that ought to set off alarm bells. Mention that you support gay marriage and observe the reaction. Suggest that the earth might not be only 6000 years old and see what kind of reception you get.

Some churches have convinced themselves that discussing difficult questions like these is unhealthy. It is almost as if they worry that their faith will fade away when exposed to the light. If it’s tested, it may just shatter.

The reality is that if our faith is that fragile, it probably was never true. If our God is so easily defeated, he is probably not really the true God. Whether we have built castles of doctrine on flimsy foundations or have metaphorically curled ourselves up into a ball around the fundamentals of the gospel, avoiding the tough questions will never lead to any real answers.

So, if you find that your church shuts down, shames or freezes out people who ask tough questions and openly verbalize their reasonably held doubts, then you are not in a place that fosters and promotes the thinking that is needed for growth. {Is It Time To Leave Your Church?}

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Tagged as Christian denominations, Church doctrine, Dan Foster, Denominations, Dialogue, Discussing difficult questions, Europe, Faith, God of Christ, Joint learning, La Spezia, Leaving a church, Mediator Jesus, Ministers, Pastor, Pastor-parishioner relationship, Priest, Revelation of God, Word of God

by Guestspeaker | 2022/08/03 · 5:41 pm

Drought

Who knows, July and August will be recorded as the warmest and driest months in Europe since records began.

One can only hope that now, with all the fires and other natural disasters that are coming to our regions, there will be a greater awareness that something must be done to combat global warming.

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Tagged as Abrahamic religions, August, Climate, Climate change, Drought, Faith, Global warming, Heat, Heatwave, July, Prayer, Rain dance(s), Summer, Weather

by Christadelphians | 2022/05/24 · 2:17 pm

It’s the Little Things that Matter

by: Alex Cervantes

It is so important to make time in our lives to feed our faith. Alex advocates how faith grows when it is exercised, when it is stretched and challenged. Much like how we grow physically and mentally through day-to-day work, our faith grows the same way. Whether it’s through reading our Bible and prayer, or how we interact with people we meet each day, our faith can grow by doing the little things.

Listen to Alex’s Faith Talk, and many more!

LISTEN NOW

Preceding

Why are you afraid?

You don’t have to walk through the fire

Find also to read

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Tagged as Alex Cervantes, Being challenged, Blaming others, Challenge, Commitment, Day-to-day work, Direction in life, Equality of all people, Eye opener, Eyes on Christ, Faith, Gang(s), Goal, Grow in faith, Hope in life, Murder, Reading the Bible, Running away, to Engender growth, to Feed the faith, to Make time

by Guestspeaker | 2022/03/11 · 12:02 am

Thought of today: Considering Holiness In Your Life

Leviticus 19:1-2 New King James Version (NKJV)

1 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Speak to all the congregation of the children of Israel, and say to them: ‘You shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy.

Numbers 15:38-41 New King James Version (NKJV)

38 “Speak to the children of Israel: Tell them to make tassels on the corners of their garments throughout their generations, and to put a blue thread in the tassels of the corners. 39 And you shall have the tassel, that you may look upon it and remember all the commandments of the Lord and do them, and that you may not follow the harlotry to which your own heart and your own eyes are inclined, 40 and that you may remember and do all My commandments, and be holy for your God. 41 I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, to be your God: I am the Lord your God.”

Consider the holiness of God, as His Presence in your life should be shown outward to others.

Luke 8:43-48 New King James Version (NKJV)

43 Now a woman, having a flow of blood for twelve years, who had spent all her livelihood on physicians and could not be healed by any, 44 came from behind and touched the border of His garment. And immediately her flow of blood stopped.
45 And Jesus said, “Who touched Me?”
When all denied it, Peter and those with him said, “Master, the multitudes throng and press You, and You say, ‘Who touched Me?’”
46 But Jesus said, “Somebody touched Me, for I perceived power going out from Me.” 47 Now when the woman saw that she was not hidden, she came trembling; and falling down before Him, she declared to Him in the presence of all the people the reason she had touched Him and how she was healed immediately.
48 And He said to her, “Daughter, be of good cheer; your faith has made you well. Go in peace.”

Numbers 15:37-41 New King James Version (NKJV)

Tassels on Garments

37 Again the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 38 “Speak to the children of Israel: Tell them to make tassels on the corners of their garments throughout their generations, and to put a blue thread in the tassels of the corners. 39 And you shall have the tassel, that you may look upon it and remember all the commandments of the Lord and do them, and that you may not follow the harlotry to which your own heart and your own eyes are inclined, 40 and that you may remember and do all My commandments, and be holy for your God. 41 I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, to be your God: I am the Lord your God.

1 Peter 1:15-16 New King James Version (NKJV)

15 but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, 16 because it is written, “Be holy, for I am holy.”

Consider: “the garment of Jesus;” “the border of His garment.”

Consider: “the tassels on the borders of the garments.”

A folded tallit or prayer shawl worn by male Jews

Consider: “the prayer shawl that Jesus wore, the Tallit;” “the tzitzit.” “the fringes of the garment.”

Tallit (Search “Tallit” for pictures)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

White tallit

A white tallit according to some Sephardic traditions

Tallit with black stripes

A tallit with black stripes according to the Orthodox Ashkenazic tradition

A tallit [taˈlit] (Hebrew: טַלִּית) (talit[1] in Modern Hebrew, Sephardic Hebrew and Ladino) (tallis,[2] in Ashkenazic Hebrew and Yiddish) pl. tallitot [taliˈtot] (talleisim,[3] tallism,[4] in Ashkenazic Hebrew and Yiddish) is a Jewish prayer shawl. The tallit is worn over the outer clothes during the morning prayers (Shacharit) and worn during all prayers on Yom Kippur.[5] The tallit has special twined and knotted fringes known as tzitzit attached to its four corners. Most traditional tallitot are made of wool. Tallitot are often first worn by children on their Bar Mitzvahs. In orthodox, Ashkenazi circles, a Tallit is customarily presented to a groom before marriage as part of the dowry.

Philippians 2:9-11 New King James Version (NKJV)

9 Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, 11 and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Consider an attitude of Holiness during your worship of our Lord and Savior, Jesus.

Preceding

Not making yourselves abominable

Mishmash of a legal code but importance of mitzvah or commandments

Additional reading

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Tagged as 1 Peter 1:15-16, Attitude of Holiness during worship, Conduct, Faith, Garment of Jesus, Garment(s), Holiness in life, Holiness of God, Holiness of man, Leviticus 19:1-2, Luke 8:43-48, Numbers 15:37-41, Numbers 15:38-41, Philippians 2:9-11, Tallit (pl. tallitot) = prayer shawl, Tassels, Tzitzit (fringes)

by Guestspeaker | 2021/10/12 · 4:06 pm

Sand in my Hand

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Tagged as Colours, Faith, God, Grabbing a handful of sand, Hands of God, Sand

by Guestspeaker | 2021/07/07 · 2:20 pm

Scattered

A Prophet Scorned

I once called upon a storm to cease
To demonstrate faith to believe
But their hearts were swayed
Never to enter the sanctuary
My example as of late
Tied to a certain fate
They scattered divided
Tore me apart
Oh what a start!

Unity, my people
Unite under one banner of Love
And I will send more Love in response
Despite to date none have ever reached out

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Tagged as Banner of Love, Faith, Fate, Love, Sanctuary, Scattered, Storm

by Guestspeaker | 2021/06/15 · 1:07 pm

Is there faith enough to dare to speak about Jesus and his God?

A born-again believer and follower of Jesus asks “Where is your faith?” and looks at the Nazarene master teacher who, according to him, did not have fear (though in the four gospels you’ll notice there were moments that Jesus had a lot of fear and even came to call unto his heavenly Father asking why He had abandoned him.) But looking at the other moments of his life it is true we can find a person who has given himself totally in the hands of his heavenly Father. Even when he was so afraid he asked his God to make him strong enough to be able to do the Will of Him.

Jesus was not afraid to give himself in the hands of his God, the God of Israel. His fear for that God meant he respected the power that God had over him. As a sign of his respect, Jesus did everything to please his heavenly Father, Whom he recognised to be greater than him. He knew he could not do anything without this Great God Who has all the Power.

Charlotte Creamer on her blog writes:

As followers of Jesus, we also have the same capacity to live as fearlessly as Jesus did while on Earth. But what made Jesus so fearless? What enabled him to live his life without fear of anyone or anything?

The answer is rooted in Jesus’ complete faith and trust in God, and in his understanding of God’s Kingdom on Earth. As soon as Jesus came out as the Messiah – the king of the Jews – the Kingdom was established. Jesus knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that he was under the protection of God’s Holy Spirit and holy angels while he was in the Kingdom. This was the safe place promised by God to his people: No physical or spiritual harm can come to those who live in the spiritual Promised Land. The physical protection lasts until it’s time to go home (when it’s removed to enable physical death), but the spiritual protection remains as long as the person being protected is in right-standing with God. {Where is your faith?}

When people have enough faith in a certain matter, they are not afraid of it. The same for Jesus. He fully trusted the One who had sent him here on earth. He knew that he had to fulfil a task, but trusted his heavenly father for providing the means to succeed. By the authority of God Jesus spoke and acted in the midst of people who were curious to see that miracle worker, but who were also interested to hear what that man had to tell about the one many prophets had spoken. Even when they saw that there were several people not liking him, they were not afraid to be around him. (This at least until the moment he was imprisoned, because than the fear caught many who were close to Christ.)

What about today?

Have you become afraid to talk about Jesus and his God?

Do you dare to speak about Jesus and his heavenly Father, the Only One true God?

Charlotte Creamer writes:

Faith is the opposite of fear. If you have faith in God, then you know God’s Kingdom has been established on Earth, with Jesus as King. If you know the Kingdom has been established and that Jesus is your king, then you know you are protected both physically and spiritually. This should give you the same level of fearlessness that Jesus had while on Earth.

So, if you find yourself being afraid of anyone or anything in this Age of Fear, ask yourself “Where is your Faith?” Then do everything you can to deepen your faith and trust in God and get a better understanding of his Kingdom. {Where is your faith?}

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Filed under Lifestyle, Religious affairs

Tagged as Age of Fear, Charlotte Creamer., Faith, Faith in God, Followers of Christ, God's Kingdom, King Jesus, King of the Jews, Promised Land, Trust God

by Guestspeaker | 2020/12/31 · 9:00 am

2020 a year of having more idols but also more personal problems

The Spring of 2020 brought something new to the world which made everyone and everything coming to a standstill but brought also many to having psychological problems. At first, it seemed incredible to hear certain churches calling for their members to come to church, even when the governments asked people to avoid contact with many. Some pastors dared to go so far as telling people that if they would become infected with Corona that would be because they had not enough faith. Such saying we can only call “criminal”. Several Christian groups, mainly in Holland wanted people to believe that as faithful people would come to the service they would not be harmed because they would do what God expected from them.

Lots of people got in problem with their mind, having become pulled away from their social contacts by the lockdown. Depression, bipolar episodes, and anxiety attacks were hindermost in the running.

Because depression isn’t often discussed in churches, a great deal of misunderstanding has popped up in this year when there were so many more people with a lot of psychological problems, who could not be helped by medical staff.

We want people to believe that the first step is realising what this disorder isn’t:

“It’s not a character defect, a spiritual disorder or an emotional dysfunction. And chief of all, it’s not a choice.”

Also we want Christians to be aware that it is not, like some Trinitarian preachers wanted their flock to believe

a penalty from God.

When you do not feel well in your skin it is not that God would be punishing you because you would have done something wrong or that you would not have enough faith in Him.

We also must be aware that just because someone seems “happy,” that doesn’t mean they’re healthy or that they really would be happy. Look at the very popular Flemish influencer. Social media seemed to take more people in its ban this year. The advertising flow is drying up, so professional users of social media tell more about their concerns and they seemed for many to provide some good information. After the death of that 21 year old boy more than ever, several influencers came to understand their role in the youthgroups and to realise that good mental health is important.

This way NokNok wants to teach young people that it is normal to not always feel perfect. Staff member Eline De Decker:

“Nobody walks on clouds every day. Sometimes you get up and immediately feel that it is going to be a terrible day. Sometimes you doubt yourself or feel insecure. Or are you stressed or disappointed with friends or family. That is normal.
And that’s all okay. ”

NokNok wants to convey that message clearly and shows young people between the ages of 12 and 16 what they can do to gain more self-confidence, have less stress and go through life as positivo.

Instagram has been around for ten years, and what the app has perhaps achieved best during that period is creating the illusion that users can “work independently” via the platform. Certainly influencers, people who live off sponsored photos on their Instagram profile, are an example of this bogus self-employment.
They live off Instagram, but much more for Instagram – they tweak their entire lives to create the best photos and videos. And once their Instagram goes down, they have nothing to fall back on.

With the rise of social media, the phenomenon of fanship has changed drastically. About ten or twenty years ago, an idol was someone you idolized by hanging posters on the wall, playing CDs, maybe watching movies or TV shows. The relationship fan-
Idol was pretty one-sided: the fan was occasionally thrown a treat – a new song, a TV appearance, a message about a wedding in a gossip magazine – and he or she had to settle for that.

But with digitization, the relationship between fans and idols has turned inside out,
British sociology professor Ellis Cashmore writes in his book Kardashian Kulture, in which he examines how celebrity culture has changed in the 21st century. No longer are fans from outside looking at the world in which their idol lives – they are right in the thick of it.

Certain churches used those idols also in church and wanted to attire people to their meetings by using a lot of music and disco settings. In 2020 we saw a continuation of the pulpits shrinking and even disappearing while bands and lighting have grown. But faith does not come from music, dynamic experiences, or supposed encounters with God. Faith is birthed through the proclamation of God’s Word (Rom 10:17).

Our assurance is threatened.
Whilst certain churches kept calling their flock to the church building, others tried to bring entertaining video presentations. All that attention or focussing on those idols and entertainement made many youngsters feeling even more alone, when there was no such church meeting any more. If we associate God’s presence with a particular experience or emotion, you can ask what happens when we no longer feel it.

We search for churches whose praise band, orchestra, or pipe organ produce in us the feelings we are chasing. But the reality of God in our lives depends on the mediation of Christ not on subjective experiences.

Musicians are given priestly status.
When music is seen as a means to encounter God, worship leaders and musicians are vested with a priestly role. They become the ones who bring us into the presence of God rather than Jesus Christ who alone has already fulfilled that role. Understandably, when a worship leader or band doesn’t help me experience God they have failed and must be replaced. On the other hand, when we believe that they have successfully moved us into God’s presence they will attain in our minds a status that is far too high for their own good.

Division is increased.
If we identify a feeling as an encounter with God, and only a particular kind of music produces that feeling, then we will insist that same music be played regularly in our church or gatherings. As long as everyone else shares our taste then there is no problem. But if others depend upon a different kind of music to produce the feeling that is important to them then division is cultivated. And because we routinely classify particular feelings as encounters with God our demands for what produce those feelings become very rigid. This is why so many churches succumb to offering multiple styles of worship services. By doing so, they unwittingly sanction division and self-centeredness among the people of God.

Scripture is full of exhortations to God’s people to sing and make music to Him. Our God has been gracious to give us this means to worship Him. But it is important to understand that music in our worship is for two specific purposes: to honour God and to edify our fellow believers. Unfortunately, many Christians tend to grant music a sacramental power which Scripture never bestows upon it.

Intense relationship
Those churches who by the years focused more on the show element of their services brought their members now in a situation where the lockdown is felt more as a restriction and limitation. Some even came to find that they could not serve God any more or did not give Him the full worship they had to offer Him. The fact they felt they could not serve their God any more made them feeling very bad. Instead of making them to understand they also could worship God in their own house in their own small bubble, some churches gave them even more a feeling of guilt by keeping to tell them they should not stop coming to the church building.

Against the lonely feeling they said what’s needed was the gathering and coming to feast again for God. But what is really needed is a loving community where people are encouraged to speak up and get help. And that speaking can be done by internet meetings and help can be giving by phone calls as well as by sending material by land mail.

People should know that when fear comes into their heart, they themselves can call to God. They not only should trust on the entertaining sessions of their church.

God Loves You

The fundamental message of the Gospel is that God loves you.
Do you understand?
God loves you. No matter who you are, no matter what you’ve done or where you’ve been, God will always love you. Dr. Kenneth Hutcherson describes it like this,

“No matter what kind of situation you may find yourself facing, don’t be afraid, because God will always be with you and have your best interests in mind since He loves you. Whenever feelings of fear creep into your life, turn to God for the help you need to overcome them and successfully navigate your circumstances. Whenever you sense God calling you to do something that requires taking a risk, move forward without fear because God will empower you to do whatever He calls you to do.”

It’s Alright to Feel Sad

No one likes to feel sad. We frequently try to avoid feelings of pain, or bury them under the weight of our daily routines. But sorrow cannot and should not be ignored. Accepting our sorrow doesn’t mean we’re weak, or a failure, it means we’re human. Just look what Ethan McCarthy of Christianity Today had to say,

“Our faith is predicated on sadness. As we grow in Christ’s service, we begin to recognize ourselves in Christ’s sad gaze in the icons. The sadness of Jesus exemplifies the sadness of Christians everywhere, and through it the whole world is redeemed. For the sadness of Jesus is not an ultimate sadness: the Bible also promises the end of sadness, and the wiping away of all tears: ‘Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted’ (Matt. 5:4).”

After bad times better times

2020 may not have been an ideal year, but we should know there have been lots more worse years in the past. When looking at those horrible years of illnesses, pains, horrible situations and wars, we should see that we did not have it as bad as some want us to believe.

Hope is a frail thing, but it’s hard to kill. If you’ve found yourself struggling in the valleys of life, please don’t give up. Surround yourself with friends who will comfort you and mourn with you. If you’re suffering from depression, have courage and make an appointment with a doctor. Above all, remember that God loves you, and that will never change.

2020 has been a year where a lot more people had psychological difficulties. The helplines got a lot more calls. Lots of people were struggling with depression. More than 1 in 5 youngsters this year had difficulties with the isolation brought unto them. Christians should see signs and then should come to help.

Every suicide is a tragic end to a life that’s precious to God. If you’re willing, God can empower you to help save the lives of people he loves from ending their lives before they’ve completed the lifetimes he intends for them. Here’s how you can help prevent suicide by reaching out to struggling people you know:

Recognize warning signs.

The American Association of Suicidology says that people who are at risk of committing suicide often display warning signs such as: communicating a desire to kill themselves, looking for ways to kill themselves (like seeking access to guns or medications), expressing a lack of purpose or hope in life, demonstrating dramatic mood changes, behaving in significantly anxious or angry ways, sleeping too much or not sleeping enough, feeling trapped in a challenging situation, taking reckless risks, abusing alcohol or drugs, and withdrawing from relationships with family and friends.

Listen well and offer unconditional love, like God does.

Pay attention to the troubling thoughts and feelings that people share with you. Listen carefully to what they express, and ask them questions to clarify and seek more information. If suicidal people know that you’re genuinely interested in them and that they can trust you not to judge them, gossip about them, or avoid them when they tell you something disturbing, they’ll likely open up to you. Ask God to help you love suicidal people unconditionally – like He does – and that will give them hope they desperately need while struggling with embarrassment and shame.

Pray specifically.

Let people know that they can count on you to pray for them about every specific issue they’ve shared with you. Ask God to bring them the help and healing they need, and pray in Jesus’ name against any form of evil that may be attacking them spiritually.

Give people a fresh perspective on themselves and their problems.

Suicidal people often become so preoccupied with their own failures and the problems in their lives that they blow them out of proportion. When that happens, they feel overwhelmed and can’t see how they can ever find solutions to their problems or find relief from their suffering. Mistakenly thinking that there’s no hope for them to experience better lives, they then may choose to simply end their lives. If someone tells you that she hates herself or feels like a burden on others, you can encourage her by pointing out specific ways she has enriched your life. When someone you know is distraught about a problem that seems insurmountable, you can gently and respectfully point out other aspects of her life that are positive to help her gain a better perspective. Refrain from giving unsolicited advice, which can seem judgmental to someone who is struggling. But remind your friend that there’s plenty of good in her, and in her life, despite the bad aspects that trouble her. You can also point out that every problem – no matter how severe – is temporary, but suicide is permanent. Encourage suicidal people to give themselves time to see how their problems can resolve in unexpected ways, rather than prematurely ending their lives.

Strong churches don’t “fix” depression.

Even large churches may not have the framework currently in place to deal with mental disorders. So, what’s needed?

“Healing comes from a prayerful, loving community that seeks to truly understand major depressive disorder and related conditions, and one that develops a positive response.”

Depression can feel like a huge weight that keeps pulling a Christian down again and again. Breaking free from the clutches of this disorder may seem impossible, but Margaret Ashmore (of the Association of Biblical Counselors) says that one of the most important things a sufferer can do is “the next thing”:

“So ‘doing the next thing’ might mean getting right with someone you’ve wronged, making restitution on outstanding payments, putting away once for all that website or magazine which feeds a monstrous, lustful appetite, taking back a purchase of self indulgence whose only outcome was more debt – you will have your own list. I certainly have mine. But be assured, this principle alone can take you from a shrugging Atlas with the weight of the world on your shoulders to that of renewed vigor and reviving refreshment….”

“The choices we make to obey despite our feelings or to give in to the downward pull of a fallen world filled with fallen people – mean everything.”

If you suffer from anxiety of depression, you’re not alone.

The one true source of freedom: Jesus.

People who kill themselves are trying to break free from their pain. But suicide just makes people dead, not free, and it actually causes more pain by spreading grief around to deceased people’s loved ones. Tell struggling people you know that while suicide can’t make them free, Jesus Christ can. Jesus is the way to God. He is the mediator between God and man, and having been here on earth as a man of flesh and blood, he very well knows the pains man can have to face.

No matter how difficult, certain things may look for us, when we pray to God we may find solutions to get over those difficult situations.

(With parts of articles by a.o. Todd Pruitt, John UpChurch, Ryan Duncan, Whitney Hopler of Crosswalk.com)

+++

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Tagged as 2020, American Association of Suicidology, Anxiety, Anxiety disorder, Bipolar disorder, Corona-measures, Coronacrisis, Coronavirus, Depression, Division, Eline De Decker, Ellis Cashmore, Encounter with God, Ethan McCarthy, Faith, Gathering, Having doubts, Hope, Idol, Idols, Instagram, John UpChurch, Kardashian Culture, Kenneth Hutcherson, Lockdown, Margaret Ashmore, Meeting, Mental Health, Music, Musician(s), NokNok, Penalty from God, Psychological problem(s), Sadness, Self-centeredness, Self-confidence, Self-employment, Social contacts, Social distancing, Social media, Standstill, Suicidal people, Suicide, to feel Sad, to Honour God, Todd Pruitt, Whitney Hopler, Worship leader(s)

by Guestspeaker | 2020/04/11 · 8:05 pm

“In The Midst Of The Storm”

The Divine Creator has given the world His only begotten beloved son. That sent one from God was willing to put his own will aside to do the Will of his heavenly Father in Whom Jesus gave all his trust.

Like Jesus did, we too should give ourselves in the hands of the Only One True God and trust Him Who will bring us through these times of tribulation and for some even a time of ordeal.

To remember

Jesus said he would never leave us nor forsake us, so why when the storms of life hit we seem to lose sight of his presence in our trouble?
We as humans go by what we see
to not visibly see something or someone how can we believe in the hope of their help = where our faith (Trust) needs to be strengthened
God is a Spirit & our help then is of a spiritual nature = way God intervenes in life of the believer. (Romans 8:25-28).
Christ died + become our mediator to make intercession for us to God the Father.
no other anchor for our souls than the hope we find in him!!!!!

Preceding

So many being afraid – reason enough to step in the boat with Christ

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Filed under Being and Feeling, Lifestyle, Re-Blogs and Great Blogs, Religious affairs, Welfare matters

Tagged as Faith, Intervening God, Jesus stilling the storm, Mediator Jesus, Trust God

by Guestspeaker | 2020/03/28 · 6:34 pm

Christian Response to the Covid-19 Pandemic

Sometimes people have to be confronted by something terribly bad. At regular intervals, certain people come to struggle terribly and have to learn by a hard lesson, being pulled down by an accident or serious disease.

Several people at a certain moment in their life got struck. Suddenly they become confronted by a longer period that they can not do the things they normally do. During that time of not doing anything, they are given time to think about the past but also the future. Then they can take time to meditate and to really start to reevaluate the value of things.

Before they got sick or bounded to the bed by their sickness or paralysation, they can have the film of their life repeated over and over again for days. At that time they have hours and days to think about all those things that kept them busy. Then they also realize that they had and still have so many dreams that they’ve had over the years and projects that they wanted to do.

From people who previously had serious accidents and diseases, we do know several people came in confrontation with the matter of a godhead, and started examining the Scriptures, coming to one conclusion, that there is Only One True Divine God, the Elohim Hashem Jehovah, Who is a loving God and not a cruel Being that would have His children being tortured or being burned forever.
It is then for them the time to recognise how so many churches or denomination lied to their flock and used fear to master them.

The devil, being spoken of in the Bible, is any or every adversary who walks on this planet. For sure there are many adversaries of God too, who would love people not to believe in the Divine Creator or have them keeping to the many false teachings, human traditions and heathen festivals.

But it are the real lovers of God who in such difficult times should show how they know for sure Who is behind everything and Who can be the helping hand in times of problems but also be a Guide in times when everything seems alright.

These days when there is a virus making many victims, those real followers of the son of God, should show the world how God has given the world a saviour and mediator, who paid the ransom for all the faults we as human beings have done.

Now is the time that all real lovers of God can show the world Who That real God is and how we as united lovers of God are not afraid of what comes upon this world but are willing to unite in prayer to protect all those around us, believers and unbelievers.

In the article of Janisha Jacobs, affectionately known as “Keela“,, the greatest hope is expressed that during this crisis more people will be drawn closer to Christ, the son of God. We only can hope and pray that more people shall come to see that in this time of fear there will be no other choice but for our faith to increase and to join hands spiritually. That in this time of not knowing what tomorrow holds we will learn to let God worry about tomorrow and focus on getting through today, with the knowledge that there shall come even worse days and even a more severe battle, with the third World War or Armageddon. Therefore we can look at this pandemic as a rehearsal for what still has to come and to make us stronger to be prepared for what is still to come.
Let us, therefore, pray not to false gods, like some many have taken themselves false gods, but learn also others to pray to the God Jesus also prayed too, namely his heavenly Father (and not himself) the One and Only True God, the Elohim Hashem Jehovah.

*

To remember

facing global Pandemic of Covid-19 virus #CoronaVirus.

enough news surrounding panic > All across the world right now persons are facing panic, trauma & a lot of uncertainty because of the effects of Covid-19.

Persons afraid, lost loved ones, + wondering if they will be next.

China, Italy, America, UK, etc. > unimaginable crisis.

biggest question right now = “when will it end?”

for the church = also the question of “how do we react?”

to get us to close down churches > building =/= church

people = church

via Zoom = enjoyable + more intimate than “pulpit and pew”

try + prevent spreading virus => stay home

response/reaction to world crisis & pandemic = faith, wisdom, compassion, forward thinking, leadership + most importantly prayer.

Keela's Chronicles

As most of you know, we have all been facing the global Pandemic of the Covid-19 virus #CoronaVirus. Initially I had no intentions of blogging about it, figuring that there is enough news surrounding the panic and I didn’t want to be one more person adding fuel on an already blazing fire. But, if you read my latest post you know by now that I decided to change my mind

All across the world right now persons are facing panic, trauma and a lot of uncertainty because of the effects of Covid-19. Persons are afraid, many have lost loved ones, some may not even know if their loved ones are still alive in places like Italy, some persons are sick and many others are wondering if they will be next. And all of these emotions and feelings are completely understandable but so very heartbreaking.

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Filed under Activism and Peace Work, Being and Feeling, Crimes & Atrocities, Health affairs, Knowledge & Wisdom, Lifestyle, Prayers, Re-Blogs and Great Blogs, Religious affairs, Social affairs, Spiritual affairs, Welfare matters, World affairs

Tagged as Accidents, Adversary of God, Adversary of man, America, Armageddon, Bad, Being united, China, Church building, Coronavirus, CoViD-19 pandemic, Devil, Difficult times, Disease, Divine Being, Divine Creator, Drawn closer to Christ, Faith, Film of life, Future, Italy, Join hands, Keela = Janisha Jacobs, Lovers of God, Loving God, Mediator Jesus, One God, Only True God, Past, Patient (sick person), Real God, Rehearsal, Saviour Christ, sick bed, Social distancing, Son of God, Struggles, Suffering, the Sick, Time of fear, Time to think, to Meditate, to Pray, to Unite in prayer, Tomorrow, Virus, World War III

by Christadelphians | 2019/03/20 · 12:50 pm

Not always easy to have a conversion

In life it is up to us to make the right choice. It is up to decide either to follow human doctrines or Biblical doctrines and to come following the real Jesus Christ (Jeshua ben Joseph), the son of God and our saviour

There exists no conversion without a crisis…
no resurrection without death.
‘You who find your life will lose it,
and you who lose your life for My sake will find it.’
~Matthew 10:39

When people have no faith in higher beings nor in gods, but come to hear about that special creature, about so many continue to speak and to debate, and want to know more about him, they shall start feeling counteraction. How closer they shall come to a point to consider about a conversion the thwarting shall become stronger.

Those who want to follow Christ shall come to feel that such a decision may bring opposition. Certainly when they decide they want to go for Jehovah as the Only One True God. Then hell breaks loose. Then the adversaries of Jehovah (the satans) shall jump high and do their utmost best to bring that person to other ideas.

Please do not worry when you start feeling such opposition when you talk about your will to follow Christ and to go for his heavenly Father Jehovah. It shall be a sign that you are on the right direction. Jesus is the way to God, but it does not mean it shall be an easy road. Jesus warns several times (in the parables) about the difficulty to go on the right track and to find the right and narrow gate to enter the Kingdom of God.

Do know at the end of the road it shall be worthwhile to have chosen for the right Jesus and for the right God.

Do know at the end the reward of God shall be great.

Find also to read

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Filed under Lifestyle, Quotations from Holy Scriptures, Religious affairs

Tagged as Conversion to Christianity, Convert, Faith, Human doctrines, Proselyte, Reward, the Way to God, to Convert, to Follow Jesus

by Guestspeaker | 2019/03/07 · 11:30 am

Once the seed of faith takes root…..

Only when the seed of faith roots in the good soil it shall be able to grow stronger and bring forth multiple fruits.

+

Dutch version / Nederlandse versie: Zodra het zaadje van het geloof wortel schiet …

Purplerays

Once the seed of faith takes root
it cannot be blown away
even by the strongest wind.
Now that’s a blessing.
– Rumi
photo credit: True colors by A-Ho
Text & image source: The birds and the bees and the flowers and the trees https://www.facebook.com/allaboutthebirdsandthebeestheflowersandthetrees/

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Filed under Lifestyle, Positive thoughts, Quotations or Citations, Re-Blogs and Great Blogs, Religious affairs, Welfare matters

Tagged as Being fruitful, Blessing, Faith, Rumi, Seed of faith, Taking Root

by Christadelphians | 2018/12/29 · 5:59 pm

God calls us His people, and we call Him our God

The Bible’s frequent refrain — ‘His people’ and ‘our God’ — repeatedly reminds us that we are a community — part of God’s family. Like a body, each part has a vital role to play. The Lord has formed us for a collective purpose. We are dedicated to adopting the values of God. We are committed to doing the works of faith we have seen in Jesus, and the very ones we hope to perform with His constant aid.

Faith can grow abundantly when we understand and fully embrace the fact that God has put us together on purpose.
Accordingly, the Christadelphian community is committed to a vision of Cultivating Faith Together.
After some hard thinking about how they can make the biggest difference, the WCF got structured to advance that vision as effectively as they can.

Like our Christadelphian ecclesia in Belgium the WCF is focused on faith because it is the bedrock of our relationship with God and His Son. It is what compels us to walk with them for good, for a lifetime. And our faith is what is tested in the daily trials and decisions of life.
The WCF and our Belgian ecclesia is committed to cultivating more faith together.
We hope you will join us in this great cause. We seek those who want to give their hands, their hearts, their financial resources. We know that, together, we can truly grow more faith.

°°°
All financial help is welcome
BE37 9730 6618 2528
BIC ARSPBE22
“Preaching funds”

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Filed under Activism and Peace Work, Economical affairs, Religious affairs

Tagged as Body of Christ, Christian community, Community, Faith, Financial help, God's People

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Club members their own blog-writings – Clubleden hun eigen persoonlijke blogs

Articles by Guestwriters members – Artikelen bij Gastschrijvers leden

Thoughts by and a Look at the world by Marcus Ampe on: Marcus Ampe's Space

An other look at the world by Marcus Ampe on: Some View on the World

Recent Posts on the other Lifestyle Magazine: Stepping Toes

Recent Posts: Belgian Ecclesia Brussel - Leuven

Recent Posts by the Brethren in Christ: Broeders in Christus

Recente Postings: Belgische Broeders In Christus

Recent Posts by: Messiah For All

Recent Posts: Belgian Biblestudents - Belgische Bijbelstudenten

Recent Posts by bible Scholars: Bijbelvorser = Bible Researcher

Recent Posts at: Relating to God

Recent Posts by: Immanuel Verbondskind - עמנואל קאָווענאַנט קינד

Recent Posts by: Jeshuaisten / Jeshuaists