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 Posted: Tue Aug 05, 2008 9:18 pm
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Posted: Tue Aug 05, 2008 10:52 pm
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Posted: Wed Aug 06, 2008 1:32 pm
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1) I'm pretty sure Revelations says that Jesus will come back after the tribulation (it's been a while since I studied that book), so I would assume you would look for the other signs of the tribulation first, which are pretty detailed in Revelations. But, many people believe that the christians will be taken to heaven before the tribulation (that's a whole different discussion), so if you believe that, I guess you would be in heaven before Jesus returned and would know Jesus. As for knowing who is Jesus, I guess you would look for the same signs that let people know he was the messiah originally: miracles, fullfilling prophecies, profound speaking, etc.
2)The best way to minister to someone else is to make sure you are living the way you are trying to ask them to live. There is a saying in my church: You are the only Bible some people will ever read. Meaning, you need to live the life of a Christian to show what Christianity is all about and if someone asks you about it, be ready to respond. For example, one day I was just in PE class with a friend of mine who was non-Christian (to the extreme) and she started talking about how fake Christianity must be because murderers and criminals wear crosses. I happened (by God's will) to have my cross on that day and challenged her by asking whether I was "fake." I had not really thought about ministering to her at all, but because I kept my life (as best as I could) in line with the Bible, she was able to learn something about Christianity, which opened the door for more discussions about Christianity. God will provide little "coincidences" like this as xxPromarkxx said.
3)If you mean works like going to church or volunteering a certain number of hours, then no, but you are expected to follow Jesus (as you said), which will usually bring you to do other things. You are also expected to serve God in the sense that you try to do his will in your life, but that will be different for each person. Also, if you make a mistake and don't do something He asks or do something He tells you not to, that does not change your salvation. Baptism is another thing people disagree about from denomination to denomination, but from a Biblical sense, baptism was used in the time of the old testament and new testament as a way to show who you were loyal to. I don't believe John the Baptist was the only person to baptize his followers, but I am not absolutely sure. Basically, the way I learned it was that Baptism is a way to show other people that you now follow Jesus. It has no bearing on your salvation, but it is a step that Christians are advised to take in order to better follow Jesus. (Again, the interpretation of this will vary depending on your denomination).
4)The idea is that you are able to help "evildoers" but not to participate in the "evil." Also, the Bible talks about not just avoiding evil, but avoiding the appearance of evil. For example, if you have a friend of the opposite gender, you can hang out with them and stuff, but try to avoid being alone with them (not in public, but like alone in an apartment) or if you have a friend who drinks a lot, try not to put yourself in a situation where you would be tempted to drink with that person. The whole idea behind staying away is that you don't let yourself start to believe that their "evil" is acceptable. The way I have had it explained to me is that you can have "evildoers" as friends, but you should not let them make or influence important spiritual decisions for you: like drinking or having sex. I really don't like the word "evildoer" though because it applies to every person, but I hope you get the idea.
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Posted: Wed Aug 06, 2008 3:53 pm
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Shalah 1. How will we know when Jesus comes back to earth (if he does in our lifetime)? Couldn't any skilled practitioner of magic claim to be Jesus and perform acts that would make them appear to be Jesus?
Much of the later NT has warnings against false prophets. 1 John, especially, has some keys.
"Who is the liar? It is the man who denies that Jesus is the Christ. Such a man is the antichrist-- he denies the Father and the Son. No one who denies the Son has the Father; whoever acknowledges the Son has the Father also."
~~ 1 John 2:22-23 NIV
"Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see if they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming and even now is already in the world."
~~ 1 John 4:1-3 NIV
2 Peter chapter 2 also tells us that false teachers and prophets will seek to subvert the teachings of Jesus Christ, planting heresies and false policies. In the spirit of testing, I would guess that we would be able to tell the real Jesus from a false one by comparing the teachings of whoever it was with what the Bible says He taught.
Shalah 2. How can I share God's word with some of my non-Christian (and Pagan, etc) friends, and what kind of conversation would be appropriate to discuss this?
I'm with Goldenlici on this one. Actions speak louder than words. If you live a Godly life in line with the teachings of Jesus, then God will bring opportunities to share your faith.
Shalah 3. Is anything expected of you before/after you are baptized (except believing that Jesus is the son of God and he died for our sins etc)? What does it mean (spiritually) to be baptized?
Jesus calls us to publicly announce our faith in him. Being baptized is that public declaration. Once you've been baptized, you're in the public eye, so to speak. You are held accountable by those who witnessed the baptism. Expectations, therefore, are much the same as pre-baptism, but people should hold you accountable for following God, both in and out of Church.
Shalah 4. God states that Christians should both be there for "evildoers" and stay away from them so you don't become like them, but which one would be the wiser choice? I guess that it would depend on who the "evildoer" is and what they are like, huh?
Here, I believe that God is calling us to live a life in Him in sight of the world, but not to participate in sin. It's the "In the world, but not of the world" concept. Our lives should be our witness. Goldenlici had some good examples.
Hope this helps. |
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Posted: Wed Aug 06, 2008 8:08 pm
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Posted: Wed Aug 06, 2008 11:34 pm
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Posted: Thu Aug 07, 2008 11:06 am
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1. How will we know when Jesus comes back to earth (if he does in our lifetime)? Couldn't any skilled practitioner of magic claim to be Jesus and perform acts that would make them appear to be Jesus?
Well in the bible before the second coming of Jesus there will be the anti christ, and all those things in revolation.. There is some talk of pre-wrath rapture, and post-tribulation wrath. D: So it is possible that we will be heaven before the second coming. D: We will know when the mark and stuff pops up, so read revelation its a cool book to read.
2. How can I share God's word with some of my non-Christian (and Pagan, etc) friends, and what kind of conversation would be appropriate to discuss this? For instance, I know this one would be kind of bad (I wouldn't actually say this. It's just a dramatic example):
What I do is bring up a religionous talk, like ask them about their beliefs, and learn what the believe and try to understand it. Then you can take that understanding and try to get it to go your way. D: Sorry if that isn't the best answer
3. Is anything expected of you before/after you are baptized (except believing that Jesus is the son of God and he died for our sins etc)? What does it mean (spiritually) to be baptized?
My belief is after the baptism nothing really happens untill you get baptized in the holy spirit. It could take time before that happens so a good thing to do is to read your bible and keep doing questions.
4. God states that Christians should both be there for "evildoers" and stay away from them so you don't become like them, but which one would be the wiser choice? I guess that it would depend on who the "evildoer" is and what they are like, huh?
Actually it depends more on you. If you where a drunk, then you should not hang around drunks. It depends on if you feel that you should or shouldn't hang around them. You'll know because you'll feel bad or convected. Only you know if hanging around a person will make you become like them.
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Posted: Thu Aug 07, 2008 3:42 pm
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I was thinking about question one and a memory started to kindle about Jesus prophesying his second coming. I knew he says something but I couldn't remember what. Just now I did some searching on Bible Gateway and found it in the gospel of Matthew, chapter 24. The whole chapter is good to read to find out what will be happening at the end of the age, but this part in particular is a great answer for your first question:
Matthew 24:23-31 NIV 23 At that time if anyone says to you, 'Look, here is the Christ!' or, 'There he is!' do not believe it. 24 For false Christs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and miracles to deceive even the elect—if that were possible. 25 See, I have told you ahead of time.
26 "So if anyone tells you, 'There he is, out in the desert,' do not go out; or, 'Here he is, in the inner rooms,' do not believe it. 27 For as lightning that comes from the east is visible even in the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. 28 Wherever there is a carcass, there the vultures will gather.
29 "Immediately after the distress of those days
" 'the sun will be darkened,
and the moon will not give its light;
the stars will fall from the sky,
and the heavenly bodies will be shaken.'(Isaiah 13:10; 34:4)
30 "At that time the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and all the nations of the earth will mourn. They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky, with power and great glory. 31 And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other.
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Posted: Thu Aug 07, 2008 4:17 pm
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Posted: Fri Aug 08, 2008 6:10 pm
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Shalah Thank you so much!
I haven't really read these verses before because I'm only in Exodus right now. sweatdrop
But around Genesis/Exodus, it talks about marriage and how you aren't supposed to marry more than one person, but as I was reading, it seemed like it was becoming more and more popular but God didn't seem to be confronting them or reminding them about it.
And in Exodus (in my bible anyway) maybe I'm just interpreting this wrong, but it seemed like Pharaoh wasn't a Christian...but in 9:27-28, it says "Then Pharaoh quickly summoned Moses and Aaron. 'This time I have sinned,' he confessed. 'The Lord is the righteous one, and my people and I are wrong. Please beg the Lord to end this terrifying thunder and hail. We've had enough. I will let you go; you don't need to stay any longer'."
Regarding monogamy (and other laws for that matter), it's a case of how we carry on doing what we want knowing perfectly well what we're supposed to do. Eventually there comes a moment/event that causes us to question our actions and that's when God speaks out against them.
Regarding the Pharoah, it's important to remember there were no Christians at that time. Pharoah knew of the God of Israel from Moses and Aaron, from the Jews whom the Pharoah had enslaved and from the judgments brought down on Egypt in the form of the plagues and such. This is another example of how someone can be alerted to his/her trespasses after a time. |
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Posted: Mon Sep 01, 2008 8:52 pm
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Posted: Thu Sep 04, 2008 9:59 am
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Shalah Okay. And a few more things... I know that everything in the Bible is important in its own way, but what about when you are reading about the descendants (Ex: Son of___, son of ___, son of___...)? Is it really that important to understand? In all honesty, those parts kind of make my head hurt to try to connect everybody's sons and ancestors. And what about the building of the tabernacle? Is it important to know and be able to visualize all of the tools to create the tabernacle? Also, What if someone remarries after their spouse dies? Then when that person and their other spouse dies, then would they have...two spouses in Heaven?
Your not married in heaven. |
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Posted: Sun Sep 07, 2008 1:04 pm
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Paranormal Zombiiie Shalah Okay. And a few more things... I know that everything in the Bible is important in its own way, but what about when you are reading about the descendants (Ex: Son of___, son of ___, son of___...)? Is it really that important to understand? In all honesty, those parts kind of make my head hurt to try to connect everybody's sons and ancestors. And what about the building of the tabernacle? Is it important to know and be able to visualize all of the tools to create the tabernacle? Also, What if someone remarries after their spouse dies? Then when that person and their other spouse dies, then would they have...two spouses in Heaven? Your not married in heaven.
Really? I didn't know that.
And not to sound rude/naive or anything, but I thought that one of the main reasons that we are on this earth is to love...so what fun is Heaven if you can't have a love like you did on the earth? |
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Posted: Sun Sep 14, 2008 4:25 pm
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We are meant to love- love God and love one another. But it seems that alot of people (not just you, pretty much everyone) forget that it's not really about us. When we get to Heaven, I'm fairly certain that we will still love those we loved on Earth, but our love and attention will mostly be focused on God, since we have finally come to be with Him in the purest way and in the way that He intended.
And for your other question about "the son of _________, the son of _______" etc. and the tools for making the tabernacle, it is useful in its own way. Not necessarily for having a relationship with God, but in its cultural context, those parts were important. Especially when it gets to Jesus' lineage, and you see that Jesus was the Son of God, but also the son of Joseph, and Mary, and thereby related to all of the people mentioned. This might help you make sense of things. You may want to look up the following people in His genealogy (if you are not already familiar with their stories) to understand the importance of their mentioning in Scripture: Noah, Isaac, Jacob (Israel), Judah, Tamar, Ruth, David, and Solomon. These people all play important roles, and their stories bear some insight into Jesus' character and purpose. Pay attention also to these various individuals' spouses and children, because they also play a part in shedding light on Jesus' purpose.
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High-functioning Businesswoman
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Posted: Wed Oct 01, 2008 2:59 pm
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Shalah Paranormal Zombiiie Shalah Okay. And a few more things... I know that everything in the Bible is important in its own way, but what about when you are reading about the descendants (Ex: Son of___, son of ___, son of___...)? Is it really that important to understand? In all honesty, those parts kind of make my head hurt to try to connect everybody's sons and ancestors. And what about the building of the tabernacle? Is it important to know and be able to visualize all of the tools to create the tabernacle? Also, What if someone remarries after their spouse dies? Then when that person and their other spouse dies, then would they have...two spouses in Heaven? Your not married in heaven. Really? I didn't know that. And not to sound rude/naive or anything, but I thought that one of the main reasons that we are on this earth is to love...so what fun is Heaven if you can't have a love like you did on the earth?
Look at your signature - GOD IS LOVE. |
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