Do you want to discuss Christianity?

I was saved by a super non-natural experience that happened 40 years ago. I don't know why me and to be honest I feel sad when I think about what I've done with it since. I started hot but once I got married and started a family I slid into "comfortable" lifestyle. Yeah we went to church every week and I maintained my faith through good times and bad but it just seems I was more reactive than proactive. I have a friend now that is helping me stand back up.

Even though I grew went to a Baptist church off and on since I was a kid, I dare say if push came to shove back pre-born again, I was an Atheist. Then I moved from if there is a God, then I should ask Jesus to forgive my sins so I could go out and commit more sins. I used him as a religious doormat. Clean my muddy shoes so I can go out and play more in the mud. There is going to be a lot of weekly church goers and people that call themselves Christian that will be shocked when they don't make it. Jesus didn't get mad at the lost - He got mad at the religious leaders. Works. It's good if that's your caboose. It's bad if that's your engine. When I was trying to find a new church home, I would sit in the back of church. If I heard "you need Jesus and..." - that's it I'm out. It's Jesus and Jesus only. All my chips (faith) is on Him and Him alone.

You might think that seems narrow minded. What kind of love would a Father have if He sent His Son to die on a cross for sinful man IF there was another way? But what kind of love would a Father have if He sent His Son to die on a cross for sinful man BECAUSE there was no other way? And you might think I'm a good person. Are you though? I thought I was a good person because as a drug dealer, I gave out the best deals in town. Seriously that's where my mind was at. Every person has their own interpretation of "being a good person". Just because you believe something doesn't make it true. You have a debt to pay for sin. No amount of good works can erase that sin. Jewish law had the sacrifice but that was for people that had faith in God and who was to come - The Messiah would would save the world. He did. Maybe not what the religious leaders were looking for but the Sinless Lamb of God - Jesus - saved us that day. They looked forward. We look back with that same faith.

Remember the devil believes all the facts. However he fell and has no way to pay for his sin. Jesus is born of man but without sin through God as the sin seed comes from man. The wages of sin is death. It's something you earned the moment you commit your 1st sin. His payment on the cross was the only sacrifice that allows us to live in peace with God. IF a man was without sin and died, he could save himself but only himself. He could transfer it but 1 man = 1 man. However, how many lives can the Son of man and the Son of God save? Infinite.

Grace and mercy. I used to think those were interchangeable but they are actually quite the opposite. Grace is getting something your don't deserve - forgiveness. Mercy is not getting something you do deserve - death. Jesus provides us both grace and mercy. It's a free gift to everyone. And all because of God's love for us. Something my mind just can't grasp - but I'm so thankful for.

 

لا إله إلا الله

 

Pick what you like :

Jesus never claimed to be God in the Bible , how did he become one regardless!


Zionest Christian are just political party , has nothing to do with principles.

Confused ideas mixed with faith and supernatural power often a sign of schizophrenia

 

You seem to believe the crux of Christianity is to villify the poor and immigrants and to suck up to the rich. Many of the NAZIs were your type of Christians.

 

I assume in your true religion, a type I suspect of "libertarianism" , that payng any taxes is "slavery".

 

He supports transgendering your kids
Really he does
Maybe that’s what happened to those kids in the Somali daycare
They got their genitalia chopped off by dudes who look like Bernie or Tim Walz

@Salvy
@ROXRAN
@CrixusTheUndefeatedGaul

 

Your bible doesn't have many pages left does it? I mean if it's all make believe to you then yeah you had your chance to accept the free gift but you rejected it. Good luck with your home-made fire suit.

John 10L30 - I and the Father are One.

John 8:58 - before Abraham was, I am.

You can say misinterpreted but the religious leaders were picking up rocks to stone him for that. They knew exactly what he was saying. And I'm not going to go over the hundreds of prophecies fulfilled upon his birth. You can start here for some light reading but there are way more than this: https://israelmediaministries.org/2...3pdiwFJp7gHf4Gz9n8D7WLw6QByfgnukaAhVREALw_wcB

 

One night in 1986 at 2:42am, I awoken by something I still to this day don't know who or what. I couldn't see or move but I could hear. I heard giant wings and they were beating fast. You could tell by the sound that they were big and flapping hard. I never believed angels had wings and I never knew about the cherubim. A voice asked me if I was ready. I knew what ready meant and no I was not. At 2:44am I could see and move again - it was over. I was so scared. I didn't know what it meant to be born again even though I sat in church a majority of my Sundays. So I went to where I thought I could find the answer - The Bible. I would just flap open it to a page, read it hoping to find the answer. Well I landed in the old testament more times than not and 3 hours of doing that lead to nothing. I was scared, confused now. At 6am and the sun was about to rise, I cried out to God, I don't know what it means to be saved. His response was Whatever you do think of Me 1st. Deal! That got me studying, digging, praying but I could feel the Holy Spirit living in me helping me instantly.

You can say it was all a dream or pizza from the night before, I would think the same thing if it didn't happen to me. It was 100% real. I had no drugs in my system during that season of my life. I was sober, had stopped going to church and would consider myself to be an Atheist at that time so this was all really out from left field for me. One thing I said to Him was Lord if You did this to everyone, everyone would be saved. His response was, 1000s of people saw my Son 1st hand, listened to Him, saw the miracles He performed - and yet they crucified Him. So no, not everyone would be saved. People have a free will. People are also loaded with pride and that is one of mankind's biggest downfalls. He's not a puppet master up there making everyone love Him. You can't force someone to love you,

I have so many stories and lessons from the 1st few years. I really hated leaving my job (for a new job) and all my friends - I couldn't take the temptations that was a constant in their lives They saw the immediate change. You can argue if you want what happened but one thing you couldn't argue was the change. Once I left I could only tell people about the change. They witnessed it. Oh and btw it was years before I told anyone (even Christians) what really happened. It's like seeing a UFO. Some might believe you but most will think you're a crackpot. And I wasn't sure how that would be glorifying to God.

I did marry a Godly wife. We're still happily married after 36 years. We strengthen each other and are there for each other. One thing though is I am not as active as I used to be and that part makes me sad. I was chosen and yet I feel I wasted what was given to me. Work and life with kids consumed my days. I know He's always there and never left but I will cry both happy tears and sad tears when I die. It's not that I'm looking for works from my life but I do need focus more on Him. He's blessed me FAR beyond what I could have ever imagined. My life isn't over though and I have a friend that is getting me back up off the mat. I don't know if he know how much he's helping but I thank the Lord for him - and Him not giving up on me.

 

Take it easy,
the only way to find out the Truth is when we die, no rush

The “Son of Man” is Jesus' own self-description—he uses the title twelve times in the Gospel of John (1:51; 3:13, 14; 5:27; 6:27, 53, 62; 8:28; 9:35; 12:23; 13:31; in 12:34 his language is quoted back to him

When I see debate over John's (was he the same person or two different authors) Im like SMH : only 2! John contrast to Mark, Mathew and Luke is quite interesting.

My .2 cents: Massiah in Arabic language which is the closest to Aramaic has a very simple meaning (the one who wipe~ nickname) , which make sense that Jesus healed the blinds by wiping over their eyes with his hands !

 

This explains…a lot….

 

There is absolutely nothing in the Bible that says a person has any chance of redemption after death.