Friday/Saturday/Sunday morning preaching.

[basics]

mishkin,

To begin with we of the Reformed church have the same Bible message that Roman Catholics have without all the additives that it has added to the Scriptures. Things like indulgencies, purgatory, Mary prayers as well as to other saints who only become saints when the system of Rome decrees it, priests only interpretation of the Scriptures which are not in the Scriptures. The Bible tells us that every believer, born again of the Spirit of God is a saint, is a priest yet are now called Christians. Our Leader is the Lord Jesus Christ and Him only, why? Because it is written that He said, " Where any one or two are gathered in My Name, I will be in your midst." Our Comforter is the Holy Spirit Who dwells in each believer seeing each one through thick and thin until that day they are called away. The only father we are to have is God the Father and none else. That is what is written and what we were warned against, that men would come along to distort the Word of God therefore leading many away from it and so I make no apologies for defending God's Word.

[mishkin]

I sense you are replying "my beliefs (totally outside of science and reason, I added that) are correct and I make no apologies for making fun of other more baroque religions". to me this is as if a one-armed man (a protestant i.e.) mocks a lame man (a catholic i.e.). Cheers. I wish you the best in your next life.

[basics]

mishkin,

It is written that God has made His presence known to all men not just by what is in their knowledge but also all that surrounds them, Paul's letter to the Romans, so man has no excuse for disbelieving God. Science and reason do not and cannot explain the Supernatural and never will. Now as far as your protestant and catholic lame men are concerned it is also written that unless either or both of them are born again of the Spirit of God neither will have much cheer in the next life.

[Prodromos]

51 Now when the time was approaching for Him to be taken up, He was determined to go to Jerusalem. 52 He sent messengers on ahead of Him, and they went into a Samaritan village to make arrangements for Him; 53 but the people would not welcome Him, because He was traveling toward Jerusalem. 54 When His disciples James and John saw this, they said, “Lord, do You want us to command fire to come down from heaven and destroy them, just as Elijah did?” 55 But He turned and rebuked them, and said, “You do not know what manner of spirit you are of. 56 For the Son of Man did not come to destroy men’s lives, but to save them.” And they went to another village.

J.C. Ryle on "zeal without knowledge":

Let us notice, secondly, in these verses, the extraordinary conduct of two of the apostles, James and John.

We are told that a certain Samaritan village refused to show hospitality to our Lord. ‘They did not receive him, because his face was as though he would go to Jerusalem.’ (Luke 9:53)

And then we read of a strange proposal which James and John made. ‘They said, Lord, wilt thou that we command fire to come down from heaven and consume them, even as Elijah did?’ (Luke 9:54)

Here was zeal indeed, and zeal of a most plausible kind,—zeal for the honor of Christ! Here was zeal, justified and supported by a scriptural example, and that the example of no less a prophet than Elijah!

But it was not a zeal according to knowledge. The two disciples, in their heat, forgot that circumstances alter cases, and that the same action which may be right and justifiable at one time, may be wrong and unjustifiable at another.

They forgot that punishments should always be proportioned to offences, and that to destroy a whole village of ignorant people for a single act of discourtesy, would have been both unjust and cruel.

In short, the proposal of James and John was a wrong and inconsiderate one. They meant well, but they greatly erred.

Facts like this in the Gospels are carefully recorded for our learning. Let us see to it that we mark them well, and treasure them up in our minds.

It is possible to have much zeal for Christ, and yet to exhibit it in most unholy and unchristian ways.

It is possible to mean well and have good intentions, and yet to make most grievous mistakes in our actions.

It is possible to fancy that we have Scripture on our side, and to support our conduct by scriptural quotations, and yet to commit serious errors.

It is as clear as daylight, from this and other cases related in the Bible, that it is not enough to be zealous and well-meaning.

Very grave faults are frequently committed with good intentions. From no quarter perhaps has the Church received so much injury as from ignorant but well-meaning men.

We must seek to have knowledge as well as zeal. Zeal without knowledge is an army without a general, and a ship without a rudder.

We must pray that we may understand how to make a right application of Scripture. The Word is no doubt ‘a light to our feet, and a lantern to our path.’

But it must be the Word rightly handled, and properly applied.

[mishkin]

so... any news from god? nothing?

[Sir Adrian]

Yes actually. He still loves you and hopes you will one day turn your face towards Him.

[basics]

so... any news from god? nothing?

mishkin,

Haven't you seen the news because right now many foreign leaders are assembling for the funeral of one of God's most trusted subjects. Queen Elizabeth ll spent her whole life trying to bring people together never forgetting her Lord and Saviour as being the Power behind her life. The shame is that some countries have been denied the privilege of attending for political reasons which is not in the spirit on which she lived. Today the world is a poorer place.

[mishkin]

one of God's most trusted subjects.

This is something that you know because of your very special relationship with God. (Let's put aside how pious the life of one of Britain's richest women was).

[basics]

mishkin,

Well, I think it is easy to see that God having built the greatest empire the world has known she oversaw its dissolution replacing it with the Commonwealth of Nations some of whom were never in the empire. She made it well known that she owed everything to God yet she wasn't known for Bible thumping as all the faiths in her lands were treated with the same respect. Yes, she was rich and why not? The amount of revenue she brought into the country, some 2.5 billion every year is not bad pickings when all she gets back to pay for the Royal establishments amounts to some 500 million pounds. As far as my relationship with God is concerned I can only say as I approach my ending in this life that I wish I had been closer to Him than I have been.

[mishkin]

"God" supports massacres, the forced famines, the abuses, the racism... I don't know why it doesn't surprise me

[basics]

mishkin,

God is God our Creator and as we can see all the things that transpire or have transpired have been done to show mankind how fallen he has become in the eyes of God and how he can be restored to God's favour. In other words it is the sin in man that is behind all the troubles that he has had to endure. The alternative is that one can believe there is no God thus putting your argument to bed as to whom is to blame for the lives of men. The alternative to that is to accept that there is a God Who demands standards way above all that which man must adhere to or pay the price of failing. Jesus Christ is that Way.

[Prodromos]

Psalm 94

1 The Lord is a God who avenges.
O God who avenges, shine forth.
2 Rise up, Judge of the earth;
pay back to the proud what they deserve.
3 How long, Lord, will the wicked,
how long will the wicked be jubilant?

4 They pour out arrogant words;
all the evildoers are full of boasting.
5 They crush your people, Lord;
they oppress your inheritance.
6 They slay the widow and the foreigner;
they murder the fatherless.
7 They say, “The Lord does not see;
the God of Jacob takes no notice.”

8 Take notice, you senseless ones among the people;
you fools, when will you become wise?
9 Does he who fashioned the ear not hear?
Does he who formed the eye not see?
10 Does he who disciplines nations not punish?
Does he who teaches mankind lack knowledge?
11 The Lord knows all human plans;
he knows that they are futile.

12 Blessed is the one you discipline, Lord,
the one you teach from your law;
13 you grant them relief from days of trouble,
till a pit is dug for the wicked.
14 For the Lord will not reject his people;
he will never forsake his inheritance.
15 Judgment will again be founded on righteousness,
and all the upright in heart will follow it.

16 Who will rise up for me against the wicked?
Who will take a stand for me against evildoers?
17 Unless the Lord had given me help,
I would soon have dwelt in the silence of death.
18 When I said, “My foot is slipping,”
your unfailing love, Lord, supported me.
19 When anxiety was great within me,
your consolation brought me joy.

20 Can a corrupt throne be allied with you—
a throne that brings on misery by its decrees?
21 The wicked band together against the righteous
and condemn the innocent to death.
22 But the Lord has become my fortress,
and my God the rock in whom I take refuge.
23 He will repay them for their sins
and destroy them for their wickedness;
the Lord our God will destroy them.

[basics]

Prodromos,

Aye, the Psalmist certainly knew what he was talking about when he put pen to paper.

[Lord Thesaurian]

Fundamental aspects of our society/popular culture are a threat to the human species. Funny thing is, human civilizations have always understood this, yet modernity is slowly killing us. The struggle between spirit and flesh, then, does seem inherent to the human experience.

The flourishing life cannot be achieved until we moderate our desires and see how superficial and fleeting they are.

No man is free who is not master of himself.

The greater the difficulty, the more glory in surmounting it.

Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

[basics]

Whenever I get down and that's becoming more often as old age and its consequences kick in the thing that lifts me more than anything is repeating to myself, " The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want...." and boy does that make a difference.

[mishkin]

Whenever I get down and that's becoming more often as old age and its consequences kick in the thing that lifts me more than anything is repeating to myself, " The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want...." and boy does that make a difference.

what shouldn't you want?

[sumskilz]

what shouldn't you want?

Early Modern English fail...

I shall not want = I lack nothing

It's Psalm 23:1 from the King James Bible, which was completed in 1611.

[basics]

mishkin,

Well having come through cancer of the bladder, two mini strokes, 4 hernia operations, 3 haemerrhoid ops, gall bladder removal, an aortic heart valve replacement and am now a few weeks off eighty years of age that Psalm has been my support all this time even when I didn't realise it before I was saved, how? Because as a kid I had to learn it in prImary school and I guess it stuck in my brain until the relevence kicked in. As I said it lifts me to recite it whenever I feel down because it reminds me Who has steered me through my life and its problems till now.

[AqD]

God is God our Creator and as we can see all the things that transpire or have transpired have been done to show mankind how fallen he has become in the eyes of God and how he can be restored to God's favour.

Where is your dignity? How can you live just to please someone? We're not slaves or tools.

[basics]

Where is your dignity? How can you live just to please someone? We're not slaves or tools.

AqD,

Well ole fella, were you born just by chance or did your parents have you because they wanted you? My guess is that you are here because they were pleased to have you. We see what happens when pleasure in the case of sex turns the other way and millions of new life is murdered. Where's the dignity in that? As far as being slaves and tools are concerned it is written that we are all or were all slaves to sin thus making us tools for Satan so when did you not sin? I believe the only way to break that cycle was to believe that Jesus Christ paid for my sin on a cross thus freeing me from the condemnation that all sinners face. He, Jesus Christ, did that for me as I couldn't and so my thanks are to follow His lead as best I can which by the way is not easy. I hope that my answer opens the way for you.