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Love God Only
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DIR Return to: Things of the Soul
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#Post#: 6503--------------------------------------------------
~ Musing~
DIR By: Runner
Date: December 24, 2013, 10:04 am
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I was having breakfast with a friend of mine a couple of days
ago..she happens to be a pastors wife of a church we attended
for about a decade when we first came here to Calgary. ( yep, we
can be good friends even though we don't go to her church any
more, or any church come to that! )
We got to talking about the morality of the world now. All the
sleeping around that is going on in the churches, among the
young people, the marrieds, and even a whole lot among the
leadership. Sex seems to be the dominant thing, and we are
talking "within" the churches, not amongst the great unwashed!
:-\
I was talking to her and saying that no one seems to care any
more. How did we get HERE?
My own husband has a close friend, he used to be a pastor, his
wife died of cancer four years ago..where ever this guy works,
he ends up leading someone to the Lord, or counselling them and
setting them free....yet he has no qualms about sleeping with
any lady friend that he takes out for a meal! ( and next day be
leading a backslidden Native Indian man back to the Lord...he
'happened to be in the same room, turned to the man and said "
How are you and the Lord these days? Never ever seen him
before..the man cried..and Dave's friend restored him. )
I don't 'get it', how did we get here?
Is it because of the heavy leaning in many churches toward the
grace-message?
Is it because the Tv and Hollywood is obsessed with sex in every
movie or show? Bouncing from one partner to another , or just
having a sexual relationship without "dating" I hear is very
much in vogue. I assure you, they aren't dating, they aren't in
a "serious relationship"
and they for sure are not engaged to be married, yet it is
nothing to sleep around with one of the friends that you are out
with in your group of aquantiences. I hear this from my
midtwenties, grand daughters.
It is a whole new world ( and not a very nice one!!)
Now I am understanding why Jesus said- " When the Son of man
cometh will He find faith on the earth? " If Christians are
doing just what the none believers are doing..that is indeed a
VERY viable question! :o
God did say that He would shake the heavens and the earth
....everything that could be shaken...and He sure is!
He did say that everything would be 'tried by fire', and it sure
is..
"The trial of our faith which is more precious than gold.." Has
a whole new meaning now..can we still stand without losing faith
that God can protect and keep His own? Right now it doesn't much
look like it!
And, as for " The Glorious Church" Phtt!
How on earth did "the church" get here!
#Post#: 6509--------------------------------------------------
Re: ~ Musing~
DIR By: Kerry
Date: December 25, 2013, 7:17 pm
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^ Birth control has played a role I think. It used to be that
people could tell young people what would happen if a young
woman got pregnant before she was ready and willing to marry.
Today, that argument doesn't go far.
Our society has separated sex and marriage; and few people seem
to talk about the benefits of trust in a relationship. Part of
being able to trust someone is seeing if he can discipline
himself. Can a man date a girl without having sex? If not,
would he be able to stay faithful to a wife if she was sick --
or would he feel he had to go find sex somewhere else?
One of the dumbest things to me is someone who is willing to
date a married person. Say a woman likes a married man and
thinks he may divorce his wife and marry her. What kind of
woman would want a man she can see lies to his wife and cheats
on her? He's proved he can't be trusted. Yet women find this
kind of man attractive? Or men find wives who are willing to
cheat on their husbands attractive? It makes no sense; but
people aren't thinking. They just see the sex and fantasize
about things.
I imagine things will start swinging back the other way.
During the Roaring Twenties, people were very lax; but then they
saw they were being foolish. I think (I hope anyway) that
there are children today who see how their parents messed up and
those children who see that won't repeat the same mistakes.
I do see things that make me wonder, like the story about Mad
Friday from the Daily Mail. The photos they had of people
falling down drunk as part of celebrating Christmas had me
wondering if they even knew what Christmas was.
HTML http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2527748/Emergency-services-busy-night-Mad-Friday-descends.html
Were they really having a good time? I don't think so.
#Post#: 6549--------------------------------------------------
Re: ~ Musing~
DIR By: HOLLAND
Date: January 2, 2014, 7:33 am
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Hi Helen and Kerry!
I think that we all live in the flesh to a certain extent,
though we seek to walk in the Spirit.
It is haunting, the question of Jesus: "But when the Son of Man
returns, will he find faith on earth?" Inasmuch as we live in
the flesh, so shall be troubled by this. We must be on our
guard, as led by the Spirit. In this we shall not fail though
we may see ruin around us.
Peace be with you!
#Post#: 6559--------------------------------------------------
Re: ~ Musing~
DIR By: Kerry
Date: January 2, 2014, 8:26 pm
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I hate to admit it, but there are days when I know I wouldn't be
a Christian if I had had to depend on any of the churches I've
visited. I do understand Helen's point. Some days I think
maybe I'm weak in faith, like Thomas, who didn't believe without
seeing things for himself -- others seem able to believe without
seeing much. Then there are days when I wonder if my visions
were right. Could my imagination have invented them all? Is
that not a terrible thing? Maybe not. Maybe it's good for me
to be aware of the doubts so I can look at them.
#Post#: 6560--------------------------------------------------
Re: ~ Musing~
DIR By: Kerry
Date: January 2, 2014, 8:36 pm
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I hate to admit it, but there are days when I know I wouldn't be
a Christian if I had had to depend on any of the churches I've
visited. I do understand Helen's point. Some days I think
maybe I'm weak in faith, like Thomas, who didn't believe without
seeing things for himself -- others seem able to believe without
seeing much. Then there are days when I wonder if my visions
were right. Could my imagination have invented them all? Is
that not a terrible thing? Maybe not. Maybe it's good for me
to be aware of the doubts so I can look at them.
There appear to be dark days ahead though. The world seems
headed for calamity to me and the churches seem unaware of it.
If judgment begins at the door of the Temple, where will our
churches be?
#Post#: 6562--------------------------------------------------
Re: ~ Musing~
DIR By: HOLLAND
Date: January 3, 2014, 6:32 am
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Looking at it from an existential viewpoint, I am struck by the
fragility of the human condition. We seek to do that which God
wishes us to do, but we seem to never come to that which the
Spirit leads in its final sense. We are a-borning, coming into
that which God calls us, but yet we do not seem to arrive. We
walk in grace and yet we seem to always seek that which is
somehow apart from that grace. We exist in an existential
freedom, as has been graced to us by God, yet we are threatened
by not making that use of freedom that will bring that
fulfillment into our lives.
"But when the Son of Man returns, will he find faith on earth?"
seems to be addressing that state, a warning against
complacency. I suppose that the warning is addressed to our
unruly flesh, seeking to warn and to have it to be brought into
conformity with the Spirit.
I suppose a meaning of the verse is that as we walk into the
Spirit we enter into judgment in respect to it and its workings.
At a certain point we come to our salvation and some of us are
graced to know that we have reached that point that salvation is
asssured and can never be lost. I have a leading of Spirit that
the verse is to be taken as a warning and that those who are
faithful are not to think themselves as such. To be faithful is
not to recognize oneself as such. There is the other verse, "we
are useless servants who have only done our duty".
We look upon the failings of others as a looking upon ourselves
as we stand in our fragility and of God's grace.
Peace be with you all!
#Post#: 6569--------------------------------------------------
Re: ~ Musing~
DIR By: Mike
Date: January 4, 2014, 12:47 am
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Stop worrying about it is my advice.
I adapt a thought from Ecclesiastes as follows:-
"whatsoever falleth to thy hand to be done, do it with all thy
might, as unto the Lord".
Or, in the words of the hymnist:-
"The common round, and the daily task should furnish all we seek
or ask".
(as per my signature line, I guess)
#Post#: 6571--------------------------------------------------
Re: ~ Musing~
DIR By: HOLLAND
Date: January 4, 2014, 6:45 am
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^^^I suppose it could be a form of worrying, Mike!
The existential situation of man is fraught with difficulty and
is always threatened. This must lead to worry. In turn, in
faith, we do overcome the difficulties and threatenings. We do
not escape our human situation until our theosis in Christ.
I am struck that Qoheleth would seek to deal with the
existential situation of man by recommending the balanced
pleasures of the flesh and when that fails, to recommend that
joy in the Spirit. There is the need of the affirmation of life
as to the good things of this world, of its pleasures, to put
away sorrow. There is of course the war against the flesh, the
putting away of the flesh so that the Spirit may reign in its
proper place. It is the matter of reaching to the right balance
as it should exist in our lives.
What are your thoughts on all this?
Peace be with you!
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