tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8905807.post6500321177678224566..comments2023-11-03T01:55:20.572-07:00Comments on Flying Embers: FCBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08741867097151481332noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8905807.post-53368404922972271822008-10-26T03:57:00.000-07:002008-10-26T03:57:00.000-07:00Hi Fred :)With so many divisions in Chistianity an...Hi Fred :)<BR/><BR/>With so many divisions in Chistianity and The Bible being interpreted in so many ways and each division claiming superiority over the other, controversies and contradictions are bound to torment us.<BR/><BR/>We have to use our common sense to seive what is right and reject what is wrong. This is certainly going to be very difficult.<BR/><BR/>I pray to God to open our eyes and give us the wisdom to understand the true path to the doors of the heavenly paradise.<BR/><BR/>Best wishes :)Joseph Pulikotilhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07074346261093541776noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8905807.post-3636308163513196692008-10-25T21:52:00.000-07:002008-10-25T21:52:00.000-07:00I dont like to come over here...I always get tempt...I dont like to come over here...I always get tempted to engage in these controversial discussions...can't you write about kittens or Lollipops or something? :)Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10577334211297012754noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8905807.post-56339576276493609012008-10-25T21:45:00.000-07:002008-10-25T21:45:00.000-07:00Well, let me think about that for a minute.... I t...Well, let me think about that for a minute.... I took it, meaning I believed it, because I was taught that from the beginning and trusted that interpretation, and frankly, never heard or listend to any other interpretation. <BR/><BR/>The second part as to why does it leave a "hollow feeling" is my way of saying, that at some point I started comparing what God was doing in me with that interpretaion, and it didn't harmonize. Only then did I begin to search the scriptures for a different understanding. And, only then did I find that there are different interpretations to what I had always thought, and that there were people I admired that embraced them, which was nice, although it didn't make me see things that weren't there, but it did encourage me to look deeper. <BR/>I doubt one would follow my path unless they had a like experience. <BR/>It is a highly controversial subject and often times brings things to a rapid boil, which my Billy Graham post and the latest post addresses. <BR/>"Tapping out", <BR/>FredFCBhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08741867097151481332noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8905807.post-8466381229053302432008-10-25T19:20:00.000-07:002008-10-25T19:20:00.000-07:00Two question:You said: "...and it is one that I to...Two question:<BR/><BR/>You said: "...and it is one that I took for many years, but it still leaves something hollow for me.<BR/><BR/>Question 1: Why did you take it (for many years)?<BR/><BR/>Question 2: Why did does it leave you hollow?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8905807.post-19936661100927214532008-10-25T18:09:00.000-07:002008-10-25T18:09:00.000-07:00Hi Mel, Grievous times indeed. I did have a sense ...Hi Mel, <BR/>Grievous times indeed. I did have a sense of mourning when I listened to the you tube videos. <BR/>But, I picked up a book today by Isaak Watts and I'm eager to share some of his insights which I think pertain to this very circumstance. <BR/>I wish it could be a short 'sound bite', but,abbreviate it as I did, it is a bit lengthy. <BR/>Hope you enjoy it. <BR/><BR/>Dear anon, <BR/>I think your approach is a good one, and it is one that I took for many years, but it still leaves something hollow for me. In the post I'm about to put up, I think it speaks to all of these issues. <BR/>At least it is how I interepret it. <BR/>These are difficult teachings, and I think all considerate Christians struggle to make sense of it, but I think there are solid Biblical answers to everything Billy Graham alluded to. I just wish he were a younger man and had the ability to defend or explain his inferences. <BR/>I know for certain, that Billy Graham believes that no one comes to the father but by the blood of Christ, as I do. Now how that blood is applied to those who have never heard, is a mystery. But that is where I have faith in the justice of God, that he has a plan whereby all who would believe, whether they ever heard His name, will have an opportunity to hear and confess that Jesus is Lord, and He is the fulfilment and radiance of God's glory. Not all paths lead to God, but God may very well draw people from all paths to himself, and even though they be ingnorant of God's Son, they have heard the voice of God in whatever situation or location they find themselves in. Difficult issues, but I see in the Old and New Testaments this seeking and reaching for all races. That's my abbreviated take on it. <BR/>God bless,<BR/>FredFCBhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08741867097151481332noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8905807.post-17579366213696220342008-10-25T17:36:00.000-07:002008-10-25T17:36:00.000-07:00There is a reason why Christ had to pay the penalt...There is a reason why Christ had to pay the penalty for our sins. If we dismiss that reality. If we cloud that beauty, than we do not understand God's plan in reconciling men to Himself.<BR/><BR/>Here is where I think the entire confusion starts and then is perpetuated down through history:<BR/><BR/>God, as He has revealed Himself in scripture, does not always set well with our understanding of justice and mercy. If any of us (tender hearted, loving human beings) are completely honest with ourselves, we do not like God, as He has revealed Himself in scripture. Let’s face it. He chooses to annihilate men from the face of the world (the ark); He chooses a special people to be His people and basically encourages the annihilation of all other people. Then when Christ came we learn about the “elect”. Those chosen by God to be His son’s bride. Then, as we study scripture, we find that the gate is narrow.<BR/><BR/>Our hearts cry out for a “wider mercy”. What we forget is that none of us are worthy to be reconciled. NONE!. The fact that He shows mercy on any of us is amazing.<BR/><BR/>I think that if we really get honest with ourselves, we have two choices. Either we bow down to God as He has revealed Himself in Holy Scripture (even if we don’t like it); or we dismiss the Word of God and create a God that is more suitable to our idea of mercy and justice and therefore be willing to suffer the consequences, should the Bible be true.<BR/><BR/>I will put my soul into the hands of God (as He has revealed Himself in scripture—whether is seems right and just and fair to me or not). I have not found a more reliable source. Certainly not, the thoughts and opinions of finite man and philosophers.<BR/><BR/>God, as He has revealed Himself in Scripture (all of scripture) is not a God I want to mess with. He is a God I want to bow down to in humble submission and simply thank Him for His Son and accept His plan for redemption whether it lines up with mine our not.<BR/><BR/>I think if we all realize how thankful we should be that God chooses to save any of us, we might gain a better perspective on all of this.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8905807.post-7826995308575163062008-10-25T17:27:00.000-07:002008-10-25T17:27:00.000-07:00Hi Fred,These are indeed grievous times, are they ...Hi Fred,<BR/><BR/>These are indeed grievous times, are they not? My soul joins yours in mourning--mourning over so much suffering and so much loss. There's so much I don't understand, but want to. If the purpose of life is to glorify God by loving God and loving people, as I believe it is, then I don't want to waste precious irreplaceable minutes doing anything that doesn't work towards or accomplish in some small way, at least, one of or both of those purposes. <BR/><BR/>My heart longs so passionately for the day when Jesus will return. When all sin, all injustice, all suffering, all deceit, will be put to an end forever. To see His face and rest in His love, life, light and presence for all eternity. I understand what the Psalmist says when he says, "I thirst for You as dry ground thirsts for rain." <BR/><BR/>With sorrow and yet with infinite hope,<BR/><BR/>MelMelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16516485538999541969noreply@blogger.com