prayer warriors (following Jesus Christ, everyone welcome)

[BullChick]

If anyone doesn't know how to post a video.

 

[shortgrass]

Yesterday I attempted to start a journey here on this thread, the journey is based on the following verse:

1 Peter 3:15 NASB
[SUP]15 [/SUP]but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence;

The Greek word for defense is where the Christians get their word "apologetics". Society and political correctness has changed the meaning of apology, instead of "defense" now it means "I am sorry".

I ask a question about truth, what happens after we die, can we change what happens after we die. Read this passage and decide if you can change where you are after you die. Here is the Bible passage:

Luke 16 NASB
[SUP]19 [/SUP]“Now there was a rich man, and he habitually dressed in purple and fine linen, joyously living in splendor every day. [SUP]20 [/SUP]And a poor man named Lazarus was laid at his gate, covered with sores, [SUP]21 [/SUP]and longing to be fed with the crumbs which were falling from the rich man’s table; besides, even the dogs were coming and licking his sores. [SUP]22 [/SUP]Now the poor man died and was carried away by the angels to Abraham’s bosom; and the rich man also died and was buried. [SUP]23 [/SUP]In Hades he lifted up his eyes, being in torment, and *saw Abraham far away and Lazarus in his bosom. [SUP]24 [/SUP]And he cried out and said, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus so that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool off my tongue, for I am in agony in this flame.’ [SUP]25 [/SUP]But Abraham said, ‘Child, remember that during your life you received your good things, and likewise Lazarus bad things; but now he is being comforted here, and you are in agony. [SUP]26 [/SUP]And besides all this, between us and you there is a great chasm fixed, so that those who wish to come over from here to you will not be able, and that none may cross over from there to us.’ [SUP]27 [/SUP]And he said, ‘Then I beg you, father, that you send him to my father’s house— [SUP]28 [/SUP]for I have five brothers—in order that he may warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment.’ [SUP]29 [/SUP]But Abraham *said, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them hear them.’ [SUP]30 [/SUP]But he said, ‘No, father Abraham, but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent!’ [SUP]31 [/SUP]But he said to him, ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be persuaded even if someone rises from the dead.’”

Where will this study of apologetics need to go for us to be ready to help our friends?
Does Truth Exist?
Does God exist?
Are miracles possible?
Do we have an accurate copy of the Bible?
Is the Bible true?
Who is Jesus?
So What?

Apologetics... I've been looking at that quite a bit lately, it seems...


First, I think of defending the Word. Then, solidarity comes to mind...



And then psalm 62 popped into my head for some reason...

1 Truly my soul finds rest in God;
my salvation comes from him.
2 Truly he is my rock and my salvation;
he is my fortress, I will never be shaken.
3 How long will you assault me?
Would all of you throw me down—
this leaning wall, this tottering fence?
4 Surely they intend to topple me
from my lofty place;
they take delight in lies.
With their mouths they bless,
but in their hearts they curse.
5 Yes, my soul, find rest in God;
my hope comes from him.
6 Truly he is my rock and my salvation;
he is my fortress, I will not be shaken.
7 My salvation and my honor depend on God;
he is my mighty rock, my refuge.
8 Trust in him at all times, you people;
pour out your hearts to him,
for God is our refuge.
9 Surely the lowborn are but a breath,
the highborn are but a lie.
If weighed on a balance, they are nothing;
together they are only a breath.
10 Do not trust in extortion
or put vain hope in stolen goods;
though your riches increase,
do not set your heart on them.
11 One thing God has spoken,
two things I have heard:
“Power belongs to you, God,
12 and with you, Lord, is unfailing love”;
and, “You reward everyone
according to what they have done.”



Maybe I still had the verses from Joshua still in my mind... But defenses, solidarity, union, edification of Gods children...


Before I answer any of the questions, I might need a better understanding of exactly what "apologetics" is.... Since there are so many of man's interpretation, how can I trust that it isn't going to cause others to stumble if I don't know EXACTLYVwhat I'm talking about. I might end up doing more damage than good, and I've already been there and don't enjoy eating crow pie


And I don't want to cause confusion. God is NOT the author of confusion...


I need some coffee

 

[lazy gardener]

If anyone doesn't know how to post a video.

Thank you MCC. Welcome! I was not aware of how to post a video. I can post a link, but the actual getting of the material to show up in my post eluded me! thank you for that beautiful song to start my morning. Hope you stick around with us! Perhaps b/c of your information in this post, I can even figure out how to post a pic!!!! So many things I want to share, but not able to b/c this ancient brain is not computer savvy.

Quote: I think John is going to post the questions one at a time. we'll look at them one at a time, and he will give us some pertinent scripture and we can add to that, and discuss it. Not a single one of us knows all of the answers, and we'll be learning together. Even the most seasoned pastor is still on a learning adventure with HS as the teacher. John, correct me if I'm assuming wrong here!!!!

It's nice to wake up to this thread! 25* with freezing rain this morning. Supposed to be nasty all day long with wind gusts up to 60 MPH. Hubby home sick with a cold, and also choosing to not drive the hour to his work. I also called out from work today. As we get older, we've come to the conclusion that it's not worth risking life and limb simply to get to a job, where in the long term scheme of things, a missed day will not have any eternal consequences. However, the most important thing I can do in this life is tell a friend about Jesus. That is an eternal thing!

 

[ocap]

I need some coffee

I think John is going to post the questions one at a time. we'll look at them one at a time, and he will give us some pertinent scripture and we can add to that, and discuss it. Not a single one of us knows all of the answers, and we'll be learning together. Even the most seasoned pastor is still on a learning adventure with HS as the teacher. John, correct me if I'm assuming wrong here!!!!

It's nice to wake up to this thread! 25* with freezing rain this morning. Supposed to be nasty all day long with wind gusts up to 60 MPH. Hubby home sick with a cold, and also choosing to not drive the hour to his work. I also called out from work today. As we get older, we've come to the conclusion that it's not worth risking life and limb simply to get to a job, where in the long term scheme of things, a missed day will not have any eternal consequences. However, the most important thing I can do in this life is tell a friend about Jesus. That is an eternal thing!

We will be taking the long road, one question at a time, right now my chickens are hungry, if you want the faster road the links are in my signature below, if the links are not visible because of the phone you are on and can send me a private message ask me for the "Turek" link

 

[shortgrass]

Before I get sidetracked....


I have a prayer request for a family member; she's coming home today and needs strength and love and God to protect her from temptation. She's had a long hard road and also needs forgiveness and Jesus to completely overwhelm her and keep her sober minded, so to speak.

Please pray for my sister. Thank you.

 

[ocap]

Does Truth Exist?
Does God exist?
Are miracles possible?
Do we have an accurate copy of the Bible?
Is the Bible true?
Who is Jesus?
So What?

For the first few steps we keep the Bible closed, so that we do not do something called circular reasoning, "The Bible is true because it says it is" is circular reasoning.

Does Truth exist?

Most people who do not think so are talking religion not "Truth" , what they are really wanting to say is "you believe in Jesus and I don't so you are wrong" instead they come out with "There is no Truth".

If you exceed the speed limit and are stopped going 75 in a 25, The cop says "my radar shows you doing 75 in a 25" and you come back with "True for you but not True for me" the cop is either going to write you a ticket or die laughing.

You look in your pocket and see that a trip to the bank is necessary before you stop for an overpriced taco. You walk into the bank and tell the person behind the counter that you would like to withdraw $25,000 from your savings account, you give them your account number and the person behind the counter says, "you only have $16.34" , you come back with "True for you but not for me" give me $25,000",,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, you will walk out of the bank with $16.34

God either exists or he does not, Truth applies to religious claims also, the person who says "True for you but not for me" is not correct

We need to apply the claim to itself to see if it is logical ,,,,,,,,,,,,, "True for you but not for me" is difficult to apply on itself so I used the examples above.
"There is no truth" has been used on me a few times, turn it on itself, "Is that statement true? because if "there is no truth" then your statement can't be true either"

Now 1 Peter 3:15 says use "gentleness" this method of showing someone that they are wrong can be rude. I apologize before I correct them, I am sorry this might sound rude and I don't want to hurt you but................

now I will pause for a while for questions before I continue................................ please ask questions if I have not been clear enough

 

[ocap]

Before I get sidetracked....


I have a prayer request for a family member; she's coming home today and needs strength and love and God to protect her from temptation. She's had a long hard road and also needs forgiveness and Jesus to completely overwhelm her and keep her sober minded, so to speak.

Please pray for my sister. Thank you.

Praying now, There is a celebrate recovery group in our church, I will pray that she has someone to help like my friends K and D who lead the recovery group in our church. I was led to Jesus by someone who had recovered with the help of Jesus.

 

[lazy gardener]

Before I get sidetracked....


I have a prayer request for a family member; she's coming home today and needs strength and love and God to protect her from temptation. She's had a long hard road and also needs forgiveness and Jesus to completely overwhelm her and keep her sober minded, so to speak.

Please pray for my sister. Thank you.

Will lift your sister up. I have a family member who is only alive but for the Grace of God and the intervention of Teen Challenge. Her process has been long and painful, for her, as well as the rest of the family. But, with Jesus, all things are possible. We are all a work in progress. It doesn't matter whether it's addiction, or some other sin/habit. I thank God that He's not finished with me yet.

 

[shortgrass]

Does Truth Exist?

Does God exist?

Are miracles possible?

Do we have an accurate copy of the Bible?

Is the Bible true?

Who is Jesus?

So What?

For the first few steps we keep the Bible closed, so that we do not do something called circular reasoning, "The Bible is true because it says it is" is circular reasoning.

Does Truth exist?

Most people who do not think so are talking religion not "Truth" , what they are really wanting to say is "you believe in Jesus and I don't so you are wrong" instead they come out with "There is no Truth".

If you exceed the speed limit and are stopped going 75 in a 25, The cop says "my radar shows you doing 75 in a 25" and you come back with "True for you but not True for me" the cop is either going to write you a ticket or die laughing.

You look in your pocket and see that a trip to the bank is necessary before you stop for an overpriced taco. You walk into the bank and tell the person behind the counter that you would like to withdraw $25,000 from your savings account, you give them your account number and the person behind the counter says, "you only have $16.34" , you come back with "True for you but not for me" give me $25,000",,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, you will walk out of the bank with $16.34

God either exists or he does not, Truth applies to religious claims also, the person who says "True for you but not for me" is not correct

We need to apply the claim to itself to see if it is logical ,,,,,,,,,,,,, "True for you but not for me" is difficult to apply on itself so I used the examples above.
"There is no truth" has been used on me a few times, turn it on itself, "Is that statement true? because if "there is no truth" then your statement can't be true either"

Now 1 Peter 3:15 says use "gentleness" this method of showing someone that they are wrong can be rude. I apologize before I correct them, I am sorry this might sound rude and I don't want to hurt you but................

now I will pause for a while for questions before I continue................................ please ask questions if I have not been clear enough

True!


Lol I'm sorry, I have to laugh at your examples because they're funny, but true!


Truth... Well, in my small world of thinking, yes, there has to be truth, otherwise there would be no lies.


And I have kids. They lie. Whether they realize it or not, they lie; about the dumbest stuff, too. But it sure isn't the truth when they tell me that they "didn't do it" when I was standing there watching. ...but then again, maybe I have really poor eyesight and memory. Or its one of those "trye for you but not for me" statements. Somehow, I don't think my kids can grasp that. They just know that the truth may end up with a spanking, so they lie.


Is that "circular" reasoning? Or is that "opposite" reasoning?

If there are lies, there HAS to be truth.

 

[shortgrass]

Praying now, There is a celebrate recovery group in our church, I will pray that she has someone to help like my friends K and D who lead the recovery group in our church. I was led to Jesus by someone who had recovered with the help of Jesus.

Will lift your sister up.  I have a family member who is only alive but for the Grace of God and the intervention of Teen Challenge.  Her process has been long and painful, for her, as well as the rest of the family.  But, with Jesus, all things are possible.  We are all a work in progress.  It doesn't matter whether it's addiction, or some other sin/habit.   I thank God that He's not finished with me yet.

Thank you both so much. She has some great programs to go to here, too. Several groups, Bible studies, and counseling. We have always been very close, even in our addictions, so this is challenging for me, to sit back and watch. But yes, Gods grace has done wonders in our family, and I would expect no less this time around as well.

Everyone always says to "not get your hopes up", and I have to say, that's a horrible thing to say to a person in recovery. My hopes are as high as they can be, and will continue to be, for as long as she breathes the same air as I do.



" I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me ", and so can she