yes in deed. I have heard of Muslims who will kill other Muslims for even speaking to Jews or Christians. There are factions in the Muslim community who do not hold to the normal Muslim way of life, which is a deep respect for all life.
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yes in deed. I have heard of Muslims who will kill other Muslims for even speaking to Jews or Christians. There are factions in the Muslim community who do not hold to the normal Muslim way of life, which is a deep respect for all life.
To quote the apostle Paul....may it never be
(Pausing tongue while brain engages).. sometimes it 'be' SG...
(Pausing tongue while brain engages).. sometimes it 'be' SG...
Well there just ain't no fun in that..
As everyone knows, I don't have a bit of trouble holding my tongue......it does get a little slimey, though. Try speaking while you are holding your tongue. It's close to the oriental restaurant waiters singing Deck the Halls at the end of A Christmas Story. You'll shoot your eye out!
Just finished chapter 11, sent it to my mom too. She is also enjoying it and says thank you!
I have a question tho, I'm not really understanding the above verses. Can we discuss this and go into it a little more?
11:11Truly, I say to you, among those born of women there has not arisen anyone greater than John the Baptist; yet he who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.
Jesus offers more praise for John than any other person. Although we are not blessed with seeing what John did, this is an indication he did his job and he did it well. What a tremendous statement Jesus makes about John! There are none born of women greater than he.
Yet he who is least...greater than he. Notice three observations from this:
1. John was not in the kingdom. (Jesus is speaking of the church here).
2. The kingdom (church) and its establishment was yet future. John preached in Mt 3:2 the kingdom is “at hand” or near. It had not arrived yet. In Mt 16:18 Jesus says “I will (future) build my church”, and in v. 19 “I will (future) give you the keys of the kingdom." The establishment is yet in the future. If it had been in existence at this point, then John would have been in it. (Note: This is a good example of letting the context determine if we are talking about the church or the overall rule of God. In this context this has to refer to the church. John was in the kingdom of God, but not in the church).
3. All who will be in the kingdom (the church) will have a position greater than that of John (will be more blessed). He died long before the church was established. There is a special blessing for those of us who are in the church. We are blessed in the same way Peter is talking about in 1 Pet 1:10-12 Too many times we think of rewards, not blessings. Those of us on this side of the cross are blessed more than those before the cross, because we have the gospel. The prophets and angels wanted to see this age but did not get to. But we are blessed! We get to see how God’s plan unfolded from the beginning of creation.
John did not get to see the spread of the church to all the world; all the exciting things on the day of Pentecost. We as Christians are "greater", or more blessed, because we get to see all the things that John did not get to see. We know this is not reward, because Jesus said there are none greater than John.
11:12And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and violent men take it by force.
This has offered some difficulty to students of the Bible. Jesus puts us in a time frame -"from John until now" (possibly a period of only about one year). And, since John's time until "now" (when Jesus is talking), the kingdom has been suffering violence and violent men take it by force. There are two possibilities to what this means.
1. In the NASB foot note, "is forcibly entered" is used instead of "suffers violence." This could mean that those who accepted John's teachings were so desperate to be a part of the kingdom that they made as great an effort to enter it as angry men do when they storm a city (Lk 16:16).
2. It may also mean people are trying to establish and manipulate the church the way they want it to be. Jesus says not to do this (as in Jn 6:15 when they tried to take Jesus and make Him king "by force."). People cannot force the kingdom to be a certain way. The church was in the process of being built, and many were trying to establish it their way instead of what God wanted it to be. Perhaps a good example of this is found in Mt 20:20, 21 where the mother of James and John tried to obtain the authority for her sons to sit on the right and the left hand of Jesus when He came into His kingdom. The kingdom had not yet been established, but in the process of its being built, there were some who wanted to make sure they had a position of high rank.
11:13 For all the prophets and the Law prophesied until John.
We have know way of knowing what all the prophets and the law had prophesied. All the Old Testament looked forward to what John began.. There was to be a major change with John's preaching, and when he arrived it was the initiation of the "last days."
11:14 And if you care to accept it, he himself is Elijah, who was to come.
This is referring to Mal 4:5. The Jews had in mind the reincarnation of Elijah. That is why John says in Jn 1:25 that he is not Elijah. They were still confused in Mt 16:13. Some were saying that He (Jesus) was John the Baptist, Elijah, Jeremiah, or one of the prophets. They were really obsessed with the idea of reincarnation.
Mt 14:2 Herod said that this is John the Baptist risen from the dead.
Mt 17:9-13 The apostles had seen Elijah, and Jesus said that Elijah had already come. They understood that He referred to John the Baptist. He was the "Elijah to come."
"The "violence" spoken of meant a "taking by force". Jesus is saying that since John the Baptist began his preaching, people were taking the kingdom by force. This is probably because the scribes and Pharisees taught that sinners would have no right to the kingdom of messiah. Tax-collectors, harlots, and other sinners however heard the message of repentance and were taking it by force for themselves (through the power of the Holy Spirit).
As I said, not all teachers agree on this. I gave the above explanation. To paraphrase loosely, Jesus was saying that the sinners were "storming the gate" to get into the kingdom. Remember that these people were Jews, usually not of the "highest class". Repentance for them would mean "paying" for repentance---temple taxes, animals to be sacrificed that had to be "perfect", etc. It would stand to reason in their minds that rich people were more likely to get into the kingdom.
Waiting for brain to engage before speaking....
(this could take a while)
(this could take a while)
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This sounds like the most plausible explanation, and it's logical to me, and I believe that. People suck now, and then did back then too, nothing new under the sun.
(Sorry, I just had too)
This sounds like the most plausible explanation, and it's logical to me, and I believe that. People suck now, and then did back then too, nothing new under the sun.
(Sorry, I just had too)
lol.. Amen SG and Lisa Lisa... "There is nothing new under the Sun". Satan and his followers just like putting 'new spins' on the original OLD Games... (lol)
I loved this! It also reminded me of one of my favorite verses 1 Corinthians 1:27 "Instead, God chose things the world considers foolish in order to shame those who think they are wise. And he chose things that are powerless to shame those who are powerful."
Conjures up an imagine in my mind of someone like Stephen Hawking up against a humble Christian child who loves Jesus. LOL!
We already know who would win that debate! But the proud and foolish ones of this world, the ones who think that higher education and intellect is the key to knowledge and understanding wouldn't even understand it, it would fly right over their over inflated heads.
E-Human, that was an awesome post!
You teach a child with patience and love. That is what I believe is the best way to teach children or people who question the existence of God or The Holy Trinity.
I agree with you E-Human if we just get out of God's way then He will speak for and defend Himself. He certainly doesn't need any of us to do anything for Him. What He wants us to do is bring people to the truth for their soul is a stake which to God is priceless.
Kelly
In God We Trust
You teach a child with patience and love. That is what I believe is the best way to teach children or people who question the existence of God or The Holy Trinity.
I agree with you E-Human if we just get out of God's way then He will speak for and defend Himself. He certainly doesn't need any of us to do anything for Him. What He wants us to do is bring people to the truth for their soul is a stake which to God is priceless.
Kelly
In God We Trust
Wow,
I miss being here for a few days and see posts deleted and then some feelings get stepped on and then I didn't know what to even think about all of this. So I will also wait for my brain to engage. E-Human, my above post was to one you made many pages back...sorry I should have quoted it so you would know which one I was talking about.
Ijax, I believe that everyone is welcome here, even trolls, and that is not saying that you are a troll either. Just that we need to have patience with one another. I also believe that patience is a 2 way street.
Have a good afternoon.
Kelly
In God We Trust
BTW...welcome back Southern Gent.
I miss being here for a few days and see posts deleted and then some feelings get stepped on and then I didn't know what to even think about all of this. So I will also wait for my brain to engage. E-Human, my above post was to one you made many pages back...sorry I should have quoted it so you would know which one I was talking about.
Ijax, I believe that everyone is welcome here, even trolls, and that is not saying that you are a troll either. Just that we need to have patience with one another. I also believe that patience is a 2 way street.
Have a good afternoon.
Kelly
In God We Trust
BTW...welcome back Southern Gent.
LOL It took me a minute to figure it out, but I did. Thanks for the comment and welcome back home!
E
I just finished reading the last chapter, thanks Chimney! This is something that I always worry about, the unforgivable sin. I sit and try and remember if I"ve ever done it, and I do get anxiety about it because I really don't know. I"ve said alot of things in my life, most of which I don't even remember.
My mom and I have talked about this a few times, and we are both concerned if we have ever done it or not. I did some online research about it a while back that brought me some comfort, read an article that said if you're worried about it, then you probably have not done it because it's more of a heart condition of denying and hating Jesus, then actual spoken words out of ignorance.
I dont' know.........
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