Bible talk

Hi people of God!The greatest lesson of all Yushua(Jesus) said is to love all human kind.No matter what faith because love and respect breaks all walls of lack knowlegde or mis-information. www.joe.nmcteam.net

1 Peter 5:10 (NIV) -- And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast.

We can step out of God's will, we can make mistakes, and big ones, but we can't lose our salvation: once saved, always saved. (I know there are denominations that don't subscribe to that, but I don't intend to get into that type of discussion.) I like to think of it this way: it's not we who hold on to God; it is God who holds us.

I do agree that "by their fruits you shall know them." Living in obedience means allowing Him to be not just our Savior, but also our Lord, and I think obedience is central to being in step with Him. If we love Him, we will keep His commandments. I am so thankful for grace and mercy undeserved, but gratefully received!

Essentially, what I'm saying is Christianity is a lifestyle. It's not enough to say "I'm a Christian". There's a light that has to shine, or should shine automatically and a representation of Christ that 's inseverable from such proclomation. We're not perfect, but should always seek to be in right-standing w/ God.

Our "works" (the service we perform/what we do on earth) will determine our rewards, but they will not be the key to entering heaven. If that is what you are saying, I do agree with that wholeheartedly and Scripture supports that. Thanks for responding.

@southward bound:Although I know salvation is a gift from God, we are mandated to live according to the Word, deny ourselves, take up our individual crosses, and follow God. There's a scripture in the Bible that says many people will stand before God that recite their earthly good works/deeds to Him, but because He knows their hearts were not truly following Him, He'll tell them to depart from Him, referring to them as "workers of iniquity". However, for those of us w/ contrite hearts to truly follow Christ, and are sincere/serious about our Christian walk and everything it curtails, God will crown us as good and faithful servants for jobs "well done". That's how one makes it into the "Holy Gates", not by being "Holy Rollers" that are so heavenly bound but are no earthly good, but by truly loving and living for God, even when it's most difficult. Fortunately, despite our imperfections, God knows the innermost intricacies of our hearts. He knows the apostates and imposters from His children. That's what's so scary: We can fool people most of the time by appearing "holy", but we can't fool good ANY of the time, so why try? Hopefully, I answered your question.

Welcome,
I enjoyed reading your inspiring post! Truly it can motivate us all to strive for more of God. I enjoy the meaningful way you weave scripture concepts into your writing. Thank you for the uplifting!

What do you mean by "My ultimate goal is to go to Heaven, and I understand that requires true discipleship here on earth" ?

Hello, Everyone:I'm new to the group. I was born and raised in a Christian home. My parents were "good", God-fearing people and raised us w/ strong Christian values. I'm a "lifestyle" Christian that loves and enjoys my Christianity. What do I mean by "lifestyle"? Well, I don't merely "go to church" and attend Bible class/study. Even with all my flaws and weak areas, I'm a very convicted person that chooses and strives hard to live my life according to the Word of God/Holy Bible. My ultimate goal is to go to Heaven, and I understand that requires true discipleship here on earth. That doesn't mean I don't experience many challenges on my journey and/or in my Christian walk. When God says "Many are the afflictions of the righteous...", and we live IN this world but are not OF this world, that says it all! We have to contend w/ and overcome sooo many temptations and deal w/ sooo much spiritual warfare, it sometimes feels unbearable. Through it all, I comfort myself with and/or in the Word and strive hard not to get weary in well doing. I remind myself we have to partake in the sufferings of Christ, so who am I to complain? The little things I go through in life can in no way compare to what Christ suffered in life and on the cross and what He sacrificed for me. He gave it all, and all to Him I owe. That's my saving grace and where/how I find solace. So, when I grow tired and start to get "fleshly", I remind myself of my great spiritual inheritance.I'm, also, very protective of my Christianity. Our beliefs and leaders are attacked so frequently and vehemently, I have to exhibit holy boldness and "rightly divide the Word of Truth" in most situations to counter this. Most people don't study their Bibles, and are therefore, unable to do so. That's fine w/ me because I take great pleasure in edifying, imparting and discussing the Word, w/o being judgmental. I pray for those who don't have any desire to study the Word of God and for me to take out the time to study even more.

Yes swb, I believe that is exactly what the verse means!

Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart. Ps. 37:4
When I was young in the faith, I thought this meant that I would get everything I wanted. Now, with a bit more maturity
() I've learned that God changes our desires, if we allow Him, to what He desires for us and we can be quite content with such wonderful blessings. How about you?