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Serve schmerve! How can you take that passage in Mat 6:26-34 where nothing needs to be done to receive God's blessings and use it to justify becoming a slave or servant of God instead of one of His beloved children!!???!!
Quote:
Originally Posted by MysticPhD
Because even as an atheist, I did not treat my children that way. It is NOT the way a loving Father treats His children.
Being God's slave has none of the negative aspects of slavery. It's also worth noting that Paul says, of those born of God, you are no longer a slave but a son (Gal 4:7). But Paul also teaches clearly (1 Cor 7:22, Rom 1:1), as do the other NT writers (John, Rev 1:1; Peter, 2 Pet 1:1), that those who are in Christ are His slaves. A son can choose not to know his father, but a slave cannot choose not to know his master. Not only do I have the irrevocable promise of eternal life, which is to know Him (John 17:3), I am not my own - I am bought with a price. 1 Cor 6:19-20. And as for serving God, what does the Bible say about the new heavens and new earth - that is, eternity?
Rev 22:3-4: 3 And there shall be no more curse: but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and his servants [douloi = slaves] shall serve him: 4 And they shall see his face; and his name shall be in their foreheads.
Rev 7:15: Therefore are they before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple: and he that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them.
Because even as an atheist, I did not treat my children that way. It is NOT the way a loving Father treats His children.
As usual, you place your personal experiences and feelings above what the very apostles of Jesus have communicated.
Or does he? When the Apostle talked about the Spirit, he said that our father will not give us a serpent when we ask for bread. I think that is the principle that is being referred to here. In that lesson, there was a comparison to any earthly father, and what they would be like.
I don't think you were encouraging abuse when you say what you said. I don't think you meant it that way, but you should think about how it could be construed that way by those who are victims of that sort of thing. I don't think that number is small.
Or does he? When the Apostle talked about the Spirit, he said that our father will not give us a serpent when we ask for bread. I think that is the principle that is being referred to here. In that lesson, there was a comparison to any earthly father, and what they would be like.
I don't think you were encouraging abuse when you say what you said. I don't think you meant it that way, but you should think about how it could be construed that way by those who are victims of that sort of thing. I don't think that number is small.
Go back and read what was being discussed which was why did MysticPhD consider being a bond-servant or slave of the Lord mutually exclusive with being a child of God when the disciples of Jesus did not.
So, people get cancer because they “need†it? Spare me ….
Jesus considered diseases a product of demonic activity. He expelled them and the victim was cured. Seems pretty clear in the NT.
Realizing this gave me some peace. What conflicts with that occasional "peace" is the question of why God continues to allow the "principalities and powers" to continue to harass us indefinitely.
Jesus considered diseases a product of demonic activity. He expelled them and the victim was cured. Seems pretty clear in the NT.
Realizing this gave me some peace. What conflicts with that occasional "peace" is the question of why God continues to allow the "principalities and powers" to continue to harass us indefinitely.
That seem in direct conflict with a "loving God".
What about the bleeding (medical) issue that a woman had for eighteen years, or those with other medical (physical) and mental illnesses? Do you consider those things as a derivative of demon activity or possession? How do you believe - they would have reacted to a child with epilepsy or one who is in the autism spectrum? Or, those who are bi-polar and schizophrenic? What about someone with inflammation of the brain? Then, we also have the issue of infections, which can be acquired by eating roundworm larvae in raw or under-cooked meat, such as pork. It may even make a person act like a lunatic. Just some things to think about before one makes a claim that these were/are a product of demonic activities.
Rom 5:12; although that is not necessarily so sir. At some point in the future, Jesus will return, when he does he will remove the wicked, and preserve righteous ones, those who come out of the great tribulation alive, will never have to taste death. We believe his return is near.
I have been a committed Christian for many years. God has blessed me and continues to bless me in many ways. Some of those ways are not ways I would have chosen from my limited perspective.
In August 2020 my beloved husband dropped dead from a massive and first time heart attack, at aged 62. A few weeks after that tragedy (to me, from my own perspective), I tripped over my dog and shattered my dominant (right) elbow. This is also a tragedy from my own perspective. Now I was shattered emotionally and physically. But God is still God and still on His throne - that's my belief.
When I fell and broke my elbow, I had to have surgery and a hospital stay of about five days. Afterward, I couldn't drive for weeks and I had to rely on others to help me get dressed, eat, go to the bathroom, everything. It was so, so difficult and now, over a year later, it is still painful and it will never be the same. Nor will my heart, for that matter. I will always, always miss my precious husband and I will always, always have some pain and weakness of my right, dominant arm.
But you know what - I firmly believe this too - I believe that all things work together for good, for those who are called according to His purpose. I believe that God used my broken elbow to force me to BE STILL, to process my grief over my husband, etc. This particular elbow injury involved the ulnar nerve (the "funny bone" which isn't particularly funny). It hurt so badly for so long, I couldn't believe it. It was THE WORST PHYSICAL PAIN I HAVE EVER FELT - and I've had four kids without pain meds. I cried for two solid weeks and eventually I couldn't tell you where the physical pain ended and the emotional pain began, but all I could do was lay there and cry and cry and cry. And it was exactly what I needed. Now I tell people (and I mean it) that breaking my elbow was the best thing that ever happened to me. It was. It forced me to be still, it forced me to take care of myself, it forced me to process my grief constructively. I learned so much from it.
Since then, I've lived through, and thrived through, the hardest year of my life. I have learned so much, and I am a better person, though a scarred person, since going through this year.
I never, never, never would have chosen life without my husband. I never would have chosen to break my right elbow. I never would have chosen this year. But my faith is stronger now than it ever was before. My God has bolstered me and kept me from falling apart, from being depressed long term, from all sorts of possible emotional trauma. I believe He also led me to a terrific grief counselor, who just HAPPENED to be a strong Christian, who just HAPPENED to take me as a patient (she told me later that she wasn't taking new patients but something just prompted her to take me so she did so). She was much younger than me, probably in her thirties and I was 58 when I started going to her for one on one grief counseling. She doesn't have the same emotional makeup as me at all. She sees things from a totally different perspective, but she was exactly what I needed. She was simply third on a long list of counselors that my doctor referred me to. I never would have met her, and I wouldn't know the things I know now, if it hadn't been for living through this past year. Oh and also, my doctor, when she realized what I was going through, did a full check up on me, including tons of blood work, and prescribed all sorts of vitamins and minerals to me, and I am so appreciative of her. Honestly, I feel very strong physically now.
I also wouldn't have met my therapeutic massage therapist, who helped my arm heal and helped me regain full range of motion.
I am a much better teacher now (I teach a life and job skills class at Christian Women's Job Corps). And get this - my cousin, who is only 47, just lost her husband suddenly, also from a sudden catastrophic event, and if I hadn't gone through all this, and known how to navigate these sad times, I wouldn't be as able to help her. I feel very strongly that these events of this past year, which I did nothing to "deserve," and which weren't the result of poor decisions on my part or anything like that, TERRIBLE things that happened personally to me - a strong Christian woman - are just part of living in a fallen world that includes death and pain and illness and (fill in the blank). I believe I live in a fallen world, with all the tragedies that it includes. I also believe that this world is temporal and that what seems like tragedy to me now is a result of that fallen world. I also believe that all of us live in this world and that we need guidance. When bad things happen to me, and they have happened to me over the years, I always have said "I never want THAT lesson again, so I better learn from it!" and my motto has always been to be a better person after something difficult happens. This year was a massive test of that, and I simply HAD to rely on strengths outside myself. I had to ask others for help (very difficult for me). I had to let others see my pain (also very difficult for me). I had to let others see my brokenness in order for them to be able to help me.
I also had to simply persevere. I could only do that with help from God. And then I had to thrive, and grow, and learn, and live, and I realized I can do that too, and I did it!
God is merciful with me.
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