Afraid of Losing My Faith In God :(

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Truman

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Of course not. But yours was a blanket statement, and you can actually be an American and a Christian, just as you can indeed be both a Roman and a Christian.

God bless.
So...does this mean I can be a sinner and a Christian?
 

DuckieLady

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Notice I said faith, not belief which can be two entirely different things. Right now I sort of feel foresaken after the events over the past couple of days. It just seems like God doesn't care about us Americans anymore. :(

Not sure if anyone has said this or not, but it is natural for us all to have moments of doubt. Even John the Baptist doubted. He was in prison and sent his messengers to ask, "Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?"

Jesus responded by having them tell John about the miracles that he had been doing and then praised him, saying, “What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind? What then did you go out to see? A man dressed in soft clothing? Behold, those who wear soft clothing are in kings’ houses. What then did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. This is he of whom it is written, ‘Behold, I send my messenger before your face, who will prepare your way before you.’ Truly, I say to you, among those born of women there has arisen no one greater than John the Baptist”
 
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amadeus

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So...does this mean I can be a sinner and a Christian?
LOL Consider...

"No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon." Matt 6:24

"And he said unto them, Render therefore unto Caesar the things which be Caesar's, and unto God the things which be God's." Luke 20:25

Of course that last verse may be seen by some as a trick question for what does not belong to God?

"But who am I, and what is my people, that we should be able to offer so willingly after this sort? for all things come of thee, and of thine own have we given thee." I Chron 29:14

"For every beast of the forest is mine, and the cattle upon a thousand hills.
I know all the fowls of the mountains: and the wild beasts of the field are mine.
If I were hungry, I would not tell thee: for the world is mine, and the fulness thereof." Psalm 50:10-12
 

April_Rose

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NOPE! LoL. But you've certainly given it the college try.


On a scale of 1 to 7 days, how long do you think it will take you to get banned again?



I just put him on ignore so I don't have to put up with that crap lol



You ask this question because its closer to home, around the world persecution and bad things have been happening to Christians, Gods people, throughout history. You want to read what others have gone through, but their testimonies are amazing.
April you need to give yourself time to adapt to the disappointment of what you were hoping in, disappointment is nothing new to any of us, but it’s painful.
Rita x




Far worse than disappointment Rita. America will never be the same. :(


Beautiful, I've never heard this before. Thank you for sharing it, Charity.




The tune sounds familiar and it's really pretty. I can't wait to go to Heaven and be with Jesus and the rest of my loved ones. :)
 
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April_Rose

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..

"No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon." Matt 6:24






Unless our name is Jesus Christ we are all sinners though.
 

Truman

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I just put him on ignore so I don't have to put up with that crap lol








Far worse than disappointment Rita. America will never be the same. :(







The tune sounds familiar and it's really pretty. I can't wait to go to Heaven and be with Jesus and the rest of my loved ones. :)
The enemy has us right where we want him.
 
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amadeus

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Unless our name is Jesus Christ we are all sinners though.
As it is written... "... all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;" Rom 6:23...

And then there is this:

"If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us." I John 1:8-10

However...

"And ye know that he was manifested to take away our sins; and in him is no sin.
Whosoever abideth in him sinneth not: whosoever sinneth hath not seen him, neither known him." I John 3:5-6

So who then is continuously abiding in Him? Anyone doing that "sinneth not"!

Or as Paul wrote it:

"There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit." Rom 8:1

Who is IN Christ Jesus? If a person ever sins at all is he not in that moment Not in Christ Jesus?
 

April_Rose

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As it is written... "... all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;" Rom 6:23...

And then there is this:

"If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us." I John 1:8-10

However...

"And ye know that he was manifested to take away our sins; and in him is no sin.
Whosoever abideth in him sinneth not: whosoever sinneth hath not seen him, neither known him." I John 3:5-6

So who then is continuously abiding in Him? Anyone doing that "sinneth not"!

Or as Paul wrote it:

"There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit." Rom 8:1

Who is IN Christ Jesus? If a person ever sins at all is he not in that moment Not in Christ Jesus?






Oh so you're basically saying that if we're in Christ that our sins don't really even count anyways. :)
 

DuckieLady

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Far worse than disappointment Rita. America will never be the same. :(

I'm sorry to say, I agree, but we also have a responsibility in not feeding the dragons. I think Facebook, Twitter, Reddit, Google, YouTube has played a big part in a lot of this, especially in regards to censorship and CCP, but also controlling the wealth, and the best thing I can think of doing in a responsible manner is to stop using them. It took me a while to figure out how to do that (and I still haven't finished transferring email addresses) but it is entirely possible with habit changes.

The easiest way to take away their power is to not hand it over to them. If the product is free then you are the product. Americans are gluttons for convenience and even down to the types of foods we eat, we suffer for it. Even if nothing ever does come of it and you alone don't create a lot of change, you can take pride in knowing you didn't support unethical behavior.

This year we saw farmers having to destroy their harvests and dumping their milk while the people were starving and miles of lines for food banks. We need to remember these things. "Who controls the food supply controls the people; who controls the energy can control whole continents; who controls money can control the world." - Henry Kissinger (or someone, hard to tell with internet. It can't make its mind.)

We rely too much on big businesses and big tech. This is a good time to stop feeding into the lies that we need them to such a large extent and go back to some of the old skills. I've taken this to an extreme by learning to make clothing (sewing, crochet, etc) and cook A LOT of meals with dry beans. Why? If there was a war, it would greatly affect our supplies. Last time I checked, 40% of our clothing is imported from China.

Don't think you're powerless. Even when things go wrong, you can do a lot with little, and if you have very old life skills you can do even more. It might not bring you more confidence in our country, but it will give you more confidence in what you can do for yourself and for others around you. Sometimes we need that.
 
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amadeus

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Oh so you're basically saying that if we're in Christ that our sins don't really even count anyways. :)
No, that may be what some say, but I do not. I say that when a person is sinning, doing something opposed to God and he knows it, he is not in Christ. Most people, as I see it, who have received Christ are walking in and out [to and fro] of Him.

What almost every church group or denomination practices and teaches is quenching the Holy Spirit. When a person quench the Spirit, he walks out of Christ. Churches set up rules and their own order to follow. There are few 'churches' where you can walk in the door and testify to the glory of God simply because you feel something good building up down in your heart. Some churches never have testimony services. Some do but testimonies are only allowed when some man decides to have a testimony service. Is that man always led by the Holy Spirit? Is that man IN the Spirit, when he rebukes a person in the congregation who had those words of praise burning them needing to be let out... to be spoken? Consider Jeremiah...

"Then I said, I will not make mention of him, nor speak any more in his name. But his word was in mine heart as a burning fire shut up in my bones, and I was weary with forbearing, and I could not stay." Jerem. 20:9

Do we suppose that if some man told the prophet, Jeremiah, to remain silent, he would have done so?

And Apostle Paul warns us:

"Quench not the Spirit." I Thess 5:19

How many have sat in a pew in a church and had that the Word of God like a burning fire want to speak out, but quenched it because it was not allowed by a minister or church rules to speak "out of order"? Whose order? God's or man's?


Ministers are supposed to help us move toward perfection so as to stop that "to and fro" thing, but many of them are not very helpful or worse:

"And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;
For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:
Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:
That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive;" Eph 4:11-14
 

April_Rose

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It's impossible to be perfect in reality though, that's what the cross was for. We're saved by grace not by works.
 

farouk

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Not sure if anyone has said this or not, but it is natural for us all to have moments of doubt. Even John the Baptist doubted. He was in prison and sent his messengers to ask, "Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?"

Jesus responded by having them tell John about the miracles that he had been doing and then praised him, saying, “What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind? What then did you go out to see? A man dressed in soft clothing? Behold, those who wear soft clothing are in kings’ houses. What then did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. This is he of whom it is written, ‘Behold, I send my messenger before your face, who will prepare your way before you.’ Truly, I say to you, among those born of women there has arisen no one greater than John the Baptist”
@FluffyYellowDuck Hebrews 11 is an encouragement to faith with many Old Testament examples of the justified who lived by faith: 'by faith'; 'by faith'; 'by faith', etc. Then this leads up to the exhortation - in the light of their examples of faith - to keep 'looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith' Who went to the cross for us and is now glorified. What an exhortation to strengthen one's faith! :)
 
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DuckieLady

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@FluffyYellowDuck Hebrews 11 is an encouragement to faith with many Old Testament examples of the justified who lived by faith: 'by faith'; 'by faith'; 'by faith', etc. Then this leads up to the exhortation - in the light of their examples of faith - to keep 'looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith' Who went to the cross for us and is now glorified. What an exhortation to strengthen one's faith! :)

Yes, have faith! But I believe God also prepares his people. Look at Joseph. What did God say to do? He said to store up on grains because famine was coming. Noah built an entire ark because a flood was coming. They survived because they were prepared.

"The prudent see danger and take refuge, but the simple keep going and pay the penalty." - Proverbs 27:12

"Cast your bread upon the waters, for you will find it after many days. Give a portion to seven, or even to eight, for you know not what disaster may happen on earth." Ecclesiastes 11:1-2 All of chapter 11 is worth a read. It is titled "Ignorance of the Future Demands Diligence in the Present." (Edit: Actually in the NIV it's titled "Invest in Many Ventures" so I guess it depends on the version you're reading.)

Have faith but also be smart. I am 33 and even if I don't need my skills in the next year or two, I can pass them on to my children and hope they do the same, and actually I needed them last year.
 
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farouk

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Yes, have faith! But I believe God also prepares his people. Look at Joseph. What did God say to do? He said to store up on grains because famine was coming. Noah built an entire ark because a flood was coming. They survived because they were prepared.

"The prudent see danger and take refuge, but the simple keep going and pay the penalty." - Proverbs 27:12

"Cast your bread upon the waters, for you will find it after many days. Give a portion to seven, or even to eight, for you know not what disaster may happen on earth." Ecclesiastes 11:1-2 All of chapter 11 is worth a read. It is titled "Ignorance of the Future Demands Diligence in the Present." (Edit: Actually in the NIV it's titled "Invest in Many Ventures" so I guess it depends on the version you're reading.)

Have faith but also be smart. I am 33 and even if I don't need my skills in the next year or two, I can pass them on to my children and hope they do the same, and actually I needed them last year.
@FluffyYellowDuck I love that verse in Ecclesiastes 11...
 
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amadeus

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It's impossible to be perfect in reality though...

"And Jesus looking upon them saith, With men it is impossible, but not with God: for with God all things are possible." Mark 10:27

"To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory:" Col 1:27

"But unto the Son he saith, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of thy kingdom." Heb 1:8