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"For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten [uniquely born] Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send the Son into the world to judge [condemn] the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. 18 He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. 19 This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil. 20 For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. 21 But he who practices the truth comes to the Light, so that his deeds may be manifested as having been wrought in God." John 3: 16-21
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Originally posted by Grampy Bobby"If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it."
No matter what year we were born, none of us on this spirituality forum nor our family members or trusted friends have any guarantee of tomorrow
-- Jesus, in John 14:14
What you are telling us is that if you pray that the Lord will preserve your life for another year, you have no guarantee that He will do that for you. In other words, you are telling us John 14:14 is a lie.
Years ago I had a brief conversation about this scripture with a Believer I will call Stan.
Stan: That scripture is telling us Believers He will do any spiritual thing for us, not just literally any thing we dream up. You are taking the scripture out of its proper biblical context.
Paul: Charles Manson might accept Christ today. That is a spiritual thing, right? Why don't you go ahead and pray that Manson will in fact be saved.
Stan: God is not some robot. He doesn't have to do what I ask Him to do.
Paul: But you just told me He will keep His promise in John 14:14, at least if we narrow it down to spiritual things.
Stan: The Bible also says you are not allowed to tempt the Lord. What you are asking me to do would be tempting the Lord.
Paul: So you've found that the Bible contradicts itself.
Stan: Nope.
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Originally posted by Paul Dirac IIOmniscient and Omnipotent God has a perfect plan and purpose for each of our lives on earth. For unbelievers in Christ it's that they will accept His Grace Gift. For believers in Christ it's that they will grow to spiritual maturity in acquiring the Mind of Christ. Another of God's Divine Attributes is His Justice which means He's always fair in giving each of us maximum time.
"If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it."
-- Jesus, in John 14:14
What you are telling us is that if you pray that the Lord will preserve your life for another year, you have no guarantee that He will do that for you. In other words, you are telling us John 14:14 is a lie.
Years ago I had a brief conversation about this scripture with ...[text shortened]... uld be tempting the Lord.
Paul: So you've found that the Bible contradicts itself.
Stan: Nope.
Originally posted by Grampy BobbyI've been browsing the blog posts by a former church pastor, Ryan Bell. His maturation led him away from theism.
For believers in Christ it's that they will grow to spiritual maturity in acquiring the Mind of Christ.
http://www.patheos.com/blogs/yearwithoutgod/
Originally posted by Paul Dirac III was never a pastor or anything like that, but I put my loss of Christian faith down to spiritual maturation too. Of course, I don't expect people who are still Christians to see it that way.
I've been browsing the blog posts by a former church pastor, Ryan Bell. His maturation led him away from theism.
http://www.patheos.com/blogs/yearwithoutgod/
Originally posted by Paul Dirac III wouldn't exactly call this spiritual maturation.
I've been browsing the blog posts by a former church pastor, Ryan Bell. His maturation led him away from theism.
http://www.patheos.com/blogs/yearwithoutgod/
I would just call it running away from God.
He says he had been harboring these ideas for the last decade, so that says that there was no real "maturation" involved, just a decision to call his non-faith exactly what it was, and to quantify his abandonment of God.
That's not "maturation", it's "justification".
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Spiritual maturity in context refers to acquiring the mind of Christ. Philippians 2:5 "Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus". How? By being accurately and authoritatively taught the Word of God on a systematic basis. No exceptions.
Edit Note: The acid test for each maturing believer is what would Christ Himself think and say and do [even on this forum].
Originally posted by Grampy BobbyWell if you were a Cyclops (like me) you wouldn't have this problem. 😉
[b]"Life on earth is about timing and timing is often everything."
No matter what year we were born, none of us on this spirituality forum nor our family members or trusted friends have any guarantee of tomorrow: the unit of measure of life on earth is one day at a time. An inconvenient truth is that our private decisions determine our happiness and fulfillment or frustration and misery in time as well as our eternal destiny. Thoughts?[/b]
Originally posted by Grampy BobbyAs for this acid test, does your own level of "spiritual maturity" make you believe that what you think and say and do on this forum demonstrates that you are Christ-like to some degree? How do you fare in your own acid test?
The acid test for each maturing believer is what would Christ Himself think and say and do [even on this forum].
Originally posted by Grampy BobbyWhich Christians propagate and demonstrate their Christian faith "accurately and authoritatively" on this forum, and which less so? Do you see yourself as the most accurate and authoritative in terms of your "teaching"?
Spiritual maturity in context refers to acquiring the mind of Christ. Philippians 2:5 "Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus". How? By being accurately and authoritatively taught the Word of God on a systematic basis. No exceptions.
Originally posted by Grampy BobbyIn my experience, my happiness and fulfillment or frustration and misery is determined only in part by my private decisions. A very significant amount is determined by external factors I have either no control over or failed to predict.
An inconvenient truth is that our private decisions determine our happiness and fulfillment or frustration and misery in time as well as our eternal destiny. Thoughts?
I have no 'eternal destiny'.
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Originally posted by twhitehead"external factors" of disappointment and adversity are part and parcel of human life on planet earth; there are only two ways to address these challenges: on your own with human viewpoint or with divine viewpoint as a believer in Jesus Christ.
In my experience, my happiness and fulfillment or frustration and misery is determined only in part by my private decisions. A very significant amount is determined by external factors I have either no control over or failed to predict.
I have no 'eternal destiny'.
Originally posted by Grampy BobbyWould you characterize your personal viewpoint as "divine" and not "human"?
"external factors" of disappointment and adversity are part and parcel of human life on planet earth; there are only two ways to address these challenges: on your own with human viewpoint or with divine viewpoint as a believer in Jesus Christ.
Originally posted by Grampy BobbyI am sorry to say that I simply don't believe you. Why do you keep wasting your time telling me things that you know I do not, and will not believe?
"external factors" of disappointment and adversity are part and parcel of human life on planet earth; there are only two ways to address these challenges: on your own with human viewpoint or with divine viewpoint as a believer in Jesus Christ.