The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom

[JREG19]

I think a lot of people don’t want to be accountable to the Truth. That goes for Christians as well, it’s not easy to deny yourself, pick up your cross and follow. It’s much simpler to gratify the flesh.

I totally agree, just seeing Scripture is a reminder that there is more to life than doing whatever feels good. It's a reminder that there is a Creator who has standards for His creation. Which can be a real gut punch sometimes.

 

[JREG19]

For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Ephesians 6:12

Any time I encounter someone who can't handle the word or has a visceral reaction this verse shoots into my brain. They are in a spiritual war that they have no understanding of and no way to fight it.

Amen brother. It really is sad.

I always picture spiritual warfare as, my family and I inside our house doing life and somebody outside shooting up my house. I would never just keep doing what I was doing (watching TV, or eating dinner, or whatever). At the very least I would call for some one to help me ie law enforcement (God). Hopefully, I'm putting on my armor, strapping up, and fighting back. But, if you can't acknowledge you're getting shot up, you're dead already.

I think it's to easy to focus on what we have to change or give up, we lose sight of what we get in return.

 

[ethanbillingsley]

Just to pick up where we last left off, I came across this during my quiet time this a.m. @JREG19 @dylanvb
Thank you, Lord, I am not left to my own devices. So either the world doesn't judge you and God does or God doesn't judge you and the world does. Thank you Jesus for your forgiveness!

17For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. 18He 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. 19This 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. 20For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. 21But he who practices the truth comes to the Light, so that his deeds may be manifested as having been wrought in God.” John 3:17-21

 

[Big Sexy]

I like finding these threads. Its a reminder to me that there is more to life than just my hobbies and desires. I need all the help I can get to get on the right path.

 

[JREG19]

I like finding these threads. Its a reminder to me that there is more to life than just my hobbies and desires. I need all the help I can get to get on the right path.

Amen brother. You're not alone, life has so many distractions. It's easy to focus on the little things and miss the big picture. We all need help! We were not meant to do life alone.

I'll send you a pm

 

[ethanbillingsley]

We all need the help, brother. Trust me. The closer you get to Christ the more you realize how desperately you need Him. If you ever have questions please don’t hesitate to reach out and I’ll answer what I can and we can find someone smarter than me to answer the hard ones lol. More importantly, ask Him. He will meet you where you are.

 

[Yoder]

I like finding these threads. Its a reminder to me that there is more to life than just my hobbies and desires. I need all the help I can get to get on the right path.

One thing that helped me a lot is the Bible in a year podcast with Father Mike Schmitz. Each episode is about 30 min. He reads the Bible, then explains what he read at the end. It's the first time I actually have some kind of understanding of the Bible. He's younger, upbeat and seems like a really nice guy.

 

[dylanvb]

One thing that helped me a lot is the Bible in a year podcast with Father Mike Schmitz. Each episode is about 30 min. He reads the Bible, then explains what he read at the end. It's the first time I actually have some kind of understanding of the Bible. He's younger, upbeat and seems like a really nice guy.

I listen to Stephen Armstrong of Verse by Verse ministries, he teaches the same way. Reads a section breaks it down historically and in context and just explains in detail everything. It has helped my understanding immensely. I’m gonna check out Father Mike once I finish Stephen’s. Stephen’s will take you more than a year to get through though, he gets detailed. I listen to one every morning on my drive into town and I think I have been listening for over a year and a half maybe going on 2 years now. Not all his studies are in the same spot so you gotta dig a little but they are very good.

 

[Wildsold]

This is powerful brothers

View attachment 896253

Amen

 

[Valsport]

 

[Valsport]

 

[Shortschaf]

Just finished the book of Ezra

Who has heard of Ezra? Not I

Read the Scriptures. They are your inheritance.
Happy Palm Sunday

 

[rtkbowhunter]

I love chapter 8 in the Book of Romans. My two favorite verses (life verse if you will are 38,39). A few weeks ago our Pastor was going thru Romans and we are on chapter 8. He made the comment linking verse 1 to 38 & 39.

Verse 1 tells us there is no condemnation for those in Christ and verses 38 & 39 tells us there is no seperation for those in Christ. Beautiful symmetry.

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

Romans 8:38,39
"For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come,

Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord."

 

[product_by_process]

I don't quite understand how being forced to fear a celestial dictator leads to love for my fellow man. Surely I don't need the former to be able to incorporate the latter.

Yea, if one's only motivation to treat others with decency is fear of daddy, then I think some self-reflection is in order.

 

[Shortschaf]

Yea, if one's only motivation to treat others with decency is fear of daddy, then I think some self-reflection is in order.

No serious Christian I know disagrees with that

 

[Valsport]

No serious Christian I know disagrees with that

Who made you and the earth?

 

[ethanbillingsley]

A friend and I were discussing the pain of knowing Christ had to die for us and how sorry we were. And I felt I was reminded that He wasn’t sorry. Thank you, Jesus. In about an hours time almost 2000 years ago You paid the final price I could never pay myself.

 

[dylanvb]

Happy Good Friday Rokslide. It is because of Christ's suffering that we can have a relationship with the one true God.

Isaiah 53.
1Who has believed our report?
And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?
2For He shall grow up before Him as a tender plant,
And as a root out of dry ground.
He has no form or comeliness;
And when we see Him,
There is no beauty that we should desire Him.
3He is despised and rejected by men,
A Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.
And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him;
He was despised, and we did not esteem Him.
4Surely He has borne our griefs
And carried our sorrows;
Yet we esteemed Him stricken,
Smitten by God, and afflicted.
5But He was wounded for our transgressions,
He was bruised for our iniquities;
The chastisement for our peace was upon Him,
And by His stripes we are healed.
6All we like sheep have gone astray;
We have turned, every one, to his own way;
And the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.
7He was oppressed and He was afflicted,
Yet He opened not His mouth;
He was led as a lamb to the slaughter,
And as a sheep before its shearers is silent,
So He opened not His mouth.
8He was taken from prison and from judgment,
And who will declare His generation?
For He was cut off from the land of the living;
For the transgressions of My people He was stricken.
9And they made His grave with the wicked—
But with the rich at His death,
Because He had done no violence,
Nor was any deceit in His mouth.
10Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise Him;
He has put Him to grief.
When You make His soul an offering for sin,
He shall see His seed, He shall prolong His days,
And the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in His hand.
11He shall see the labor of His soul, and be satisfied.
By His knowledge My righteous Servant shall justify many,
For He shall bear their iniquities.
12Therefore I will divide Him a portion with the great,
And He shall divide the spoil with the strong,
Because He poured out His soul unto death,
And He was numbered with the transgressors,
And He bore the sin of many,
And made intercession for the transgressors.

 

[Valsport]

A friend and I were discussing the pain of knowing Christ had to die for us and how sorry we were. And I felt I was reminded that He wasn’t sorry. Thank you, Jesus. In about an hours time almost 2000 years ago You paid the final price I could never pay myself.

Amen brother. How amazing that a man is able to participate and understand the deep things of God via his spirit and his sacrifice to go through what he did. I get the Sunday scaries with worry about my job but imagine living every day and knowing whats coming and no way out of it, but because of his purity and love for his workmanship, not ever wavering. Goodness gracious.

He did ask for the cup to pass, but sat in and in his heart never resented.

 

[HGL]

I heard someone say recently, "Jesus didn't get on that cross so we wouldn't have too, he got on the cross to show us how..." Which reminded me of Matthew 16:24.

We should remember that Good Friday wasn't a tragedy, it was an accomplishment! A victory over all the principalities in high places, over all the rebellions of sin, and over death itself. The Lion of the tribe of Judah is his name.