the witness of the holy spirit And Why did I become a Christian?
- Thread starter siddhikoli
- Start date
-
Christian Chat is a moderated online Christian community allowing Christians around the world to fellowship with each other in real time chat via webcam, voice, and text, with the Christian Chat app. You can also start or participate in a Bible-based discussion here in the Christian Chat Forums, where members can also share with each other their own videos, pictures, or favorite Christian music.
If you are a Christian and need encouragement and fellowship, we're here for you! If you are not a Christian but interested in knowing more about Jesus our Lord, you're also welcome! Want to know what the Bible says, and how you can apply it to your life? Join us!
To make new Christian friends now around the world, click here to join Christian Chat.
P
persistent
Guest
Just wish and pray that you find some peace even now. Some relief from depression even. Do you have any interests that take your mind off of the negative things. I have seen that some people find crocheting to be relaxing. Crochet is a kind of needle work and you can make nice things doing that. Any possibiity? So happy to hear from you.>>>>> ClifI eat well and feel fine but the depression doesn't go away, when I die Or depression will disappear when one attains moksha(salvation).Jesus Christ is the source of salvation.
Attachment to Christ is the secret of detachment from the world.
P
persistent
Guest
Oh yes. Thank you for the Marathi word maybe. Moksha>>salvation because of what Jesus did for us.>>>Clif
P
persistent
Guest
Just wish and pray that you find some peace even now. Some relief from depression even. Do you have any interests that take your mind off of the negative things. I have seen that some people find crocheting to be relaxing. Crochet is a kind of needle work and you can make nice things doing that. Any possibiity? So happy to hear from you.>>>>> Clif
P
pablocito
Guest
I eat well and feel fine but the depression doesn't go away, when I die Or depression will disappear when one attains moksha(salvation).Jesus Christ is the source of salvation.
Attachment to Christ is the secret of detachment from the world.
One of the most important things in Christianity is to believe the words of Jesus Christ.
All of the words of Jesus Christ are found in the 4 gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.
The other books of the bible are advanced and should not be attempted until you understand the simple words of Jesus Christ which are truth.
Most important are the promises that he makes to us. They are absolutely true and if you believe them, then you will have faith which will cause God to protect you and watch over you in everything. He also transcends the physical and you must believe in him for your total health.
You cannot see him physically or hear him vocally but his words in the bible are his conversation to us.
At this very moment God can read your mind. He knows all of your thoughts and your intentions. He also understands your situation better than you understand because Jesus Christ lived as a man on this earth and suffered for 3-1/2 years being hunted down constantly because they wanted to kill him. Therefore he knows what will happen to you tomorrow before it happens and if you trust him, he will 100% protect and guide you.
But you must read the bible, little by little, and he will help you to understand it. Never rush or hurry to read it and never be anxious to do anything that the bible commands you to do. Take your time as God already know your intentions and will wait until you can understand what you are reading even if it takes a long time. But when you do understand you must try your best to do it. You can fail many times but you must always get back up and continue.
God is perfect in his long suffering and his patience for those who trust him.
Next time I will not write such a long post seeing that English is not your first language.
The book of John, chapter 3 is a good place to start reading. You could study it for a couple of weeks but go very very slowly and do not rush over it but rather meditate on each verse as you read it. Read only 1 or 2 verses each day.
Ok, I pray to Parameshwara ( GOD ) from the bottom of my heart. My passion is finding the truth that takes me away from negativity
and I can't crochet. I am left handed since birth because my right hand is fragile.some people say that left hand is sinful.
Who is God's left hand angel?
According to the Jewish Encyclopedia, Gabriel takes the form of a man, and stands at the left hand of God.
Source- Google
P
pablocito
Guest
Ok, I pray to Parameshwara ( GOD ) from the bottom of my heart. My passion is finding the truth that takes me away from negativity
and I can't crochet. I am left handed since birth because my right hand is fragile.some people say that left hand is sinful.
Who is God's left hand angel?
According to the Jewish Encyclopedia, Gabriel takes the form of a man, and stands at the left hand of God.
Source- Google
View attachment 246645
I will not address the matter of left hand or right hand as God does not address it.
You might be correct from observation but observation is not truth. My sister was left handed and acquired skills including becoming ambidextrous. She was the genius in the family as far academia was concerned. I was right handed and considered refuse, incapable of doing anything right.
God uses the throw-aways and those whom society reject, thus before God I am more eligible for his heavenly kingdom as I have come to recognize my liabilities (weaknesses) before him. While those who were given everything in this life, great wealth, good looks, worldly confidence, for the most part believe that they do not need God, because they have everything going for them.
God's ways are past finding out. Do not go up against God. His words to us are life and I have proved it, of course there might be suffering, but as the saying goes, no pain no gain.
P
persistent
Guest
Good evening your time Siddhi, my time almost 6 am. Glad to hear from you. The left hand as sinful is likely an early 'superstition' that certain Jewish scholars invented. And the Jewish encyclopedia is possibly just publishing all Jewish sources but not giving information as to relevance to Bible Scripture and teaching. This means that some information the Jewish encyclopedia publishes you need to see as 'superstition'. This is not easy to do until you are familiar with God's Word in the Bible. So, when you read the Jewish encyclopedia or any source outside the Bible keep in mind where the information is coming from. This is not easy but pray always to The Father in Jesus name for The Holy Spirit and you will be guided to the truth. Being left handed is just the same as right handed regarding sin. All people have sinned.Ok, I pray to Parameshwara ( GOD ) from the bottom of my heart. My passion is finding the truth that takes me away from negativity
and I can't crochet. I am left handed since birth because my right hand is fragile.some people say that left hand is sinful.
Who is God's left hand angel?
According to the Jewish Encyclopedia, Gabriel takes the form of a man, and stands at the left hand of God.
Source- Google
View attachment 246645
1 John 3:4 Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law.
Siddhi, now that you accept the sacrifice Jesus made of Himself being crucified for all the sin of all people the following verse applies.
Romans 6:14 For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace.
Siddhi, we need to recognize Jesus has all power given to him by our Father and He can comfort and even heal as He sees fit. The thing that limits us from receiving what we is ask for is 'unbelief'.
Try to read the commentary at the following link. Take a lot of time and think and meditate about it. It is very long but worth studying. Then also read the verses of Matthew 9:1-7.
Mark 6 MacLaren Expositions Of Holy Scripture (biblehub.com)
P
persistent
Guest
Hey Pablocito, Almost the same with me except I had older brother and was always told he was ok and I was like my GD old man good for sh!! and good for nothing. Welcome to the club. Hang in there and if you are young take it easy on yourself and God can help you find you niche. Even in my sinning days He watched out for me. He also had to beat me down to get my attention.
P
pablocito
Guest
I agree with you that being right-handed or left-handed appears to have nothing to do with salvation.
But the bible uses the term so many times (undefined) that we can only say what the bible states in the context that it is used. A few examples are below.
Gen_13:9 Is not the whole land before thee? separate thyself, I pray thee, from me: if thou wilt take the left hand, then I will go to the right; or if thou depart to the right hand, then I will go to the left.
In the above verse Abraham, the father of the faithful did not seem to mind whether he went either way. In this context right-hand or left-hand means "side", right side or left side.
Now God uses right-hand prominently in the scriptures but the scriptures do not give us any clue as to why God seems to prefer the right-hand.
Luke_22:69 Hereafter shall the Son of man sit on the right hand of the power of God.
Mat_25:33 And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left.
Mat_6:3 But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth:
One last one will suffice:
Gen_48:14 And Israel stretched out his right hand, and laid it upon Ephraim's head, who was the younger, and his left hand upon Manasseh's head, guiding his hands wittingly; for Manasseh was the firstborn.
Gen_48:17 And when Joseph saw that his father laid his right hand upon the head of Ephraim, it displeased him: and he held up his father's hand, to remove it from Ephraim's head unto Manasseh's head.
Gen_48:18 And Joseph said unto his father, Not so, my father: for this is the firstborn; put thy right hand upon his head.
It more than likely has something to do with the culture of bible days and means something of significance to them.
But today it is irrelevant as far as the Spirit is concerned, because God is not a man, thus he has no hands. God is a Spirit.
P
pablocito
Guest
Isaiah 53 is a description of the Messiah which was to come and who arrived as Jesus Christ.
Isa 53:1 Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the LORD revealed?
Isa 53:2 For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him.
Isa 53:3 He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
Isa 53:4 Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.
Isa 53:5 But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.
Isa 53:6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.
Isa 53:7 He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth.
Isa 53:8 He was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall declare his generation? for he was cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of my people was he stricken.
Isa 53:9 And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death; because he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth.
Isa 53:10 Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt 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.
Isa 53:11 He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities.
Isa 53:12 Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured out his soul unto death: and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.
P
persistent
Guest
Hey Pablocito, There undoubtedly is significance to 'handededness' in some verses. The 'handednss' of us is not significant nor relevant is the intent of my post to Siddhi. But glad to see you also have some concern here too. Perhaps the passages relative to the 'good Samaritan' figure in here.
Luke 10:33 But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was: and when he saw him, he had compassion on him,
I once had a friend in a similar situation as Siddhi and know from that how difficult a life some people have and so I see even Biblically I as an antagonist of religion, in my earlier encounter, was and am apparently going about this situation properly. i.e. Compassion first
P
pablocito
Guest
In these last days compassion is the only thing that we can show, especially to those who show a true interest in the word of God.
It is truly a lonely journey at times but to have God reveal everything to you is also truly exhilarating.
John 16:33 These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.
In spite of having tribulation, the word of God gives us peace. Truly I have experienced the promises of the bible from day 1 in 2018 when I decided to serve the Lord. He truly has increased both my faith and increased his grace towards me, even in spite of my mess-ups. But my faith has never wavered from that time.
P
persistent
Guest
P
pablocito
Guest
"Sensible" is an extremely simple word and unfortunately it is missing in action from the most important people of the world (those who lead us) and who cling to the things of the world.
But they cannot change their nature and what is good for the goose is not always good for the gander. It is conceivable that the ungodly who go to hell, will be happy in their corrupt state of killing and stealing etc. They will enjoy hell.
A duck or fish loves water and you cannot put them to live on land. Similarly men love the land and you cannot put them to live in the water.
The only person who will be like a fish out of water will be the disobedient child of God. He will be thrown in the same pool with the ungodly. The weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth are not the cries of the ungodly in hell, but rather the cry of the disobedient child of God who is seeking repentance in hell but unfortunately it will be too late for him. He will see the glory of God but will be unable to attain that glory.
Sensible belongs to the little child as he/she navigates in the direction of his god-given senses because he has not become corrupted by the things of this world. He clings to his mother and father, shying away from strangers who he does not know.
The world will end suddenly without any warning whatsoever. No one except those who are patiently waiting will see the signs of Christ's return.
To be sure he could return in the next 10 minutes or in the next 10 days, or even the next 10 months.
Keep doing what you are doing. If you fall 1000 times, get back up, brush off yourself and continue on the journey. But if you are truly waiting you surely will not fall that many times as God will be watching over you and protecting you and giving you wisdom to navigate this evil world. Love good always and shun evil.
Hell is a place of torment. No one will enjoy it. It is also a place of justice. In eternity, Lazarus, who was poor and destitute and who was reliant upon grace from others, was comfortable and satisfied. The rich man, who was satisfied in life, became the beggar and found himself destitute.
P
pablocito
Guest
Unfortunately most Christians do not realize that the bible, although simple and sensible is most complex and should not be taken lightly because it cannot contradict itself.
If you go to the amazon jungle you will realize that there are thousands of worm-like insects in the jungle that are different from each other and cannot be differentiated by human sight but under the microscope they will all come up different. Or the billions of brain cells in your head that each play a different role in your humanity or the Universe that came into existence at the word of God.
God is infinite and beyond our understanding in how he does things so even though we accept the simplicity of the gospel, we should not be simplistic in our understanding of the nature and work of God.
The ungodly are those who belong to Satan and do not have a conscience.
Mat 13:24 Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man which sowed good seed in his field:
Mat 13:25 But while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went his way.
These tares show full allegiance to Satan and cannot change their allegiance. These children of Satan are not called to salvation by God. Read Luke 16:8-9
Luke 16:8 And the lord commended the unjust steward, because he had done wisely: for the children of this world are in their generation wiser than the children of light.
Luke 16:9 And I say unto you, Make to yourselves friends of the mammon of unrighteousness; that, when ye fail, they may receive you into everlasting habitations.
God hates lukewarmness and middle of the fence people. In Revelations 3 (Laodecea ) he promises to spit them out. He also will bring great temptation and tribulation upon them so that they will have to make a choice.
A child of God who blasphemes God cannot be received by God and will be punished with the ungodly. Yes they will suffer in hell because they have a conscience (being a child of God or rather being shown the light and glory of God). They will weep as Esau did, seeking repentance but it was too late, they had given up (sold) their birthright.
Heb 12:16 Lest there be any fornicator, or profane person, as Esau, who for one morsel of meat sold his birthright.
Heb 12:17 For ye know how that afterward, when he would have inherited the blessing, he was rejected: for he found no place of repentance, though he sought it carefully with tears.
I am going to stop here for I do not wish to confuse anyone, because the gospel is simple and you must arrive at deep truths not from another person's head but from your study of the word of God. (The things that I have said is not a prerequisite to accepting Jesus Christ as your savior as salvation is simply a matter of believing or not believing.)
Lastly the point you made about the rich man (Dives) and Lazarus. Dives belonged to the Jewish faith. He was disobedient and showed remorse but it was too late, as Abraham told him, he and his family should have taken heed to the laws of Moses.
Really I do not debate things that would detract from one's focus on Jesus Christ, who is our Savior and Redeemer.
Romans 8:1...There is therefore no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus...
No child of God is going to hell. They will suffer chastisement in this life...Hebrews 12...but not in the next.
P
persistent
Guest
Hello Siddhi, do you have any interests that occupy your time? I only mentioned crocheting because I remembered seeing some show on television about men liking to crochet too. That sounds funny to me but then there are many things that seem like only women do but that in reality men also do.
Like many men think that only women cook but at restaurants mostly men cook. That is here in the United States. Maybe other countries are different. Many people here started working on coloring books when the pandemic hit. I think with colored pencils. For some it is relaxing maybe.
I don't get bored very easy and when the pandemic hit I was already searching on the internet for Bible teaching. Do you find any Bible teaching in Marathi on the internet?
P
pablocito
Guest
We do not know who is going to hell and who is not.
Gehazi, a servant of Elisha who saw the glory of God when he saw the chariots of angels who blinded the Assyrians came into real trouble when he sinned.
Elisha took the leprosy of Naaman and put it on Gehazi and all his descendants for the rest of all their lives.
We do not know if Gehazi was lost, although I would say that he was castigated.
We do not know if Lot's wife who turned into a pillar of salt was altogether destroyed and is lost.
Only God knows the heart and only He and He alone holds the key of death and hell.
Peter had a very close relationship with Jesus and he said this.
1Pe 1:17 And if ye call on the Father, who without respect of persons judgeth according to every man's work, pass the time of your sojourning here in fear:
All Christians will be judged; Unlike what Lonelysummer said there will be no free passes.
1Pe 4:17 For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?
I would like to go into this subject in detail because we are only scratching the surface which does absolutely no justice to the salvation that God has given to us. It truly is not something that we should theorize but rather something than is experienced and personal to each and every person.
So I will only quote verses as the need arises and each person will have to reconcile the verses, not one or two but probably 1000's throughout the entire bible which agree with one another.
The truth is that a totally illiterate person who cannot read can be saved before the intellectual person who justifies himself with selected bible verses, because salvation starts and finishes in the heart. If you are saved you will know 100% percent. And you will know also who you call Father by the works you do.
Peter says this again:
2Pe 1:4 Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.
2Pe 1:5 And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge;
2Pe 1:6 And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness;
2Pe 1:7 And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity.
2Pe 1:8 For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
2Pe 1:9 But he that lacketh these things is blind, and cannot see afar off, and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins.
2Pe 1:10 Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall:
2Pe 1:11 For so an entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
Peter knew first hand how difficult Paul's words were to understand and that his words could be misunderstood. (God made it that way to keep the corrupt out.) Peter pulls no strings and makes it so that a 5 year old child could understand.
2Pe 3:15 And account that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation; even as our beloved brother Paul also according to the wisdom given unto him hath written unto you;
2Pe 3:16 As also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things; in which are some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction.
2Pe 3:17 Ye therefore, beloved, seeing ye know these things before, beware lest ye also, being led away with the error of the wicked, fall from your own stedfastness.
Finally this has been the criteria from the fall of Adam until the final return of Jesus Christ. (The destruction of the earth)
Rev 22:14 Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city.
Very simple, nothing more, nothing less.
P.S. I understand all of Paul's writings but it will be a very exhaustive thing to try and explain it to you. The bible is not simple.