irisheyes

Has anyone read Prayer and/or What's so Amazing About Grace by Philip Yancey? Incredibly neat books. Also, The Irresistible Revolution by Shane Claiborne changed my thinking 180 about money and Jesus. Maybe that should be Jesus and money. Not together, separately. You know. Changed my mind about how I thought about Jesus and changed my mind about .... I know, you get it!

Medication1.wmv Sorry previous cite was wrong. Try this one above. Just can't get it right. Will try something else. It's a good one.

Went in rez 78 or so. Vaguely remember physicals. AIDs not much around then though. But, hey, backupaminute. Two Married Couples sharing a room? What the hey???? Where did that happen? Not Rome City, however, someone did just walk into our room one night when we happened to be playing house, and I'll leave the rest to your imagination. If you'd all like a laugh, go to medication1.wmv. HILARIOUS.

I sat through a lecture recently by a Dr. James Fleming, an archeologist. He lived in Israel the majority of his life. He had PICTURES. I got to see mustard. Actually, it is a weed. Plants are everywhere. He showed a picture of where Jesus spoke that parable (or supposedly spoke it). It was surrounded by mustard. So, as he spoke it, the people around saw it. It was NOT wanted. Goats and sheep wouldn't even eat it. It has sharp leaves. Anyway, he believes the parables were true and meant to be shocking. He has a booklet just on the parables, but I didn't get it. An interesting sideline was that Jesus may have had what we would call a 6th grade education, yet the authority he spoke with was quite recognized. He also said that wheat and weeds were late bloomers. He said some neat stuff about some of the other parables also. He has a museum in LaGrange, GA with life-size models from biblical times. Web site: www.biblicalresources.net. I haven't gone there, but there might be something helpful. I also lead a bible study group at church and I love it. We've been together four years now. We pretty much know who believes what, but I never let anyone, including myself, think they are right and everyone else is wrong. Everyone is entitled to their opinion. I basically just try to keep them questioning. It keeps me on my toes.

Hey WW, I appreciated your answers. I thought about the topic a lot these last couple days and realized that even though I don't have all the answers, I wouldn't feel right, comfortable in my skin, sane, if I didn't believe there was a God. Sometimes simplicity is the best answer....

WHEW!

Do you look at a painting you like and not also look to see who signed it? Do you look at a rainbow, a sunset, the stars on a velvet sky, and not look to see who painted these things? Perhaps there aren't answers for everything, but who said there was supposed to be? We see through a glass darkly. The way I see it, we have nothing to lose by believing in God and everything to gain. Vice versa on that. I'd rather err on the side that might make me a winner.

Is it not a FACT that the book titled "The Myth of the Six Million," was sold out of TWI's bookstore? I remember VP teaching this specifically at AC '75 (yeah, I'm showing my age). Why it bothered him, however, is still a mystery to me. Did he agree with Hitler? :unsure:

Jerry, We have been studying Revelation at church this year and it's taken on a totally different look to me. I will look up more on preterist, but one thing I must agree on is the insight of faithfulness. Revelations biggest message at that time was to these poor Christians being persecuted. It is telling them in so many ways to hang in there, this persecution won't last forever. You may not live to see the end of it (just like the guys in Hebrews didn't), but God has that sown up for you. You'll wind up with the Lord in heaven. One of the historic things brought up was that the way most see the book of Revelation today was started around the end of the 1800's. Before that it was taken for what it was, an apocolyptic writing. Lots of symbolism. However, that symbolism meant something to those people alive at that time. I just never looked at Revelation as a comfort, but after sitting through this study, my views are dramatically changing.

TWI demoted Jesus. The Gospels were "not written to us;" same for the OT. However, Jesus is the subject of both gospels and OT. In TWI the epistles were magnified. However, God Magnified His Word. So much of what Jesus said and even Paul for that matter was directly quoted from the O.T. They knew it so well without having KJV or even a printing press. Come to think of it, they didn't even have PFAL, nevermind the AC. I was always ashamed to say I had never "seen" a devil spirit while I was involved. Now, I'm glad. I do wonder what the spirits in the gospels would be called today though, or the idols of the O.T. Like, have you ever cast out a gangsta spirit? How about a political spirit? Or morals? Seems once the light is shed, the darkness goes away....

JerryB: It is such a thin line, huh? I daresay that even sports people and movie stars will stand in better light for forking over some $$$ and getting involved in helping third world countries than some of the "church" leaders around today. At least these "stars" are being paid to entertain and not to sell God. But, in the end, grace will win out. We can't be too harsh on anyone lest we turn them from the light. Of course, it wouldn't hurt to share some of this particular light with a few of these health and wealth ministers, and maybe kick some butt.

Go Goey!

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A big assumption today is that the tithe belongs to the church. However the Levites, who owned nothing for themselves, were given no more than 10%. Interesting that they couldn't own land! Ever wonder why? Anyway, look at the early church. I Cor. 4:11. The evangelists then got a smaller contribution (hey, Paul wouldn't take their money), and they were themselves poor, and a major organization was structured so the redistribution of funds could be made to widows and orphans (Acts 6:1-6). Over 90% was given to the poor. When was the last time anyone taught that? Imagine what it could do to the name of Christianity if some of these megachurches used their funds to fund clean water overseas? So, Joyce Meyers shouldn't stay in a "seedy" motel? Why not? Jesus didn't even have a pillow. What does it mean to have family that is starving to death? There are people in the Body of Christ who are doing just that. There are homeless. There are junkies, and widows, and orphans, and single-moms, and whores, and kids who work for $.31/hour in deplorable conditions in Honduras so WalMart can sell $300 million a year. Who did Jesus hang with? (see proceeding sentence for answer) How can we call ourselves followers of Jesus without doing what he did, without caring about what and who he cared about? We may not all be in the position some of these "rich" leaders are in, but I wouldn't want to be in their position in the end anyway. Jesus told the rich guy to give it all up and the man walked away from him. It's easier for a camel to go through the eye of the needle.... Anyone who thinks richness is cool should read "The Irresistible Revolution" by Shane Claiborne. Most of the above are ideas from that book. I must warn you, however, to go on a shopping spree first because you'll think twice about what you spend after you read it.

What a day for green beer! I don't know what most people think about St. Patrick, but the truth is something I never heard until I looked it up meself. He was NOT Irish. He was from England and was kidnapped when he was 16 and brought to Ireland as a slave. After escaping 4 or 5 years later, he returned to England, but felt his calling was to return to Ireland to convert those nice folks, who were apparently in desperate need of help. He is responsible for started something like 300 churches in Ireland. However, I don't know about the snake thing or the gates of hell, etc. Sounds to me like he was an evangelist and followed his nose, as those English are likely to do. I, for one, am glad he did what he did. Though us Irish may be known for getting our "tempers" up, it may have been quite worse without Patrick's help.

Is anyone helping this poor kid out? It seems to me that someone needs to let him know that Jesus hung around with the people he wasn't supposed to hang with all the time. Let's see, tax collectors, lepers, prostitutes, Gentiles, etc., this was one of the reasons the Pharisees were so ....ed with him all the time. They thought he was breaking THE LAW. They didn't realize he was the end of the law. Grace just poured out of his pores, if you will. I read a really neat things recently, "Nothing you can do will make God love you more AND nothing you can do will make God love you less." I believe that's something Jesus made plain. Perhaps Paul's epistles were earmarked to specific problems at a specific time to specific people.

John Thanks for making my point so clear. Lets see if its up to you don't go to a Dr. Because they will always give you the wrong meds that will kill you. And if you have any other problem just pray. Perhaps drug inventions are Godly inspired to keep some of us alive. I wonder if any pharmacist or doctors could be cristian?

John That is such a cheap shot. A whole life or 2 whole lifes summed up in a few words. If you are so smart why didn't you pray for them or listen to God for the deliverance. Maybe God sent them to the doctor for them to get a few more days then they had. Maybe they would of died no matter what they did. Face it vp died. Paul died. Moses died.

One of the most stupid classes I took was Christian Couseling. Like a one week class would ever teach me to deal with complex mental illness.

I think it was more that you could not be tied down to a job so at a moments notice you could go over 3 or 4 states to see v p run his mouth. If you had a regular job 10 vacation times might not work. Or God forbid 2 weeks at a time in the old corn field exspected to wear a 3 piece suite out of a pup tent.

We were out after the popo paper. When ever that was?

Some of the biggest arces and biggest hearts stuck in the same place. As far as Way Builders some of the arces where at the top. Ego of being a rev or a boss ruined most of it. Plus the idea that you could get 8 hours of work done in 6. Most of the time it seemed to me it took 16 hours to get 6 done right. With all the free labor paying the intermere staff 75 dollars a month(disgraceful) they got what they paid for.