Dezi
Junior Member
Posts: 431
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Post by Dezi on Oct 23, 2018 10:30:24 GMT -5
God has a hard time keeping all his children obedient to him also.
Teenage years are hard, no matter how strict we are. We are old souls, and have learn't from experience the repercussions of sin, our children however, are going to find out through experience also. I tried to rule my eldest daughter with a rod of iron but she rebelled terribly, and acted worse than any teenager I know. She was so beautiful beyond any girl I ever saw, and she covered herself in tattoos from top to toe, and had a foul attitude to go with it and grew into an abusive alcoholic especially after her boyfriend committed suicide. It absolutely broke my heart and I blamed myself all those years thinking where did I go wrong. Whenever I tried to preach to her she would shut her ears and say stop. We could talk about anything but that. The next boyfriend she had abused her terribly and she fled from him. She's in another on and off relationship now, (not married) and she's become a mother. Her partner is not that tender with her either, but doesn't harm her. I still treat him like a son because love is powerful and what he missed out from his family, he has here, and he fully loves us and is still maturing also. Despite this, her heart is so full of love not only for her children but for everyone. I have watched her become humble but not repressed. I also watch her discipline her children, and she does it in a way that is strict, but tender full of love. She gives all to her children, and that same love to any other child or adult. It blows me away. She has not fully committed herself to Christ yet, but I see qualities in her now that are righteous and fair. A total turn around. She is maturing, and is treating her children with the same love in the way she was treated. I can see where God is leading her, and it looks promising, because the soil has come good. She doesn't block her ears anymore when I talk about the Lord and has confessed that she's always prayed every night before eating and going to bed. I see a work in progress and I see that the Lord's mercy is so great. These are what I call silent miracles happening before our eyes.
So never think that all our hard work in the Lord is for nothing, because when the kids get older, they treasure that protection we gave and will always remember the peace they once shared in the home, especially after experiencing the world with all it's troubles, they will eventually realise that Christ was in that home and want to come back to all that was there. So when they get to a certain age, you can't wrap them in cotton wool, they have to choose their foundation also and taste what evil is and how it bites back, so that they can compare which side the peace came from.
Thank you Sister.... I do not know why I just got the notification of your response. I do appreciate your words of hope!
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Post by John on Oct 23, 2018 11:02:58 GMT -5
I watched an interesting video from Dr. Caroline Leaf on this topic. She said the church is full of what she called "functional atheists." Basically these are people who believe in God mentally, but how they function in daily life is no different from an atheist. They may not be out there drinking or cursing, but that doesn't mean they have transformed minds. Their thought patterns, decision-making processes, knee-jerk reactions while reading news headlines, all geared toward secular thinking. A person can believe right things for wrong reasons. I see it all the time. Someone might be pro-life just because she was raised that way. Nice position, bad logic. This is a case where flawed human thinking is overlooked because it's hidden under Christian values. Then that human thinking manifests in how she makes daily decisions. Personally, I don't see it as a question of how much we believe the Bible, but how seriously we take it. We might believe prayer works, but we can have limited expectations on how well it works. A powerless life can start to wear us down. If we don't really expect any miracles to come from our prayers, then the miracles in the Bible become metaphors, and we're absolved of our duty to contend for salvations. I am not ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ, for it is the power of God unto salvation. Either we believe that or we don't. Either we act like it or we don't. Those of us who believe the Bible can't just hide in our beds all day while we criticize those who don't believe. People tend to see the Bible as God's inerrant truth when they experience its power. The more it comes alive, the more strongly they believe it. You can't talk someone out of a truth that she knows from personal experience. So as far as I'm concerned, we need to stop proving the Bible's historical veracity or its cultural relevance, and get busy proving its spiritual authority. Please let me add, I'm not attacking brother John. This is not to say the OP is guilty. I'm just thinking out loud on what I see among some Christians. That is the difference between head knowledge and heart knowledge of God. We had a woman at WCF who had always been pro-life until she had an unwanted pregnancy, and she came out and said matter of factly that people can be pro-life till they are faced with a situation like hers, and she wound up killing her unborn child because it was inconvenient. Then she tried to go on like she did nothing wrong. I totally agree with you about those differences, and don't take any offense to what you said.
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Post by 2fw8212a on Oct 23, 2018 13:11:39 GMT -5
We had a woman at WCF who had always been pro-life until she had an unwanted pregnancy... "The heart is deceitful above all things, And desperately wicked; Who can know it?" - Jeremiah 17:9
"For nothing is secret that will not be revealed, nor anything hidden that will not be known and come to light." - Luke 8:17
"Whoever abides in Him does not sin. Whoever sins has neither seen Him nor known Him." - 1 John 3:6
"If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned." - John 15:6-8She said the church is full of what she called "functional atheists." Basically these are people who believe in God mentally, but how they function in daily life is no different from an atheist. "Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord... ...And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’" - Matthew 7:22-23
"Whoever commits sin also commits lawlessness, and sin is lawlessness." - 1 John 3:4
"...Most assuredly, I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin. And a slave does not abide in the house forever, but a son abides forever. Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed." - John 8:34-36
"I speak in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh. For just as you presented your members as slaves of uncleanness, and of lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves of righteousness for holiness." - Romans 6:19
"Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, “If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." - John 8:31-32
"Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth." - John 17:17
"For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?" - Mark 8:36
"For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it." - Matthew 16:25
"Jesus said to him, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me." - John 14:6
"Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it." - Matthew 7:14
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PG4Him
Senior Member
Essay Moderator
Posts: 3,570
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Post by PG4Him on Oct 23, 2018 13:49:16 GMT -5
I don’t know what’s more ridiculous — that a woman would do such a thing or that WCF would let her stay.
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Post by Abby-Joy on Oct 23, 2018 14:40:26 GMT -5
I watched an interesting video from Dr. Caroline Leaf on this topic. She said the church is full of what she called "functional atheists." Basically these are people who believe in God mentally, but how they function in daily life is no different from an atheist. They may not be out there drinking or cursing, but that doesn't mean they have transformed minds. Their thought patterns, decision-making processes, knee-jerk reactions while reading news headlines, all geared toward secular thinking. A person can believe right things for wrong reasons. I see it all the time. Someone might be pro-life just because she was raised that way. Nice position, bad logic. This is a case where flawed human thinking is overlooked because it's hidden under Christian values. Then that human thinking manifests in how she makes daily decisions. Personally, I don't see it as a question of how much we believe the Bible, but how seriously we take it. We might believe prayer works, but we can have limited expectations on how well it works. A powerless life can start to wear us down. If we don't really expect any miracles to come from our prayers, then the miracles in the Bible become metaphors, and we're absolved of our duty to contend for salvations. I am not ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ, for it is the power of God unto salvation. Either we believe that or we don't. Either we act like it or we don't. Those of us who believe the Bible can't just hide in our beds all day while we criticize those who don't believe. People tend to see the Bible as God's inerrant truth when they experience its power. The more it comes alive, the more strongly they believe it. You can't talk someone out of a truth that she knows from personal experience. So as far as I'm concerned, we need to stop proving the Bible's historical veracity or its cultural relevance, and get busy proving its spiritual authority. Please let me add, I'm not attacking brother John. This is not to say the OP is guilty. I'm just thinking out loud on what I see among some Christians. That is the difference between head knowledge and heart knowledge of God. We had a woman at WCF who had always been pro-life until she had an unwanted pregnancy, and she came out and said matter of factly that people can be pro-life till they are faced with a situation like hers, and she wound up killing her unborn child because it was inconvenient. Then she tried to go on like she did nothing wrong. I totally agree with you about those differences, and don't take any offense to what you said.
Oh my goodness, that's so sad...
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Cletus
Senior Member
Posts: 2,517
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Post by Cletus on Oct 23, 2018 18:50:50 GMT -5
when/where the rubber hits the road....
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