Perkasa's criticism usually doesn't last beyond couple of weeks.
After which is soon and forgotten whatever they're talking about.
They are like trolls akin to forum trolls.
I believe many people agrees that whatever they say falls on deaf ears.

repost.



The power of loving others keeps you in victory



We all have our weaknesses. We all have our flesh to deal with. I believe one of the greatest challenge, all Christians face is loving others especially when that person is someone we may not like.

I once heard a brother mention, it's very hard to have agape love for others just like Jesus, can say it's almost impossible.

I can almost agree seeing the wickedness of Man prevailing in our street. Rude driving can be one of the factors. Selfishness and prejudice at the expense of others, critical and judgemental friends or relatives can be a contributing factor. There are many factors that shaped our views and thoughts causing us in turn to be critical of others, why people can't see and adopt the standards of social kindness we ourselves practice.

Here is the reason why. We forgot, we were once like them, in fact sometimes we emit those kind of behaviour on and off, but we're quick to brush them away, just because we have Jesus.

But in the parable of the unmerciful servant (Matthew 18:21-35), Jesus illustrate how we are like, most of the time.

This parable explain it is wrong and we are hypocrites to hold others in Judgement and prejudice when we ourselves have been forgiven freely.

It all starts from our thinking before we execute any action in tandem. (Matthew 5)




I beseech you, my friends in Christ. Let it all go.

Realize that we have been freely forgiven so in kind we treat others the same.

Start Loving others as how Christ Loves the lost.

When you do that one thing, it will protect you from stumbling and the devil will not have any grounds against you.

God Bless.

Salvation through faith, or works?

My question is, why not both?

Those who only faith, will not work for it.

And those who work for it, merely do it for the sake of working, like a day job, where there is no meaning behind the work itself.

So why have both of them, where you can have faith, and work for it, because you are SINCERE?

This post has been edited by Deadlocks: Oct 28 2012, 09:45 AM

It really depends on the purpose you set your Faith towards.

If it's about salvation, both are mutually exclusive of each other.
Logically, you don't really need Faith, if salvation can be achieved by works (Romans 4:14) and as you said, it can be meaningless too.

I used to think I can have both, so that it's easier for me to achieve.

But here's where the problem starts.

I couldn't keep all of them even coupled with Faith. The Bible illustrate for thousands of years many others have tried it and failed as well. (Romans 3:10) It's been proven no one could keep God's law perfectly simply because God's requirement is perfect. And I found out the design of the 10 commandments is not really for you to obey but uniquely and solely designed to show our sins. (Galatians 3:19). That is why the more you try, the more you will fail. There is a resisting force there. Romans 7:19 says For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do.

That is why He gave you the 10 commandments to prove that. James says it like this, in James 2:10 For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it.

Secondly there is a problem with Salvation by works. Those who rely on works, have this tendency to end up being mean just like the Pharisee and Teachers of the Law. The Bible shows that they are hypocrites, proud and vain thinking they are above everyone else. That is why Jesus even though having a gentle and humble nature by heart, reserve the harshest word calling them You Brood of Vipers! lol.

But when Salvation is given under grace and all you have to do to access it, is your Faith, all the burdens falls away. Something unearned and unmerited. And I would have it no other way knowing this is something I can never achieve by works, as the requirement is quite high. For a good reason too. So that in tandem to this we are kept in humility knowing that we have nothing to boast about before God. And humility is much needed to reach out to others because people get turned off by proud people. Humility and Faith is something very attractive to God and to people as well.

There is much more to the reason why Faith alone will change the whole course of your Salvation. It involves explaining what happens when you fail and feel condemn, I will share that again in another devotion. That subject alone will take time.

And to answer about Faith without works is dead (James 2:14), that is justification for doing the works of God for our well being and in reaching out to others. Not talking about Salvation here. We are called to love others not only in words but also in action. (James 2:15-17). When we pray and believe for something before God, it's not just Faith, but our actions that line up with what we believe in. God actually sees what you do after you pray. Does your action speak differently or does it match up with what you believe in. That also I will share (again) in another devotion, it's kinda lengthy.

God Bless.

This post has been edited by unknown warrior: Oct 29 2012, 10:39 AM

Beautiful songs. I enjoyed the songs spending time together with Jesus.





JESUS IT IS YOU

Verse 1:
Who makes the sun to rise
And bring the earth new life in every beam
Jesus it is You
Who turns the day to night
And watches me as I begin to dream
Jesus it is You

Who brings me food for my table
Who cares for all of my needs
Who walks the road with me
Has grown with me
Through all that I have been
Jesus it is You
Jesus it is You

Chorus:
I lift my hands
I bring my song
All of my days
All of my rights, all of my wrongs
I offer my life
Here and beyond
To the One thing true
Jesus it is You

Verse 2:
Who sees my brokenness
And carries me when I am frail and weak
Jesus it is You
Who tells the storm to rest
When I am overwhelmed and cannot speak
Jesus it is You

Who wears my guilt on His shoulders
Who holds my heart in His hands
Who takes my thoughts and fears
And hangs them on the arms of Calvary
Jesus it is You
Jesus it is You

This post has been edited by unknown warrior: Oct 29 2012, 10:38 AM

Is God good to all or chosen few (relatively speaking considering the many denominations, god-centred religions, religions, faiths, athesism, FSM, scientology, triforce, Morgan Freeman, etc) ? Bible quotes and real life examples or/and/vs reality on the ground are welcomed. thanks. start

Psa145:9 The Lord is good to all: and his tender mercies are over all his works.

Jer 13:14 And I will dash them one against another, even the fathers and the sons together, saith the Lord: I will not pity, nor spare, nor have mercy, but destroy them.

This post has been edited by hotjake: Oct 29 2012, 01:34 PM

this question is directed to unknown warrior: was mary a virgin?

Isa 7:14 Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.

Mat 1:23 The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel" (which means "God with us").

The Greek Septuagint which Matthew used translates it as "a virgin shall conceive and bear a son," but the Hebrew word "almah" means "young woman of marriageable age," not a virgin.

like you view on this since you've read many versions

This post has been edited by hotjake: Oct 29 2012, 01:35 PM

Notice that Jeremiah 13:14 belongs to Old Testament book?

Most of God's wrath and indignation against all nations regardless of their base of believe (because of sin) are recorded in the Old Testament (Before Christ). Back in the OT (Old Testament), believers get blessed or cursed depending on their effort in obedience to God simply because there wasn't a perfect atonement for our Sins like Jesus.

You'll be surprise that you will hardly find God's tone of fiery judgement in the New Testament as compared to the OT. This is one of the testimony that Jesus has come. All of God's wrath have been exhausted in the body of Jesus at the Cross. He died to pay on behalf of your sins.

In both instances, the source of all good things come from God. (Matthew 5:45) (James 1:17)(Psalms 125:9, Psalm 100:5)

Never the less if you intend to ask, if God is good to all, why does He destroy some people, my answer is this;

We are in no position to determine who is bad or good or who deserve what good or evil. That is to say, we don't know everything that goes on in this world. Our perception about somebody is limited by what and where we picked our sources from. We are not there in minute details of every seconds of somebody's life to know enough to Judge but God is there. One of his divine attribute is omni presence. (Hebrews 4:13 )

I've come to accept the sovereignty of God because it is He who gave life and have the same right to remove it. To question Him on this is like really out of our league. It's very much like how the way /k/ argues on a subject matter and suddenly becomes expert when they don't bother to read the entire passage.

But if you scrutinize the Bible, even the most atrocious city like Sodom and Gomorrah were given ample time in mercy by God to repent before they were destroyed. From Genesis 14 until Genesis 18, I speculated it's a number of years not days before it was destroyed.

This post has been edited by unknown warrior: Oct 29 2012, 07:41 PM

Yes she's a virgin.

In the Book of Matthew 1:18-21


18 This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit.
19 Because Joseph her husband was a righteous man and did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.
20 But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.
21 She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus,c because he will save his people from their sins.”

Verse 18-20 gives the same clue as to the 4 other gospels on Mary's virginity.

1. Verse 18 mentions they didn't have sex yet, bold part.

2.. Joseph was a more of a person who actually cares about public perception of child born out of wedlock as you can see in verse 19. Those days it was a huge matter of pride and shame, hence the word disgrace come into place.

3. in verse 20, the Angel of God persuaded Joseph to take Mary as her wife because he already decided to let her go to forget about the whole thing even though He loves her. This further strengthened that Mary's Child was not his doing, speaking much of his self-upholding conscious morality.

The Book of Luke gives extra details.

Luke 1:26-34 (NIV)


26 In the sixth month, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee,
27 to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary.
28 The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favoured! The Lord is with you.”
29 Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be.
30 But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favour with God.
31 You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus.
32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David,
33 and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end.”
34“How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?”

King James version read it like this in verse 34

Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man?

This is a type of Old English indicating Mary did not have an intimate relationship as in sexual intercourse.

If there's anything to suggest otherwise, Mary would have not responded " how will this be?".

And it is true that the Hebrew word "almah" may not necessarily mean virgin, but it can also mean the same. It's a word open to denote young woman or girl, a young or unmarried woman.

The answer is found, not so much in the translation of Hebrew/Greek to English but the narration of events in all the 4 gospels.

This post has been edited by unknown warrior: Oct 29 2012, 08:26 PM

Hmm .. is this one of those predestination versus free will thingy?

How about both are right

Awesome Song



I see the morning glory
It winds upon the tree
It tells the untold story of how things were meant to be
You saw the universe
Caught up in desperate dreams
You came and changed the ending
Changed it to save my fate
You led the revolution
You left your legacy
Embraced the struggle
in the face of mortality
I know I'm not alone in this
Help me believe

Chorus:
I can be free
I can be free from this place
Beautiful healer
Beautiful grace
Help me to see
Everything fall into place
Wake me from dreaming
No more deceiving
Break these chains


It's still the same old story
This great divide
Between the want and waste
And all the hunger inside
I heard the news today
Now I'm trying to find my place
I'm just a single voice
What can I do to erase
All this misunderstanding
All this anarchy
Six degrees of separation
Sometimes it's so hard to see
That we are not alone in this
I need to believe


Chorus:
I can be free
I can be free from this place
Beautiful healer
Beautiful grace
Help me to see
Everything fall into place
Wake me from dreaming
No more deceiving
Break these chains

ah... fucuk freewill

good explanation, thank u

The Qur'an states clearly that Jesus was the result of a virgin birth.

wow, so the Koran is more legit? then i should follow Allah



This post has been edited by hotjake: Oct 30 2012, 01:30 PM

Just for your info.

Jesus in the Qur'an is called the Spirit of God. FYI

This post has been edited by OlgaC4: Oct 30 2012, 01:38 PM

guys I need help, pls pray for "U.S" http://forum.lowyat.net/topic/2567855 terrible storms had happen

This post has been edited by skydrake: Oct 30 2012, 02:18 PM

I'm sure our Christian Brethren in US are interceding heavily as well.

When you have a burden to pray for something, be lead by God's spirit to pray.

Pray in tongues if you have been baptised. It is direct communication between your spirit and God's spirit.

Pray a prayer of Faith. Pray for smooth coordination between Hospitals and their ambulances and the Staffs.

Bind the Spirit of Chaos and Confusion in our God's name.

Act and Believe that God has already heard you and thank Him for the Answers that's already there.

charismatic?

New Covenant Blessings



This passage is key to access God and his blessings. Bold Emphasize will be another key factor which I will explain below.

I used to hear preachings in Church saying, you must obey God first to receive blessings. That means God's blessing depends very much on your performances. Now those preachers means well. That I do not doubt. They want you to find God's blessings through performance base.

Now before we continue, let's get this rule of the thumb clear. The Old Testament Covenant is basically performance based covenant. Do good get good, do bad get beat. It's your performance that will determine whether you get blessed or cursed. (Leviticus)

But if you study the New Covenant, What does the Bible say about the effect of the Old Covenant ?

Lets look in

Hebrews 7:18-19 (NIV)
18The former regulation is set aside because it was weak and useless
19(for the law made nothing perfect), and a better hope is introduced, by which we draw near to God.

Those who preach the Law strongly hardly preach this. Hebrews 7:18 says The Old Covenant has been set aside, meaning it's no longer in effect. The Holy Spirit calls it weak and useless. Now don't get upset and jump from your seat yet thinking this is blasphemy. This is in the Bible.

Look in

Hebrew 8:7 (NIV)
7 For if there had been nothing wrong with that first covenant, no place would have been sought for another.

You will hardly hear this preach also. Hebrews 8:7 is basically saying there is a problem with Old Covenant of the Law. Look at the verse that says no place would have been sought for another. It's telling you there is another new covenant that will replace the old one.

Look at

Hebrews 8:13 (NIV)
13 By calling this covenant “new,” he has made the first one obsolete; and what is obsolete and aging will soon disappear.

So what does this all mean? The Law of the Old Covenant is no longer relevant to used for you to reach out to God's Salvation and Blessings. That is what it means. The verse below in Romans 4:14 confirms this.

Romans 4:14 (NLT)
If God's promise is only for those who obey the law, then faith is not necessary and the promise is pointless.

I'm sure some of you might ask, what's the point then for God to give the Law of the Old Covenant? The answer is found in

Galatians 3:19 (NLT)
Why, then, was the law given? It was given alongside the promise to show people their sins. But the law was designed to last only until the coming of the child who was promised. God gave his law through angels to Moses, who was the mediator between God and the people.

It was designed to last until Jesus Christ and the more you try to obey it, the more you will fail. Look at the passage below.

Romans 7:19 (NIV)
For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do.


So what is the New Covenant?

Hebrews 7:22 (NIV) Answers this.
22 Because of this oath, Jesus has become the guarantee of a better covenant.

Romans 3:22 (NIV) says this
22 This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference,

Romans 4:13 (NIV) says this
13It was not through law that Abraham and his offspring received the promise that he would be heir of the world, but through the righteousness that comes by faith

Romans 5:17 (NIV) says this
For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God's abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ


Your Blessings under the New Covenant comes through Faith in Christ Jesus. Look at Romans 4:13 and Romans 5:17. The word Heir of the world or inheriting the world and reigning in Life goes together joining hand in hand. You cannot reign in Life or become Heir of the world being constantly sick all the time, So the blessings of Healing is involved. Neither can you inherit the world or reign in life in poverty all the time, so prosperity is included. These are but a few examples of God's blessings.

Romans 5:17 says You WILL reign in Life through these 2 Gifts.
Abundance of Grace and the Gift of Righteousness. What does it mean to reign in Life? You will rule with Authority, Dominate with God's power and have Sovereignty over the Enemy through Jesus Christ under the Gift of Abundance of Grace and the Gift of Jesus's Righteousness.

And Hebrew 11:6 (main title verse above) is the base of your New Covenant Blessings.

Your Faith in God. Having a right Believe, a right perspective towards God according to Bible way will bless you.

I seriously hope this devotion will set you free. For you to know, it is your Faith that act as the foundation to your blessings. Your works or your obedience has been reassigned to love others. Hebrew 11:6 says it is Faith that pleases God.

All this is possible now because 2000 years ago, a lonely divine Man hang on the cross for you and I to make this happen.


God Bless.

This post has been edited by unknown warrior: Oct 31 2012, 11:35 AM