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  1. 1 hour ago, Pastor Scott Markle said:

    Brother, if you are not at all willing to read a book which does not strictly use the King James translation, or which is not strictly from a Fundamental Baptist position of doctrine and separation, then please understand that I am not seeking to lead you against your conscience in the matter; nor do I desire to offend you with the above suggestions.  I am just seeking to present what little of an answer that I have for suggested reading material.

    Pastor Markle,

    I thank you for your responses which are so thoughtful.  The reason that I am so hesitant in exploring authors who do not believe in the sole authority of the KJV, is because I question their judgement.  If a Christian, who is attempting to teach and counsel others using the authority of the Word of God, can get the very foundation of that authority  wrong, I tend to question their judgement in other areas as well.  To me, it is akin to taking a biology class from an evolutionist or an ethics class from an atheist; the foundation is all wrong.

    If I know that there is dangerous leaven, I will avoid it while I am still trying to make good bread.  I know that Satan is crafty and that I can be deceived easily sometimes.  I would rather stick to what I know to be true and of God first and then explore things that I know to be questionable after I develop that foundation.

  2. 43 minutes ago, Pastor Scott Markle said:

    However, if you are seeking for reading material concerning a "system" of "psychology" that is more rooted to a Biblical foundation, I myself would suggest a consideration of those authors who would follow the "system" of "nouthetic counseling." 

    Pastor Markle,

    Thank you for your response.  I am not really looking for an extra biblical system.   I think, perhaps, I am looking for a commentary-esque sort of writing that uses God's Word and goes farther into depth of explanation.  

    I did a quick search on nouthetic counseling and it does not seem to be what I am seeking.  The immediate red flags, for me:

    • Neither Mr. Adams, nor practitioners of nouthetic counseling, seem to use the KJV.  
    • Mr. Adams is a Presbyterian and attended an Episcopalian seminary.
    • They allow and encourage female counselors.
    • He is connected to Zondervan.
    • To take all of the courses costs $1600 (not including textbooks). I do not believe in charging money to teach God's Word.

    Although it is not something with which I think I could be involved, it does seem to be quite a bit better than anything else available in the mainstream.

  3. Pastor Markle made a wonderful post providing Scripture that lays out the spiritual diagnosis, the spiritual problem and the spiritual solution to the issues commonly believed to be "mental illnesses."  

    I am wondering if anyone here knows of any literature, videos, sermons &c. that expand on biblical teachings that would refute secular psychology and philosophy.  I am aware of plenty of resources that properly expose the quackery of both of these secular "disciplines," but I am unaware of good resources, outside of and in support of Scripture, that give practical biblical guidance of an alternative.

    When I was a boy, my parents sent me to many different therapists/psychologists in the attempt to remedy some behavioral issues I had. Many years later, before I was saved, I was romantically involved with and lived with a woman who was (and still is) a clinical psychologist, whose mother was/is also a psychologist and whose ex-step father has been in the process of getting a sex change for the last twenty years; receiving therapy all the while.  One of my older brothers is in the child psychology field and is connected with the public school system.  A young Christian friend of mine has recently told me that her dream is to go into the field of psychology.  These are just a few examples of why I am interested in knowing more about God's original "mental health" solution.

    We must be able to do more than simply point out the error of the world.  We must be able to show them the Scriptures that teach God's way's of dealing with things and also be able to explain them effectively.  I am very interested in reading or viewing anything that may have been written or recorded that would be of help in this area.

  4. 21 minutes ago, No Nicolaitans said:

    Nope...

    Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that isin the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth:

    I agree.  I cannot find support for emoticons either.  However, it seems that at least one of the prophets enjoyed participating in one man, blackface minstrel shows for the king:

    (1 Kings 20:38) "So the prophet departed, and waited for the king by the way, and disguised himself with ashes upon his face."

    I was just thinking that this lighthearted challenge can serve as an illustration of how easy it is to support any side of any argument, when Scripture is taken out of context and/or mixed with pure fiction.  It can serve as an example of how important it is for Christians to know Scripture in order to avoid being deceived by false teachers and to warn others of the false teachings of the same.

  5. 9 hours ago, No Nicolaitans said:

    When I shuck corn, I make a mustache out of the silks.

    Show me that in the Bible!

    Jacob's sons were known to also make mustaches out of corn silks.  They would get together once a year, in Egypt, and have contests for who looked the best with their "cornstaches."  Sometimes they would just stare at each other for hours.  This would puzzle their father.

    (Genesis 42:1) "Now when Jacob saw that there was corn in Egypt, Jacob said unto his sons, Why do ye look one upon another?"

    Additionally, it well known that the city of Jericho had very skilled "beard implant experts" living there.  Sometimes, after men were sent there to regrow their beards, they would find themselves needed back in battle before their beards had fully regrown.  These soldiers would seek out a beard implant expert and would have corn silks surgically implanted into their faces.  They could even have the silks dyed any color or braided into dolls.

    (2 Samuel 10:4-5) "Wherefore Hanun took David’s servants, and shaved off the one half of their beards, and cut off their garments in the middle, even to their buttocks, and sent them away. {5} When they told it unto David, he sent to meet them, because the men were greatly ashamed: and the king said, Tarry at Jericho until your beards be grown, and then return."

  6. I have decided to make it illegal for any political campaign, politician or news media outlet or event to use any music other than the following:

     

    Also, I believe that I am officially done with anything political.  No more news, no more voting, no more political conversations.  I will not vote for a lesser of two evils any longer.  I will not cast my vote for either a godless, unrepentant, megalomaniacal buffoon who publicly admits to being sexually attracted to his own daughter, can't tell the truth about a single thing and doesn't believe he has any reason to ask God's forgiveness or a godless, unrepentant, megalomaniacal witch who supports slaughtering children, is married to a sexual pervert/rapist and cannot tell the truth about a single thing.  

    Out of 300 million people, the citizens of the United Sates have chosen Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump.  I believe that I am being asked to choose between having our childrens' throats cut or having their necks snapped.  I pledge my allegiance to one Kingdom and that is the Kingdom of Heaven.  I will cast my vote for only one leader and that is Jesus Christ.  

    There are no longer any serious and/or reliable news sources; they're all manipulative spinners and are turning in on themselves and eating themselves alive.  The same goes for everyone in our nation's leadership positions.  They are all corrupt and It's all finger pointing and name calling and none of them has any interest in either secular truth or Godly truth.  A few of them sprinkle themselves with Christian flavoring every once in awhile, but it's all manipulative self marketing and I am fed to the teeth with it.

    My country is gone and I will no longer ask God to bless America.  I will not ask God to bless a country that glorifies the slaughtering of children, glorifies Sodomites and legalizes Sodomite unions, or supports mutilating the bodies of children who want to be another gender.  I will not support a country whose military will now require "Transgender Education" classes, whose public schools vilify God and glorify Atheism.  A country that calls evil good and good evil and who will so defiantly spit in the face of the Almighty God is a country that I no longer recognize as my own.

    America was once great because it did its best to glorify God and needed and sought His guidance.  We were a hot rod with a constant supply of gas from God.  Now that we no longer seek His guidance, we are a jalopy whose supply of gasoline has been cut off and whatever was once great about us is whatever is left in the tank.  It's just a little while longer until the tank runs dry.

    My sole focus now is on spreading the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ and trying to save as many souls as possible while there's still time to do so.  Without the salvation of Christ, I am a worthless mass of filth whose only ability is to sin against God and to be worthy of Hell.   I want to spend the rest of my life trying to convince as many people as possible that they are in the same position and that they, too, can receive the glorious gift of grace and salvation.

    This is all my opinion and my choice.  

  7. 10 hours ago, swathdiver said:

    Just another lame excuse to keep the world in the spotlight and the things of God away, far away from his darkened heart.

    If I were in your shoes, I'd witness to them, share the Gospel and let them "Christians" know that livin' together is a sin against God and they ought to get right with the Lord about it right quick.  Then I wouldn't tarry long until deciding to leave lest anyone think I condone such behavior and hurt my testimony.  If you have children, they may see that you think it's (fornicatin') alright by your refusal to separate from the presence of evil.

    I worked for two different men over the years who began to cheat on their wives, I resigned quickly.  I worked for a man who was a professing Christian but loved the things of the world more than the things of God, he had no salvation testimony and made fun of my faith, I resigned quickly.

    Either my boss is a genuine believer or I work for myself, no more heathens.  Course, my ultimate boss is Jesus Christ!

    You have changed my view on this.  Scripture says so much about this subject that I am embarrassed about my previous posts on this matter.  Consider these verses:  Matthew 18:15-17, Romans 16:17-18, 2 Corinthians 6:14-18, 2 Thessalonians 3:6, 2 Thessalonians 3:14, 1 Timothy 6:3-5, 2 Timothy 3:2-5, Titus 3:10-11, 2 John 1:10-11 &c.  Open and unrepentant fornication and, not only forsaking the assembly of believers, but condemning it, would qualify for separation, I believe.

    Wmccarthy99, I believe that your initial instincts were correct and that swathdiver's post, which I have quoted in this response, is much more in line with Scripture than what I previously shared.  I use 1 Thessalonians 5:22 quite a bit to discern the proper action to take in questionable situations and should have known better.

    Brother David Cloud has fantastic teachings on the subject of separation.  He makes them available for free in eBook form and video format:

    Biblical Separatism Video Series.  The Collapse of Biblical Separatism eBook

     

  8. I don't think that God specifically addresses being employed by Christians who are living in fornication.  Here is what I would do it it were me in your situation.

    If they were engaging in fornication in another room while I was there working or were being lovey-dovey-kissey-poo in front of me, then I would tell them that I was no longer comfortable working for them and that they should start looking for another contractor.  

    If they are not home while I was working, or if they were just there watching television or paying bills or something, then I would treat it like any other job and mind my own business.

    Of course, if you are just too uncomfortable with just being there, knowing what you know, you have every right to tell them that you need to spend your time elsewhere and just stop working for them.

  9. I'm not a fan of motivation.  From my experience, motivation is almost completely useless.  It is akin to people getting "filled with the Holy Spirit" by being worked up by an exciting experience.  Like emotional excitement, motivation wears off.  I think that's the reason that God doesn't seem to focus on motivational tactics.  God is much more interested in obedience and commitment.

    It's like getting into physical shape.  The reason that most people fail to do so is because they only exercise when they feel motivated or in the mood.  In contrast, if you make the commitment to get up and walk/exercise every single morning, regardless of how you feel about it, you will succeed at being physically fit.  You don't have to like it or even want it; just do it.  Usually, you will find that the desire comes through practicing the commitment.

    The problem with churches trying to keep their members motivated is that leadership needs to keep thinking up more and more interesting things to keep that artificial momentum.  I believe churches would do well to focus on teaching obedience and commitment.

    Another lesson I learned when I was a very little boy.  The answer to "why do I have to.....?" was always, "Because I said so."  After I obeyed and did what I was asked to do, I understood why I was asked; sometimes it was clear right away, sometimes it took a few years (or decades).  

  10. I watched about half of the video and also visited his Lancaster Baptist Church website and it seems to be a Baptist version of the mega church where I used to work.

     

    I worked on the tech team (audio/visual/media) at Kensington Community Church and I can tell you that the above mentioned Baptist church spends several millions of dollars on their multimedia/tech department and many millions more on the building itself.  Just to light, shoot and edit their weekly sermons requires, at a minimum, three full time video/editing staff at, at least, $30,000 a year. 

     

    KCC had many leadership conventions which we, on the tech team, attended all of them because we had to take care of the media and entertainment.  The above video is dripping with “convention speak” and is designed to teach leaders how to keep congregants actively involved for the sole purpose of the continuance of revenue.  Our conventions were several hundred dollars a person, books and DVDs were peddled &c.

     

    LBC offers “counseling” for couples 45 and over via a class called “Family Foundations.”  This requires participants to purchase a $50.00 book/DVD package.

     

    As part of the leadership at KCC. I was the "North Campus Portability Director, in charge of keeping six teams of volunteers motivated and "plugged in" to set up and tear down about 3 million dollars worth of audio/video/lighting equipment every Sunday morning at a temporary location for out North Campus.  Part of my job was to take every single volunteer out to lunch and/or dinner once a month to "build relationships" with them.  Both the volunteers and I thought it was strange that it was a requirement and it was a huge burden on me, as my workload was already enormous. Seeing that I had 250 volunteers, I had to eat my lunches and dinners 7 days a week with groups of 5 or ten people at a time.  I was also told to spend about $25 per person per meal.  Those relationship building, motivational meals cost the church over $6000 a month; and that was just my group of volunteers.  KCC did the same thing for all of the volunteers, which was around 2500 at any given time.

     

    All of this is to say that I have had a bit of experience in the subject and to shed light upon the source of the above video.

     

    Now, to respond to Pastor Markle’s inquiry into biblical motivation.

     

    I think there’s a difference between motivation and encouragement.  In my opinion, motivation is something that causes you to take action.  Encouragement is something that helps to lift our spirits and gives us hope.

     

    For me, the verses about the promises and wages of sloth are some of the most motivational.

    Proverbs 12:27, Proverbs 15:19, Proverbs 24:30-34 2 Thessalonians 3:10.  These verses are certainly not an exhaustive list.

     

    There are, however, almost innumerable verses that are encouraging to me.  I would be interested in learning more about how God motivates as well.

  11. 9 minutes ago, wretched said:

    I do question why your past fornications with 50 women would be a stumblingblock issue with anyone if you were to marry however. 

    Perhaps you didn't read the verses I included in the previous post:

    (1 Corinthians 6:15-17) "Know ye not that your bodies are the members of Christ? shall I then take the members of Christ, and make them the members of an harlot? God forbid. {16} What? know ye not that he which is joined to an harlot is one body? for two, saith he, shall be one flesh. {17} But he that is joined unto the Lord is one spirit."

    and this one which I did not include previously:

    (Mark 10:6-9) "But from the beginning of the creation God made them male and female. {7} For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and cleave to his wife; {8} And they twain shall be one flesh: so then they are no more twain, but one flesh. {9} What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder."

    I have been in conversations where people have asked me, honestly and non-confrontationally, if the above verses in Mark 10 are true, then do the verses in 1 Corinthians 6 mean that God considers us married if we are physically intimate with a member of the opposite sex?  I believe that those verses are saying precisely that.  However, if I am wrong, It can still confuse people and cause them to believe that I would be committing adultery by marrying.  It could cause people to think that I am being disobedient to God.  It could hurt my ability to witness to them. 

    (1 Thessalonians 5:22) "Abstain from all appearance of evil."

    I have a long beard, I keep my tattoos covered at all times (until I can get them removed), I dress as appropriately as possible, I quit drinking, using drugs and smoking cigarettes, I no longer listen to any music other than traditional Hymns and some classical, I no longer watch television or worldly films, I have remained celibate fourteen years, I have stopped looking at pornography, I eat a very healthy diet and have completely stopped using profanities.  I do not believe that any of this increases or decreases my salvation in Christ or makes me better than anyone else:

    (Isaiah 64:6) "But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away."

    However, changing those things about my life have helped my witness and testimony to others.  Most lost people see Christians as hypocrites and jump at every opportunity to point out examples of their hypocrisy:

    (Matthew 7:3-5) "And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother’s eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye? {4} Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and, behold, a beam is in thine own eye? {5} Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother’s eye."

    (Romans 2:21-24) "Thou therefore which teachest another, teachest thou not thyself? thou that preachest a man should not steal, dost thou steal? {22} Thou that sayest a man should not commit adultery, dost thou commit adultery? thou that abhorrest idols, dost thou commit sacrilege? {23} Thou that makest thy boast of the law, through breaking the law dishonourest thou God? {24} For the name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles through you, as it is written."

    No liberty is more important to me than someone else coming to Christ.  My greatest fear is for something that I have done or said to have caused a lost person to avoid coming to Christ.  There are limits, however.  I won't be disobedient in order to win someone to Christ.  I won't grow my hair long or go to a Sodomite wedding or go to a rock concert or tell dirty jokes if someone tells me that they won't trust me until I do.

    Personally, I believe that arguing for the ability to indulge in questionable things, in the name of liberty, is selfish.  If there is any question at all about something, avoid it.  I really don't understand why it's that big of a deal to do without something that is contentious.  

    "When in doubt, do without."

    57 minutes ago, wretched said:

    Unless you wear a tshirt that reads that, who or why would anyone know what you did 14 plus years ago?

    Well, then how would a church know if their pastor has been divorced (once or an hundred times) unless he wears a shirt stating so?  People find things out; whether it's by admission or by gossip.  I would rather steer clear of the whole cesspool.

    Additionally, I want God to know that He and His Kingdom are more important to me than creature comforts and desires of the flesh.

  12. 20 hours ago, Ukulelemike said:

    God is usually pretty plain about what He hates. 

    I agree and I believe that He has been crystal clear on the subject of divorce.

    20 hours ago, Ukulelemike said:

    ...but nothing that God hates it, or it is wrong.

    If you don't see it plainly in the Scriptures we have been discussing in this thread, I don't know what else to say.  We shall have to respectfully disagree.

    20 hours ago, Ukulelemike said:

    Obedience is better than sacrifice

    I believe this is being taken out of context.  The above, taken from 1 Samuel 15:22, is referring to Saul believing that keeping the animals and the physical act of animal sacrifice would cover his disobedience of not destroying everything when told to do so.  When I refer to sacrifice in the context of erring on the side of abstention, it is specifically because I am attempting to be obedient.  Comparing that verse in 1 Samuel to my examples is to completely misunderstand that verse.  The only way that verse in 1 Sam. could apply to my examples would be if you are saying that I am being disobedient in remaining unmarried and the pastor was disobedient by not going into the theater.  It is also switching to a different definition of the word, "sacrifice" in the middle of a discussion.  It is akin to saying, "They tell me that I have to have faith in order to be saved and my daughter's name is Faith, so, technically, I do "have Faith."  It is an informal logical fallacy called, "equivocation."

    20 hours ago, Ukulelemike said:

    ...but should another person's disobedience ipso-facto make me automatically the sinner?

    Of course not.  This is a straw man response since no one has claimed that someone is "automatically the sinner" because their spouse made the decision to leave.  The issue in dispute is about the disobedience of the decision to remarry when their ex-spouse is still alive. God holds us responsible for our own sins. (2 Corinthians 5:10, Revelation 20:12-13 &c.)

  13. 8 hours ago, Ukulelemike said:

    ...perhaps, when God has NOT spoken clear and direct, (as is my point in the verses in 1Cor 7), we ought perhaps to approach those things on the side of liberty, not law.

    Please forgive me if I am misunderstanding this, but it would appear that you are saying that whenever Scripture is unclear, we are permitted to err on the side of permissiveness.

    This seems to run contrary to the principles taught in 1 Thessalonians 5:22 and 1 Corinthians 8:9.

    For the sake of argument, let us say that divorce and remarriage (in the disputed scenarios) is permitted.  Even if so, consider the following examples of how, I believe, we are called to exercise our liberty.

    I had a supervisor, at a church I worked at many years ago, whose parents were missionaries and his father was a pastor.  He told me that his father never went into movie theaters because anyone who might see him, knowing that he was a pastor/missionary, would question what movie he saw.  Did he go in to see the G rated film or the R rated film? His example to others was more important to him than saying, "I have every right to see a film in the theater and you can't judge me for it."

    In my past, I had been with well over fifty women, yet never married any of them.  The last time I was with a woman was fourteen years ago and I made a conscious decision to remain permanently single because of 1 Corinthians 6:15-16 as well as the above verses.  Many people have told me that I am free to marry, since I have never actually been intentionally married with a ceremony.  I have turned down date invitations from many women because of this decision.  I definitely would like to be married and have children, but, because of my conviction on an issue that many people see as unclear, I choose to err on the side of sacrifice.  I would rather be an example of self denial than permissiveness.

    In a purely secular example, it is perfectly legal to burn and walk upon the American flag (at least in Michigan).  So, just because we won't get put in jail, does that mean that it is a good idea?

    Regardless of what side of the divorce issue you find yourself, I think everyone can agree that God hates divorce.  I think we can also agree that, at least in certain situations, God hates remarrying after divorce.  If this is the case, why, on Earth, would we want to dance as close to the edge of that canyon as possible?  Why, as Christians, is the default attitude not, "God hates divorce and remarriage?  I'm not getting anywhere near that!"  How can we ever see something that God abhors as something that we should intentionally seek out?

    8 hours ago, Ukulelemike said:

    I just don't beloieve, nor see in scripture that where one is wronged or abandoned by a spouse who goes off into adultery and fornication, that the innocent party deserves to be forever marked and unable to be with anyone again.

    There are just some things that carry permanent consequences.  If a child is riding his bicycle down the sidewalk and gets shot in the back, leaving him paralyzed from the waist down, that's unfair.  He didn't do anything to warrant being shot in the back, yet the actions of another person have inflicted permanent limitations on the life of another.

    Being single is not a curse or a death sentence.  In 1 Corinthians 7:6-9, Paul says that his desire is that all men were unmarried like him, and sees marriage as something that people who "cannot contain" themselves should do.  Being unmarried, I am free to spend more time focused upon the things of God.  In my case, I figure that I have grossly abused God's gift of physical intimacy and have sacrificed the privilege of being in a Biblical marriage.  Perhaps this isn't the case, but I am willing, for the sake of my testimony and witness, to forgo marriage.

    When I was a boy, I had a habit of doing things without permission and then apologizing later.  One evening, after getting a spanking, my father taught me a principle that has stayed with me: "When in doubt, do without."

     

     

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